PULLOUT In his first public address after the Taliban’s conquest of
\ncapital Kabul, US president Joe Biden says he stands ‘squarely behind’ his
\ndecision to pull out troops from Afghanistan. Biden has blamed the Taliban takeover
\non the Afghan political leaders who fled as well as on the security forces who
\nrefused to fight. Biden’s decision to pull out the US troops from Afghanistan
\nhas attracted criticism from both Republicans and Democrats and his address
\ncomes after a dramatic day at Kabul’s international airport where hundreds of
\ncivilians desperate to leave the country forced their way inside. According to
\nReuters, flights were cancelled on Monday, when at least five people were
\nkilled, although it was unclear whether they had been shot or crushed in a
\nstampede. The Taliban captured Afghanistan’s biggest cities in days rather than
\nmonths as the US experts had predicted. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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REPATRIATION Romania is going to fly a
\nplane to Afghanistan as soon as possible to repatriate the 27 Romanian citizens
\nwho are still in that country, the country’s Prime Minister Florin Citu has
\nannounced. 16 Romanian citizens managed to leave the country last night. According
\nto Citu those to be repatriated aren’t part of the embassy personnel but people
\nworking in the private sector and for the UN. The Romanian official has called
\non all the Romanian citizens to leave that country while the Foreign Ministry
\nin Bucharest firmly recommends that they refer to Romania’s embassy in
\nIslamabad and provide data about their location so that they may be contacted in
\nemergency situations. <\/p>\n
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GDP According to a report made public today by the
\nNational Institute for Statistics (INS), Romania’s Gross Domestic Product rose
\nby 6.5% in the first half of the year as compared to the same period of 2020.
\nIn the second quarter of 2021, the country’s GDP grew by 1.8% compared to the
\nsame period last year against a 13% economic growth. According to the European
\nCommission, Romania’s economy is to see a 7.4% growth in 2021 and 4.9% next
\nyear, exceeding the forecasts made in spring. Under the budget readjustment
\nproject published by the Finance Ministry late last week, Romania’s GDP should
\nstay around 239 billion Euros, out of a real growth of 7% this year. <\/p>\n
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FOOTBALL Romania’s football champions,
\nCFR Cluj are today up against Serbian side Red Star Football Club in an away
\nmatch counting towards the first round of the Europa League’s play off. The
\nRomanians failed to qualify for the Champions League’s play-offs after being
\ndefeated by Swiss side Young Boys Bern. If they are eliminated from Europa
\nLeague, CFR will be playing in the groups of Europa Conference League. <\/p>\n
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COVID-19 The Covid-19 infections are on the rise in Romania where authorities
\nreported over 24 hundred new cases between August 9th and 16th.
\n280 fresh cases were announced on Monday out of 18,700 tests conducted as well
\nas five new fatalities. The number of
\nthose admitted to hospitals has also risen to over 940 with 120 of them in
\nintensive care. On the other hand, people’s interest in getting the vaccine
\nremains low in this country in spite of the authorities’ repeated appeals. Only
\n12 thousand people reportedly got the jab on Monday. Almost 5 million Romanians
\nhave been fully vaccinated since the country’s vaccine rollout kicked off in
\nDecember last year. <\/p>\n
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(bill)<\/p>\n
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