Morning headlines – November 2nd 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 80.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 7.05 million people got the vaccine, with more than 6.33 getting both doses and 884.000 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 6.993 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 311 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.876 people hospitalized.
• The Romanian Armed Forces are transporting COVID patients to Germany. A C-130 Hercules aircraft of the Romanian Air Forces, designed for medical missions, is conducting, on Tuesday, a humanitarian transport mission, from Bucharest to Germany, of six COVID-19 patients, who are in a serious condition. (MoND)
• There were recorded more than 5 million COVID deaths. In almost two years since the pandemic starts, more than 5 million people have died due to coronavirus. The number might be bigger, says WHO, as many deaths were registered based on national reports only. (AFP)

Global political and military events

• France is postponing the sanctions on Great Britain. The British government has praised, on Monday evening, France’s decision to postpone the sanctions in the dispute over fishing license, until after Thursday’s discussions, from Paris. (AFP)
• Western embassies from Bulgaria have protested the attack of a LGBRQI+ center. The US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom embassies have protested over the attack on Rainbow Hub Center, which is hosting organizations promoting equality and the protection of LGBTQI+ people. (AFP)
• The Queen of Great Britain asks the world leaders to counter climate changes. On Monday, Queen Elisabeth the Second asked the world leaders who are participating at the COP26, in Glasgow, through a video message, to join forces to counter the climate changes and together find a solution for the most serious problems. (AFP)
• Taiwan is training reservists as it is afraid of a Chinese invasion. The Taiwanese minister of defence, Chiu Kuo, has stated, on Tuesday, that he will increase the number of reservists trained annually due to China’s threats on a possible reunion with the island. (Reuters)

Romania’s defence and security

• Prolonged political crisis. General Nicolae Ciuca withdrew his mandate. The National Liberal Party will hold consultations with the parliamentary parties to create a new majority. (Mediafax)

• The suspension of president Klaus Iohannis. The procedures for the suspension of president Klaus Iohannis are starting, said George Simion, the co-president of AUR. He says the document was signed by PNL parliamentarians as well. (Aleph News)

• Bulgaria shut down gas to Romania due to a crack. Bulgartransgaz, the operator of Bulgaria's national natural gas transmission network, announced on Monday that it had stopped transit of natural gas to Romania, Serbia and Hungary, following a crack in the gas network near the village of Vetrino. (TVR)

• Iohannis participates in the Climate Change Summit. President Klaus Iohannis is attending the World Leaders' Summit on 1 and 2 November at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. The COP26 meeting aims for a global commitment to zero net emissions by 2050, as well as significant reductions by 2030. (Presidential Administration)