By Michelle Rahimi
Italy update
Lamont Marcell Jacobs of Italy won the first gold medal of his career with a running time of 9.80, a personal best and a European record.
Jacobs becomes the first Italian to win gold at the Olympics in the 100 meters.
Jacobs was born in El Paso, Texas, but has lived in Italy since he was a baby. He has a silver medal in the 4×100 meters from the 2021 World Relays and was this year’s European indoor champion in the 60 meters.
France update
Foreign tourism to France is rebounding this summer versus last year when the pandemic shut borders.
France expects 50 million foreign tourists, up from 35 million last summer, but down from 90 million in the year of 2019.
European tourists are back in force, except for British visitors because the UK government is requiring a 14-day isolation upon return from France. While a few Americans are starting to travel to the country, Asian customers won’t be back until next year.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/thousands-protest-vaccine-passes-idea-in-france-italy
In France and Italy, demonstrations against vaccine passes or virus restrictions in general are bringing together otherwise unlikely allies, often from the political extremes. They include far-right parties, campaigners for economic justice, families with small children, those against vaccines and those who fear them.
The biggest reasons for hesitating or refusing to get vaccinated, cited by more than half of respondents, are fears of serious side effects and concerns that the vaccines have not been adequately tested. Another 25 per cent said they don’t trust doctors, 12 per cent said they don’t fear the virus, and eight per cent deny it exists.
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.
