Morning headlines – November 8th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 56.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 7,29 million people got the vaccine, with more than 6,53 getting both doses and 1,01 of them getting the third dose.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 5.293 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 273 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.868 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• Russia is worried about the US ships from the Black Sea. „The US ships which entered the Black Sea will test our ability to defend our sea and the Southern border”, said, on Sunday, the Russian defence minister, general Sergey Shoigu. The 6th Fleet’s ship, USS Mount Whitney, and the USS Porter destroyer are participating at drills and missions with the allied countries and partners in the region, including Romania. (Tass)
• Russia is fueling the war in Ukraine. A report financed by the EU and Germany called „Weapons of War in Ukraine”, made by the Conflict Armament Research company, specialized in tracking weapons, which analyzed the weapons systems and munitions used by separatist forces in the war with the Ukrainian governments shows the involvement of Russia in the conflict and how it fuelled the insurgents with modern weapons systems, munitions and soldiers to use or train the rebels. (The New York Times)
• The Ortega family stays in power in Nicaragua. The US has criticized the Sunday elections from Nicaragua, where Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have the highest chances to become a president, respectively vice-president, after all their rivals got to jail.
• China is training on a US carrier mockup. According to satellite images. China built a USS carrier-shaped mockup, in the desert, the Xinjiang provicne, to traing its soldeirs in destroying it. (South China Morning Post)

Romania’s defence and security

• The minister of FA, Bogdan Aurescu, visits the US. Minister Aurescu will be on Monday in Washington to discuss with the US State Secretary, Antony Blinken, about the strategic partnership and the Visa Waiver program, during a two-days visit in the US, on November 8 and 9th. (MFA)
• Prolonged political crisis: PNL and PSD decide on Monday whether to enter government together. (Mediafax)
• On weekends, Bucharest is more polluted. Over the weekend, the pollution in Bucharest was over 10 times the allowed limit. The head of the environmental guard blames the fact that the wind did not blow. The former head of the Guard says, however, that the illegal burning of waste in Ilfov County is to blame. (TVR)
• Eurostat: Romania ranks last in the EU in digitalization. Even if we are in the top of the countries in the number of programmers, according to Eurostat, Romania is the last in the EU in digitalization. (TVR)