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Last year, the COVID pandemic saw Turkey canceling one of the world’s oldest sporting events: the centuries-old Kirkpinar oil wrestling tournament. For Turkish and international fans, the festival’s return offers hope that pandemic restrictions are finally ending. Dorian Jones reports from Edirne in northwestern Turkey. 
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England’s defeat on penalty kicks in the final of the European soccer cup caused a barrage of online racist attacks against Black players who missed goals in the shootout. The Euro 2020 soccer final between Italy and England played at Wembley stadium Sunday night was nerve-racking for fans of both teams. Italians were very concerned when England scored their goal just two minutes into the game. England fans started worrying when Italy drew even in the second half.And on both sides, all fans were anxious about who would win when no team managed to score in extra time and the penalty shootout became inevitable.English supporters react while watching the game during extra time at a fan zone in Manchester, England, July, 11, 2021 during the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London.England was the favorite at the start of the game, as it was playing at home in front of tens of thousands of fans, and fans were convinced the team would manage to bring the cup home for the first time. Italians were hoping the cup would return to Rome after 53 years.In the end, Italy won the shootout 3-2 when three of England’s Black players missed their spot-kicks. A barrage of racist attacks on social media followed, which led England’s Football Association to release a statement Monday morning condemning the racist abuse of its players.Italy’s players celebrate with trophy after winning the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley Stadium in London, July 11, 2021.The statement said, “the FA strongly condemns all forms of discrimination and is appalled by the online racism that has been aimed at some of our England players on social media.”It added that “anyone behind such disgusting behavior is not welcome in following the team.”The FA said it would do everything “to support the players affected, while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible.”England manager Gareth Southgate, who shouldered the responsibility for the team’s loss, praised his players and condemned the online slurs.“They should be, and I think they are incredibly proud, of what they’ve done. For some of them to be abused is unforgivable, really,” said Southgate.England’s manager Gareth Southgate, left, embraces Bukayo Saka after he failed to score a penalty during a penalty shootout during of the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy at Wembley stadium in London, July 11, 2021.The England team has been praised for the high-profile, anti-racist stance it has maintained during this Euro championship and before.Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted his comment on Twitter, saying, “this England team deserves to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media.” He added that “those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”London police have opened an investigation. Twitter, for its part, said it has taken down more than 1,000 tweets and suspended several accounts used to post racist abuse directed at the England players. 
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U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is calling for action and concrete measures to end systemic racism and racial violence against Africans and people of African descent. The high commissioner has presented a series of recommendations to address existing problems in a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
 
The report was mandated by the Council a year ago in the aftermath of the killing of African American George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.  
 
Bachelet called Floyd’s murder a tipping point. She said it has shifted the world’s attention to the human rights violations routinely endured by Africans and people of African descent.
 
The report provides a comprehensive view of the inequalities, marginalization, and lack of opportunities that render many people of African descent powerless, trapped in poverty and victimized by a system of social injustice.FILE – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet looks on after delivering a speech on global human rights developments during a session of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva, June 21, 2021.The report focuses on lethal incidents at the hands of law enforcement. Bachelet says her office has received information about at least such 190 deaths of Africans and people of African descent. She notes 98% have occurred in Europe, Latin America, and North America.  
 
She said there has been a strikingly consistent failure to see justice done in all these cases.
 
“Three key contexts in which police-related fatalities stood out: The policing of minor offenses, traffic stops and stop-and-searches; the intervention of law enforcement officials as first responders in mental health crises; and special police operations in the context of the ‘war on drugs’ or gang-related operations.… Moreover, law enforcement officers are rarely held accountable for human rights violations and crimes against persons of African descent,” Bachelet said.
 
The killing of George Floyd was a rare exception. Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin whose actions resulted in the death of Floyd was captured on video and witnessed by millions, was found guilty of his crime and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison.
 
In a video statement, Floyd’s brother Philonius, said he still feels the horrific pain of watching his brother pass away.
 
“He was tortured to death in broad daylight. That was a modern-day execution…It is difficult knowing that you can run from the police, and they still will shoot you in the back with [you having] no weapon. You do not have any weapon but at the same time they still get qualified immunity,” he said.
 
In view of the profound and wide-ranging injustices, Bachelet said there is an urgent need to confront the legacies of enslavement and to seek reparatory justice.
 
Her recommendations include acknowledging the systemic nature of racism to transform the structures. They call for holding law enforcement officials accountable for crimes, guaranteeing the right of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly during anti-racism protests, and taking steps to address the harms caused by means of a wide range of reparations measures.
 
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The World Health Organization reported Monday that COVID-19 cases rose globally for the fourth consecutive week and that the number of deaths rose after 10 weeks of declines — driven by the highly contagious delta variant, which was first detected in India.  
 
The delta variant has now been reported in more than 104 countries.
 
At the agency’s Monday briefing from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said all but one of the organization’s six global regions had seen an increase in COVID-19 cases.  
 
Tedros said WHO had received reports from all regions that hospitals were once again reaching capacity, and as he described it, the delta variant ripped “around the world at a scorching pace.” He said it would soon become the dominant strain circulating worldwide.
 
He said the variant was spreading even in places with high vaccination coverage, especially infecting unprotected and vulnerable people and putting pressure back on health systems. In countries with low vaccination coverage, the situation is particularly bad.  
 
The WHO chief said the world is experiencing a worsening public health emergency that further threatens lives, livelihoods and the world economy. He said it is worse in places with few vaccines, but the pandemic is not over anywhere. The global vaccine inequity is making it worse, he said.
 
Tedros compared the current global strategy for fighting the pandemic to fighting a forest fire.  
 
“Hosing down part of it might reduce the flames in one area, but while it’s smoldering anywhere, sparks will eventually travel and grow again into a roaring furnace. The world should battle together to put out this pandemic inferno everywhere. ”
 
Mike Ryan, WHO health emergencies program executive director, also said events in regions with a certain level of vaccination — such as the just-concluded Euro 2020 soccer tournament that featured soccer stadiums at least partially full of fans — make it more difficult for nations that need to implement COVID-19 restrictions they need.  
 
“It’s more difficult for governments in those situations, in those countries, to continue to implement public health and social measures because their populations are looking at this and saying, ‘Hey, it’s all over in Europe. I mean, maybe it’s all over here.'”
 
Meanwhile, Tedros chastised wealthy nations with high vaccination rates and vaccine producers Pfizer and Moderna for considering booster shots while other countries lack the supplies to vaccinate their health workers and the most vulnerable.  
 
“Currently, data shows us that vaccination offers long-lasting immunity against severe and deadly COVID-19. The priority now must be to vaccinate those who have received no doses and protection,” he said.
 
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned racist social media attacks against Black players on Britain’s soccer team following its 3-2 loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 championship Sunday.
After the Italy and Britain remained 1-1 following regulation and extra time play, the teams were forced into a penalty shoot-out to decide the game. Black players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed kicks, giving Italy the victory.  
While most comments on social media were positive towards the British team, the three players started receiving racist comments immediately following the game.  
On his Twitter account, Johnson said the team deserves “to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media. Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves.”  Likewise, London Mayor Sadiq Kahn, from his Twitter account, said there was no place for racism in soccer or anywhere else. He said those responsible must be held accountable.
The Football Assocation, British soccer’s governing organization, also issued a statement condemning all forms of racism and standing by its players.
London’s police department tweeted it was aware of the comments, called them unacceptable and said they would be investigated.  
England’s players have made a strong stand against racism during tournament, taking a knee before their games including Sunday’s final. Not all fans supported the gesture, with some booing in reaction.  
While Prime Minister Johnson urged fans not to boo the players, some critics felt his response was not strong enough, and that only encouraged racists. In an interview with SKY News Monday, former British soccer player Gary Neville put the blame for the response on Johnson.
Neville said, “The prime minister said that it was OK for the population of this country to boo those players who were trying to promote equality and defend against racism. It starts at the very top. And so for me, I wasn’t surprised in the slightest that I woke up this morning to those headlines.”
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European vacationers had hoped this year’s northern hemisphere summer would see unhindered movement and be largely free of travel restrictions, but countries across southern Europe are now scrambling to re-impose pandemic curbs amid alarm at rising cases of the delta variant, a highly contagious coronavirus strain first detected in India. 
  
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta were among the first countries to start reopening earlier this year but now they are tightening entry restrictions on vacationers who have not received both jabs of the most used vaccines — Pfizer and AstraZeneca.  
 
France and Germany are cautioning citizens against vacationing in Spain and Portugal. And Germany has added Cyprus to its list of “countries of concern” — unvaccinated Germans who do visit the island will have to self-isolate on their return home. 
  
The piecemeal moves by national governments mirrors what unfolded last year when national governments shunned pleas from Brussels to act collectively and tested the Schengen arrangement of freedom of movement.  
 
Abruptly announced restrictions are also adding to the woes to the continent’s airline, tourist and hospitality industries. They had been harboring hopes of a strong business rebound the next couple of months, enough to start repairing the severe economic damage the pandemic has inflicted on them.  People walk at Carcavelos beach in Cascais, Portugal, July 8, 2021.They fear a patchwork of constantly changing restrictions, dampening demand, spelling doom for many tour operators and hotels that have managed to hang on and stay in business. But the national governments’ re-imposing entry rules are unrepentant about the tightening not long after deciding to relax measures and encourage travel. 
  
“We all want to go on holidays but health protection is fundamental,” French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a news conference in Madrid Friday.FILE – People swim and enjoy a sunny day at ‘Les Cigales’ beach in Port-Grimaud, with Saint-Tropez in the background, southern France on July 10, 2021.French officials, like their counterparts in neighboring countries, fear a delta wave even though coronavirus numbers currently across much of the continent are low, dreading a massive jump in numbers much as Britain has experienced the past few weeks. Rising infection rates “This variant is dangerous and quick and wherever it is present, it can ruin the summer,” Gabriel Attal, a French government spokesman, told reporters Friday. Infections in Paris have almost doubled in a week.   FILE – People sit after they received a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as the country extends vaccination to curb surge among population under 30, in Madrid, Spain, July 12, 2021.The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has issued a string of warnings, saying the Delta variant is 60% more transmissible than other variants.  “Based on available scientific evidence, the Delta variant is more transmissible than other circulating variants, and we estimate that by the end of August, it will represent 90% of all SARS-CoV-2 viruses circulating in the European Union,” ECDC’s Director Andrea Ammon said in a statement recently. 
  Restaurant staff checks a digital vaccination certificate at the entrance, on the day that Portugal’s government imposed stricter rules in an attempt to bring under control a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Porto, Portugal, July 10, 2021.The fear is that the delta variant could quickly spread among the unvaccinated. According to ECDC around 40% of adult populations in EU countries have not been fully immunized.  According to national health authorities, the delta variant already accounts for more than half of new cases in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. 
  
Italian health authorities have reported a slight increase in new confirmed cases. Italy’s health ministry reckons the delta variant accounts for around a third of the new cases. “After 15 consecutive weeks of descent, there is an increase of 5% in new cases compared to the previous week,” according to Dr. Nino Cartabellotta of the Fondazione GIMBE, an independent medical think tank.  
 
Writing in a monitoring report issued Friday, Cartabellotta stressed, though, that the amount of testing being conducted is “too low,” leading, he suspects, to an “underestimation of new cases”. The health ministry reported 1,390 new coronavirus cases Friday.  
 
Brussels and the ECDC are urging national governments to spend up their vaccination programs.On Saturday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had delivered enough coronavirus vaccines to cover 70% of the bloc’s adult population. But she said that with Delta now accounting for over 40% of new cases in France, 70% in Portugal, and more than 30% in Spain, there is no room for complacency.  
 
“COVID-19 is not yet defeated. But we are prepared to continue supplying vaccines,” Von der Leyen said in a video statement. 
  
Last week, Lithuania announced the reintroduction of restrictions for arrivals from overseas. Arrivals from countries deemed “high risk,” EU or otherwise, will now have to follow stringent testing and quarantine procedures. Slovakia is also tightening entry rules, not based on the coronavirus risk of countries but on whether travelers have been vaccinated or not. 
  
Belgium plans this week to announce new measures for arrivals from Portugal, involving testing ten-day quarantines for the unvaccinated.  
 
Aside from Portugal, north European alarm is increasingly focused on Spain, among the first countries in Europe to reopen to tourists earlier this year. The country’s 14-day case rate has soared to 215 cases per 100,000 people. In response, authorities in the north-east region of Catalonia ordered nightclubs and discos to close again, weeks after allowing them to resume business. 
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Italians celebrated the European Championship soccer title as a new beginning not only for their youthful national team but for a country that’s been yearning to return to normalcy after being hit hard and long by the coronavirus pandemic. A cacophony of honking cars, fireworks and singing fans filled the night in Rome as thousands of people took to the streets after Italy beat England in a penalty shootout Sunday to win its first major soccer trophy since the 2006 World Cup. “We are coming out of a difficult year and a half which has left us exhausted, like other countries in the world,” said Fabrizio Galliano, a 29-year-old from Naples who watched the match on a big screen in downtown Rome. “This means so much. Sports is one of the things that unites us, among all the things that separate us. But to finally be able to feel that joy that we’ve been missing, it goes beyond sports.” Many Italians saw the European Championship as a relaunch for a country that spent much of the past 16 months in various stages of lockdown. Italy was the first country outside Asia to get hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and suffered immensely, particularly in the spring of 2020 when hospitals in northern Italy were overwhelmed with patients and the death toll soared. Italy has recorded more than 127,000 COVID deaths, the highest in the 27-nation European Union.Italian fans celebrate in central London, in the early hours of July 12, 2021, after Italy won the Euro 2020 soccer championship final match between England and Italy played at Wembley Stadium.“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us who were one of the first countries hit. This is a signal of a new beginning,” said Michela Solfanelli, a 30-year-old event producer based in Milan. Most virus restrictions have been lifted since the spring and those that remain were largely ignored by the mass of Italy fans who danced in the streets of the capital chanting “we are champions of Europe.” David Bellomo, a 23-year-old from the southern city of Bari, pointed out that this was Italy’s second big victory this year, after Italian band Maneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest in May. “Thanks to Eurovision and thanks to this game and soccer we’ve managed to come back this year,” he said. “We almost got a triple,” he added, referring to Matteo Berrettini, the Italian tennis player who lost the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic earlier in the day. Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalty shootout on two big screens set up on Piazza del Popolo, an elliptical cobblestone square at the edge of Rome’s historic center. A deafening roar rose to the sky as Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saved England’s last penalty. Among the sea of blue Italy shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour outside Rome, to experience the final with the crowd in the piazza. “I am not Italian, but I can feel the emotions. I feel it, as if I were Italian,” said Falilou Ndao, 42. “We really love this country.” His 13-year-old son Yankho, an Italy fan and soccer player, was impressed by the team. “They showed courage. They never gave up, even when they were down by a goal,” he said. “It is so well-deserved. They have been playing great the entire tournament. Go Italy!” Though people are still required to wear masks in crowded situations, police made no attempts to intervene as throngs of barefaced fans poured of out the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as fans cruised through the city waving Italian flags from their cars. Dr. Annamaria Altomare, a 39-year-old gastroenterologist, watched the spectacle with a friend from a safe distance. They were among the few wearing masks. “We want to avoid the delta variant in this mess,” she said, laughing. 
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Several thousand people protested Sunday evening in front of the Georgian parliament, demanding that the ex-Soviet nation’s prime minister resign over the death of a journalist who was attacked and beaten by anti-LGBT protesters.  Cameraman Alexander Lashkarava was found dead in his home by his mother earlier Sunday, according to the TV Pirveli channel he worked for. Lashkarava was one of several dozen journalists attacked last Monday by opponents of an LGBT march that had been scheduled to take place that day in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.Organizers of the Tbilisi March for Dignity canceled the event, saying authorities had not provided adequate security guarantees. Opponents of the march blocked off the capital’s main avenue, denounced journalists covering the protest as pro-LGBT propagandists and threw sticks and bottles at them.  Lashkarava, according to his colleague Miranda Baghaturia, was beaten by a mob of 20 people. Local TV channels later showed him with bruises on his face and blood on the floor around him. Media reports say he sustained multiple injuries and had to undergo surgery but was discharged Thursday from a hospital.  The cause of his death was not immediately clear.  Police launched an investigation into Lashkarava’s death, which Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and President Salome Zurabishvili both described as a tragedy.  Animosity against sexual minorities is strong in the conservative Black Sea nation of Georgia.  The Tbilisi Pride group said Monday that opponents of the planned march were supported by the government and by the Georgian Orthodox Church. The Open Caucasus Media group published a photo of a man it said was a local TV journalist being pulled away from the scene in a headlock by an Orthodox priest.Zurabishvili condemned the violence, but Garibashvili alleged the march was organized by “radical opposition” forces that he said were led by exiled former President Mikheil Saakashvili.  A large crowd of protesters that gathered in Tbilisi on Sunday demanded that authorities punish those responsible for the attack on journalists and urged Garibashvili to step down. Some protesters blamed the prime minister for enabling the violence by publicly denouncing the LGBT march. 
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Italian soccer’s redemption story is complete. England’s painful half-century wait for a major title goes on.And it just had to be because of a penalty shootout.Italy won the European Championship for the second time by beating England 3-2 on penalties on Sunday. The match finished 1-1 after extra time.Gianluigi Donnarumma dived to his left and saved the decisive spot kick by Bukayo Saka, England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout in front of its own fans at Wembley Stadium.It was less than four years ago that the Italians plunged to the lowest moment of their soccer history by failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades. Now, they are the best team in Europe and on a national-record 34-match unbeaten run under Roberto Mancini, their suave coach.England was playing in its first major final in 55 years. It’s the latest heartache in shootouts at major tournaments, after defeats in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012.  England went ahead in the second minute when Luke Shaw scored the fastest goal in a European Championship final. Leonardo Bonucci equalized in the 67th.Saka, a 19-year-old Londoner, was embraced by several England players after his miss. England coach Gareth Southgate hugged Jadon Sancho, who missed the previous England penalty, while Marcus Rashford — the other one to miss — walked off down the tunnel.Sancho and Rashford had been brought on in the final minute of extra time, seemingly as specialist penalty takers.Donnarumma was in tears as he was embraced by his teammates as they sprinted toward him from the halfway line, where they watched the second penalty shootout in a European Championship final.They then headed to the other end of the field and ran as one, diving to the ground in front of their own fans.It was Italy’s second continental title after 1968, to add to the country’s four World Cups.That the match went to extra time — like three of the six European finals before it — was not unexpected, given both semifinals also went the distance and the defensive solidity of both the teams.In fact, Italy’s famously robust defense was only really opened up once in the entire 90 minutes and that resulted in Shaw’s goal, a half-volley that went in off the near post from Kieran Trippier’s cross.It was Shaw’s first goal for England, and it prompted a fist-pump between David Beckham and Tom Cruise in the VIP box amid an explosion of joy around Wembley.The fact that it was set up by Trippier, a full back recalled to the team as part of a change of system to a 3-4-3 for the final, would have brought extra satisfaction to Southgate.England barely saw the ball for the rest of the game.Italy’s midfielders dominated possession, started playing their pretty passing routines, and England resorted to getting nine or even all 10 outfield players behind the ball. It was reminiscent of the 2018 World Cup semifinals, when England also scored early against Croatia then spent most of the game chasing its opponent’s midfield.Initially, the Italians could only muster long-range efforts, but the equalizer arrived from much closer in.A right-wing corner was flicked on at the near post, Marco Verratti had a stooping header tipped onto the post by Pickford, and Bonucci put the ball in from close range.Still, England managed to hold on for extra time and actually had the better of the final stages.Just not the shootout, again.
 
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 Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has won his record-tying 20th Grand Slam title, defeating Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-7,6-4,6-4,6-3 in the men’s Wimbledon final Sunday. With the win, the top-ranked Djokovic joins his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 major championships.   Sunday’s win was Djovovic’s sixth Wimbledon title overall and his third straight championship on Centre Court. Djovovic was serving for the first set Sunday with a 5-2 lead before the 7th seeded Berrettini stormed back to win a tiebreaker.  After that, Djokovic was able to fend of his Italian opponent and his big serve and win the last three sets. In the women’s draw, Ashley Barty of Australia won the championship by defeating Karolina Pliskova in a three-set thriller on Saturday, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. 
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The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is condemning pervasive arbitrary detention and torture by both government and Russian-backed separatists in the seven-year eastern Ukraine conflict.  The condemnation comes in a report submitted Friday to the U.N. Human Rights Council.The analysis by the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine finds around 4,000 of those detained have been subjected to torture or ill-treatment in both government and rebel-controlled territories over the past seven years.  The analysis is based on over 1,300 conflict-related cases since the war in the breakaway eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk began in 2014.   Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif says the prevalence of the torture and ill-treatment was highest at the initial stages of the conflict and has since decreased.   “In government-controlled territory, in the early stages of the conflict, cases of arbitrary detention included enforced disappearances, detentions without court warrants, and confinement in unofficial places of detention, often secret and incommunicado. … In armed group-controlled territory, detention during the initial stages of the conflict lacked any semblance of legal process and often amounted to enforced disappearance,” she said.     The report says cases of arbitrary detention in government-controlled territory continues to this day but have substantially decreased.  On the other hand, Al-Nashif notes these practices persist to a high degree in the eastern separatist areas. “We are gravely concerned that egregious violations of torture and ill-treatment documented in the ‘Izoliatsiia’ facility in Donetsk, as well as in other places of detention in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed republics, continue on a daily basis, and are carried out systematically.  These violations must stop,” she said.     Al-Nashif is calling for independent monitors to be allowed access to places of detention and for perpetrators of human rights violations on both sides of the contact line to be held accountable. 
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Pope Francis on Sunday made his first public appearance since major intestinal surgery last week, greeting well-wishers as he stood for 10 minutes on a hospital balcony, offering hearty thanks for all the prayers for his recovery and calling health care for all a “precious” good. Francis, 84, has been steadily on the mend, according to the Vatican, following his July 4 scheduled surgery to remove a portion of his colon which had narrowed due to inflammation. But it hasn’t said just when he might be discharged. On the morning after his surgery, a Holy See spokesperson said his hospital stay was expected to last seven days, “barring complications.”  At first the pontiff’s voice sounded on the weak side as he began his remarks after stepping onto a balcony outside his special suite at Gemelli Polyclinic at noon (1000 GMT; 6 a.m. EST).  That is the hour when traditionally he would have appeared from a window at the Vatican overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Exactly a week earlier, in his noon remarks he had given no hint that in a few hours he would have entered the hospital for surgery that same night. “I am happy to be able to keep the Sunday appointment,” this time at the hospital, the pope said. “I thank everyone. I very much felt your closeness and the support of your prayers,” Francis said. “Thank you from my heart!” exclaimed the pontiff.  Standing on the balcony with him were some children who are also hospitalized at the polyclinic, a major Catholic teaching hospital on the outskirts of Rome. The crowd below clapped often, in encouragement.  Reading from prepared remarks, he kept one or both hands on a lectern for support, including when he raised an arm in blessing. Francis described his hospitalization as an opportunity to understand “how important a good health service is, accessible to all, as it is in Italy and other countries.”  Although he stayed at a nonpublic hospital, Italy has a national public health service, and residents can often receive treatment at private hospitals, with the costs reimbursed by the government. “We mustn’t lose this precious thing,” the pope said, adding his appreciation and encouragement for all the health care workers and personnel at hospitals.  As he usually does on Sundays, Francis spoke of current events and of issues close to his heart. In his balcony remarks, he reiterated his closeness to Haiti’s people, as he recalled the assassination last week of its president and the wounding of the first lady. Francis prayed that the people of Haiti could “start going down a path of peace and of harmony.” The world’s environmental fragility has been a major theme of his papacy since it began in 2013. On Sunday, as countless people vacation at the shore, Francis urged them to look after “the health of seas and oceans.” “No plastic in the sea!” the pope pleaded. Without citing specific issues, he also voiced hope that “Europe may be united in its founding values,” a possible reference to tensions between the European Union leaders and member Hungary over LGBTQ rights crackdowns. Francis noted that Sunday marked the feast of St. Benedict, patron saint of the continent.  Francis ended with his usual invitation to faithful.  “Don’t forget to pray for me,” drawing rousing applause.  
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