Joint NATO exercise „Junction Strike 21” enters the second day
Romanian and foreign soldiers from allied or partner countries train together until November 12 in the „Junction Strike 21” (JUST 21) exercise. Almost 1,000 Romanian and foreign soldiers with approximately 100 land, air and naval technical means participate to the drill, which started at the 164th Naval Forces Division in Mangalia, where Romanian and Portuguese soldiers trained based on a fictitious scenario associated with the hybrid war. „We have two NATO capability targets – a capability target you saw in action in the Mangalia Naval Port, it is the Naval Group of Special Operations Forces. Another important goal of this exercise is to increase interoperability between the participating states, when we meet on the battlefield to know exactly that we are acting like real brothers and to know how to use each other’s capabilities”, said Romanian Major Alexandru Ivanov, in charge of public relations in within the Special Operations Forces Command. Special forces from Georgia, Greece, Great Britain, the Republic of Moldova, Poland and the United States are also taking part in the drill. The „Junction Strike 21” exercise will continue in military bases in several cities and towns in Romania.
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciucă has officially resigned
Prime Minister-designate Nicolae Ciucă has officially resigned, leading to the cancellation of the hearings of the candidates for the post of minister and the investiture vote that were scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Nicolae Ciucă resigned after he failed to obtain support for the formation of a minority cabinet. The PNL National Political Bureau will continue to discuss a negotiation strategy, this time for a government with a stable majority, and the question is who the liberals will go to: PSD or USR, to obtain this majority together with UDMR. USR spokesman, Ionuț Moșteanu, said that PNL must officially announce if it wants to rebuild the governing coalition and that solutions can be found. „We have the openness, the readiness to rebuild this center-right coalition. I know that there has been talks of those votes of Ludovic Orban, Ludovic Orban announced in all public statements that he supports the restoration of the center-right alliance, so I expect him and those next to him to vote for a PNL-USR-UDMR government „, said Ionuţ Moşteanu. PSD President Marcel Ciolacu claims that all scenarios are currently possible, including the entry of the Social Democrats to government. He said on Tuesday that the solution to unblocking the political crisis is still a stable executive, made up of specialists to manage the health and energy crisis. „Romania does not need a minority government at this time. All the scenarios remain open and I strongly believe that the return to the people is the most correct thing to do”, says Marcel Ciolacu.
Romania coronavirus updates
Nearly 7,000 new cases of coronavirus infection have been reported, while the number of tests came down to over 28,000. The incidence rate continues to fall in the capital, reaching 13.35 cases per thousand inhabitants after almost three weeks in which it was higher than 15. However, most of the new cases are in Bucharest, around of 1,300, this being the lowest daily number since the end of September. However, the situation is worsening in hospitals, the pressure on the Romanian health system remaining at alarming levels. The number of hospitalized increased by 500 in just 24 hours, and reached a total of over 20,500 nationwide. There are now 1,876 patients in intensive care, including 29 children. The Ministry of Health has announced that 62 hospitals will receive more than 2,100 vials of Remdesivir, a drug used to treat patients with moderate COVID. On the other hand, the transfer abroad of some seriously ill patients continues: 6 patients will be taken to hospitals in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday, and until tomorrow a total of 15 COVID patients will arrive in Germany. Secretary of State Raed Arafat said that Romania benefited from international support during this period, including from deliveries of medicines and taking in patients. Meanwhile, interest in vaccination is declining – fewer than 49,000 people got the first or single dose in 24 hours, the number is less than half that of a week ago. Many cultural institutions in the country are launching campaigns to encourage vaccination. People who have the complete anti-COVID vaccination scheme, as well as those who have recently started the immunization process, receive free access to all the concerts of the Ploiești Philharmonic in November, which are broadcast live on the Internet. The institution from Ploiești reports that it is thus joining the efforts to encourage the population to be vaccinated in order to overcome the coronavirus pandemic./mbaciu
Magda Baciu
