Morning headlines – September 24th 2021

Coronavirus and vaccines

• Vaccination in Romania: In the last 24 hours, more than 18.000 people got vaccinated. Totally, more than 5.4 million people got the vaccine, with more than 5.2 getting both doses.
• Coronavirus in Romania: In the last 24 hours, there were recorded 7.095 new SARS CoV-2 cases, 113 deaths, and in ICU there are now 1.067 people hospitalized.

Global political and military events

• Sweden wants to sign a military cooperation agreement with Norway and Denmark. The Swedes will sign an agreement with Norway and Denmark on military cooperation to increase the security situation in the Baltic Sea area, due to tensions with Russia. (Aleph News)
• The US is offering 1 billion dollars to Israel to upgrade the Iron Dome system. On Thursday, the US Representatives Chamber has voted a law to offer the financial aid worth of 1 billion dollars to Israel to upgrade its anti-missile defence system, Iron Dome. (Aleph News)
• Ukraine passed an `anti-oligarchs` law, following the assassination attempt of one of president’s aids.  Ukraine passed a law, on Thursday, to limit the influence of oligarchs, following the assassination attempt whose target was the main counselor of president Volodymyr Zelenski. (Digi24)
• Armed attack in the US. An armed individual opened fire in a supermarket in Tennessee and killed one person and wounded 12.  Then, the attacker killed himself, said, on Thursday, the authorities in Tennessee. (Mediafax)
• Meeting of the Indo-Pacific Quad leaders. President Biden will host, on Friday, at the White House, the leaders from Japan, India and Australia to discuss about the security challenges China is creating in the region. (AP)
• North Korea, ready to resume dialogue with the South. The sister of the North-Korean leader, Kim Yo Jong, has stated, on Thusday, that her country is ready to resume dialogue with South Korea, if the latter is ready to give up its hostile policies on North Korea. The answer comes after the proposal made by the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, to declare the 1950-1953 war ended. (AP)
• US military leader: The US should extend dialogue with Russia. The top US military leader, Mark Milley, has stated, on Thursday, that the United States should extend its military collaboration with Russia to better transparency and avoidance of a conflict. General Milley met, on Wednesday, in Finland, with the Russian counterpart, general Valery Gherasimov, where they talked for six hours. (AP)
• The Pentagon revealed the name of the man behind the August 26^th Kabul attack. The ISIS-K terrorist Kabir Aidi is the one who planned and organized the suicide bombing from August 26^th, which led to the death of 13 US soldiers and more than 100 Afghan civilians, said the Pentagon. He was eliminated in a drone attack, on August 27^th. (Military Times)

Romania’s security and defence

• Europol Syndicate: No policeman passed the selection for sports and self-defence. The Europol Syndicate said no policeman promoted the selection for sports and self-defence. According to the syndicate, there are plenty of arrangements to name certain people in different position within the County’s Police Inspectorate. `The selection is based on influence`.