By Michelle Rahimi
Italy update
The EU Commission has approved the modification of seven Operational Programs for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in Italy and Spain under REACT-EU for a total of over 1.8 billion.
These resources are to mainly be invested in strengthening the health system through the purchase of respirators, protective equipment, and IT devices, support the digitalization of the administration, increase energy efficiency and climate risk prevention and management, and much more.
France update
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/270659913/us-advises-its-citizens-to-avoid-traveling-to-france
The State Department has advised Americans to avoid all travel to France because of the growing number of coronavirus infections in the country currently.
France is said to be battling a fourth wave of the virus and the State Department has issued a “Level 4: travel ban” recommendation for France.
France has recorded more than six million infected and 1,11,000 dead in the pandemic. The daily number of infected has returned to the figure of about 20,000 during the peak of the pandemic, whereas the number of dying individuals remains low compared to this time.
Lionel Messi has officially joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract, after leaving Barcelona.
The football star had been expecting to extend his time at Barcelona where he spent the last 21 years, even agreeing to take a 50% pay cut in the new deal, however the Spanish club was still unable to proceed due to “financial obstacles.”
Messi was greeted by hundreds of PSG fans as he arrived at the Le Bourget Airport in Paris on Tuesday afternoon and passed his medical before signing his contract.
Messi said: “I am impatient to start a new chapter of my career in Paris.”
About the author:
Michelle Rahimi is a Diplomacy and International Relation’s Master’s candidate at the School for International Training, located in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States of America.
She obtains an extensive passion for international relations with first-hand knowledge from traveling across many countries and is experienced in working with different teams and individuals from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds.
