Briana Mariah, founder of We Speak model agency, believes models should reflect the world, and her agency finds and promotes a unique and diverse group of people. Karina Bafradzhian reports from Washington D.C.Camera: David Gogokhia
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Roger Federer may have seen his dreams of Olympic gold dashed this week, but he can celebrate that t-shirts, racquets, and shoes from his trophy-laden tennis career proved a treasure trove at auction. The sports legend saw every single item that went under the hammer at a two-phased Christie’s auction sold, raking in $4.7 million.   The combined proceeds from an online and a live auction — over three times more than his 1-million target — will go to the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports educational projects in southern Africa and his native Switzerland. “I am overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the support from around the world,” Federer said in a statement. The auction of items the 20-time Grand Slam winner’s career happened in two phases.   A live sale on June 23 in London focused on Federer’s career at the four Grand Slams: Wimbledon and the Australian, French and US Opens. The subsequent online sale from June 23 to July 14 featured 300 lots from other tournaments spanning 21 years — dating back to his first Olympics appearance at the Sydney 2000 Games, aged just 19.   The items sold online found buyers from 44 countries and across six continents, Christie’s said.  The highlight of the online sale was a set of three rackets used at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, which sold for $224,898 — more than 23 times above their estimate of nearly $10,000-$14,000. “The prices achieved have been unbelievable,” Federer said.   “We started collecting items which accompanied me on court because we thought that perhaps one day, we could do something meaningful with them,” he said.   He said he and his wife, Mirka, were “humbled to see that the decision we made will make a profound difference to so many children.” The Roger Federer collection was the most important single-owner collection of sporting memorabilia ever to come to market, a Christie’s representative told AFP prior to the auction.  Federer, who turns 40 on August 8, had been hoping to secure his first Olympic singles gold medal at the upcoming Tokyo Games, but announced Tuesday he had withdrawn after a “setback” in his recovery from a knee injury. 
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Singer Britney Spears on Wednesday won the right to choose her own lawyer to help her end a 13-year-long conservatorship and tearfully pleaded for the court to oust her father immediately from the role of controlling her business affairs.Her father, Jamie Spears, has been a major figure in the conservatorship since he set it up in 2008 when his daughter had a mental health breakdown. He is currently the sole person in charge of her $60 million estate.”You’re allowing my dad to ruin my life,” Spears told the Los Angeles judge by phone. “I have to get rid of my dad and charge him with conservatorship abuse,” she added.Speaking for about 10 minutes on Wednesday, Spears, 39, said she had always been “extremely scared of my dad.”She said she was fed up with multiple psychological evaluations in the last 13 years and wanted the conservatorship brought to an end without another one.“I’m not a perfect person … but their goal is to make me feel like I’m crazy,” Spears said. Details of Spears’ mental health issues have never publicly been disclosed.Last month, she called the legal arrangement abusive and stupid in a 20-minute public address.Los Angeles Superior Court judge Brenda Penny on Wednesday approved former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart to represent Spears going forward. The singer’s court-appointed attorney stepped down last week.Rosengart, who has previously represented Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Steven Spielberg, said his goal was to end the conservatorship.“Does anybody really believe Mr. Spears’ continued involvement is in the best interest of Britney Spears?” Rosengart said. “If he loves his daughter, it is time to step aside.”Rosengart’s first job is likely to be filing a formal document asking for the conservatorship to be terminated.In June, the pop star complained of being prevented from marrying or having more children, and said she was compelled to take medication against her will.Jamie Spears’ attorney on Wednesday said that many of the singer’s complaints were not valid.“I’m not sure Ms. Spears understands she can in fact make medical decisions and can have birth control devices implanted or not,” attorney Vivian Thoreen said.Thoreen said Spears believes her father “is responsible for every bad thing that happened to her and that is the farthest from the truth.”Outside the courthouse, dozens of fans held a rally, chanting “Free Britney” and calling for the conservatorship to end. A smaller rally took place near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.”If you look at her, she looks tired. She just wants her life back and I understand that completely,” said fan Christina Goswick.Penny made no decisions on requests for 24/7 security following death threats against those involved in the conservatorship.Jodi Montgomery, who is tasked with the pop star’s personal care, Jamie Spears, Ingham and the singer’s sister Jamie Lynn Spears have all received threatening calls and messages that have escalated since the pop star’s address to the judge on June 23, according to court documents.The next hearing in the case was set for Sept. 29.  
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed Wednesday to enact measures to protect British professional soccer players from online abuse. Punishment for someone found guilty of such abuse could include banishment from games. The move comes after online abuse, some of it racist, was directed at three Black players for the English national team who missed their penalty shots in the Euro 2020 final shootout on Sunday, leading to an Italian win. According to the Guardian newspaper, an analysis of 585,000 social media posts directed at the English team during the entire Euro 2020 tournament found that 44 messages were explicitly racist. More than 2,000 were “abusive.” “I do think that racism is a problem in the United Kingdom, and I believe it needs to be tackled. And it needs to be stamped out with some of the means that I’ve described this morning,” Johnson told Parliament as he announced his plan. “I repeat that I utterly condemn and abhor the racist outpourings that we saw on Sunday night. And so, what we’re doing today is taking practical steps to ensure that the football banning order regime is changed, so that if you are guilty of racist abuse online of footballers, then you will not be going to the match — no ifs, no buts, no exemptions and no excuses,” he added. But it’s unclear how much of the online abuse actually comes from the U.K. The Daily Mail reported that the Premier League, the top division of professional soccer in England, found that roughly 70% of online abuse directed at British professional soccer players comes from outside the U.K. According to Yahoo News, the Greater Manchester Police said they had arrested a man Wednesday for social media posts directed at players for England’s national team. Johnson added that in addition to going after internet trolls, his government would potentially fine social media companies if they failed to quickly remove offensive content. “Last night, I met representatives of Facebook, of Twitter, of TikTok, of Snapchat, of Instagram, and I made it absolutely clear to them that we will legislate to address this problem in the Online Harms Bill. And unless they get hate and racism off their platforms, they will face fines amounting to 10% of their global revenues,” Johnson said. Some information in this report comes from Reuters. 
 
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In less than two weeks, Courtney Frerichs will face off in Tokyo against some of the world’s fastest runners. But like every elite athlete preparing for the Summer Olympics, her focus is not only on preparing to compete. Frerichs, a middle-distance runner from the United States, is also using the final days of her training to make sure she complies with the elaborate set of rules meant to ensure the Tokyo Games don’t become a COVID-19 superspreader event.  “It’s a lot,” Frerichs told VOA in a recent phone call between training sessions in Portland, Oregon. “We’ve just been trying to review the protocols and everything to make sure that we’re checking all of our boxes and getting all the stuff done, just prior to arriving in Japan.” Frerichs, who is competing in the steeplechase event in Tokyo, is quick to point out that she understands why the rules are necessary. “But it certainly adds another level of stress to everything,” she said, laughing. “Like the Olympics wasn’t enough.” Athletes like Frerichs shrug off the suggestion that COVID-19 regulations, along with other precautions such as the absence of cheering fans, will hurt their performance. But one thing is certain: this Olympics will feel different than any other.  Do’s and don’ts The official rules for athletes are laid out in a 70-page “Playbook,” which basically reads like a gigantic bummer.  “You should eat alone as much as possible,” warns one A monorail runs between buildings ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, in Tokyo. The state of emergency will be in effect throughout the entire duration of the Olympics, which open on July 23.For athletes and officials, the planning must begin long before the Olympics. Certain rules, such as social distancing and regular health checks, apply for 14 days before they arrive in Tokyo. Athletes also must submit a detailed “activity plan,” explaining where they will be at every moment of every day.  Once an athlete’s competitions are complete, they are required to leave Japan within 48 hours.  “We come in, we have a job to do, and then we leave. I literally depart the next day,” Frerichs said. The ‘No Fun Olympics?’ Given the restrictions, and the fact the Games are being staged amid a global pandemic, some news outlets have labeled it the “no fun” or “cursed” Olympics.  “‘No Fun Olympics’ will be right,” predicts Jack Tarrant, a Tokyo-based freelance journalist. Two weeks before the Games, Tarrant says he’s witnessed “almost no enthusiasm at all” in Tokyo.  “There’s very little visually you see on the street, any sort of banners or welcoming signs for foreign visitors or athletes,” Tarrant told VOA. “It’s … very different from any other Olympics experience I’ve had.” Opinion polls for months have suggested most Japanese oppose holding the Games, which were delayed a year because of the pandemic. Concerns were heightened after a recent surge in COVID-19 infections, prompting a state of emergency in Tokyo.  As a result, Tokyo will host no public viewing areas for the Games. The capital will see no torch relay and will request that bars and restaurants refrain from serving alcohol.  That’s a sharp contrast from other Olympics, where celebration is a main component — even for athletes, notes Tarrant.  “There won’t be the usual time to unwind with the other athletes and have a well-deserved celebration after four, or in this case five, years of preparation,” he said.  There will perhaps be fewer chances for other types of recreation, too, organizers hope. At every Olympics since 1988, athletes have received condoms, in a tradition that began as an effort to prevent the spread of HIV. At this year’s Games, athletes will only receive condoms upon leaving the Olympic Village.  Business, not pleasure But David Gerrard, a former Olympic swimmer from New Zealand, tells VOA that the athletes’ focus will be on competition.  “Anybody who thinks these are going to be the ‘boring Olympics’ really has got the wrong idea of what the Olympics is all about,” said Gerrard, who will be working as a COVID-19 liaison officer in Tokyo.  “They’re not a meeting of people who want to sight-see or shop. They are an accumulation of the world’s best athletes who are there to do one thing and that’s to perform to the best of their ability,” Gerrard said.  Gerrard should know. He first competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. This will be the 11th Summer Olympics at which he has competed or attended. “Things will be very, very different” this year, he concedes. “But like the athletes, I’m not there for a holiday.”  Athlete performance But will the rules, and specifically the empty stadiums, mean athletes will lack the motivation needed to fuel spectacular performances? “Crowds are always a factor, no doubt,” Gerrard said. But crowds or not, athletes “will not underestimate the fact that they are at the Olympic Games competing against the world’s best, and I think they’ll focus accordingly,” he predicted. Another factor: a year and a half into the pandemic, athletes are now more accustomed to performing without fans and dealing with other COVID-19 precautions.  “There is certainly going to be a missing element,” said Frerichs, who feels the crowd was a factor in what she views as the best races of her career.  The challenge in Tokyo, she says, will be largely mental — “just trying to remember all the training days when it was just you and coach out there, and you got the job done,” she added.  Frerichs says in some ways she’s approaching the Games like a business trip.  “Which is definitely not how I envisioned it,” she said. “But that’s OK. I always revert back to just being grateful this is happening at all.”  
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“The Crown” tied with “The Mandalorian” for the most Emmy nominations Tuesday with 24 apiece, but the Marvel universe also got bragging rights with runner-up “WandaVision.”
The nominations reinforced the rapid rise of streaming, with the top-nominated scripted shows on services that largely emerged in the past two years. In the top three categories — drama, comedy and limited series — only the NBC show “This Is Us” snagged a nomination.
Netflix’s “The Crown” received its fourth nomination for best series, and is likely the streaming service’s best chance to win its first-ever top series trophy. The British royal drama moved closer to contemporary events with its version of the courtship and rocky marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, played by Josh O’Connor and Emma Corrin.
“These nominations represent the work done in television through the most challenging year I can think of,” TV academy chief executive Frank Scherma said before the first nominees were announced. “While many of us in our medium worked remotely throughout the last 18 months, I have to say it feels so good to be getting back on a set. Making great television is a collaborative group effort where the sum equals more than the parts, and I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it.”
The nominees for best drama series are: “The Boys”; “Bridgerton”; “The Crown”; “The Handmaid’s Tale”; “Lovecraft Country”; “The Mandalorian”; “Pose”; “This Is Us.”
The nominees for best comedy series are: “black-ish”; “Cobra Kai”; “Emily in Paris”; “The Flight Attendant”; “Hacks”; “The Kominsky Method”; “PEN15”; “Ted Lasso.”  
The nominees for best miniseries are: “The Queen’s Gambit”; “I May Destroy You”; “Mare of Easttown”; “The Underground Railroad”; “WandaVision.”
The nominees for best actress in a comedy series are: Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”; Jean Smart, “Hacks”; Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”; Tracee Ellis Ross, “black-ish”; Allison Janney, “Mom.”
The nominees for best actor in a comedy series are: Anthony Anderson, “black-ish”; Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”; William H. Macy, “Shameless”; Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”; Kenan Thompson, “Kenan.”  
The nominees for best actress in a drama series are: Emma Corrin, “The Crown”; Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”; Olivia Colman, “The Crown”; Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”; Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country.”
The nominees for best actor in a drama series are: Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”; Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”; Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”; Regé-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”; Billy Porter, “Pose”; Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason.”
The nominees for outstanding variety talk series are: “Conan”; “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”; “Jimmy Kimmel Live”; “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”; “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Scherma and father-and-daughter actors Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”) and Jasmine Cephas Jones (“Blindspotting”) announced the nominees.  
The Sept. 10 ceremony, which last year was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, will air live on CBS from a theater and include a limited in-person audience of nominees and guests. Cedric the Entertainer is the host.
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The White House announced Tuesday that first lady Jill Biden will lead the official U.S. delegation at the Tokyo Olympics on July 23 without her husband, U.S. President Joe Biden.
News of her trip comes days after Tokyo officials, upon consultation with Olympic officials, decided to hold the Olympic games without fans, after recent surges in COVID-19 cases prompted the Japanese government to declare a state of emergency in Tokyo and the surrounding area.
 
White House Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a recent briefing that a White House advance team had been sent to Tokyo to assess the feasibility of Jill Biden’s visit. Last week, she said that despite the increase in coronavirus cases, the president still supports U.S. athletes traveling there for the competition.
 
The trip will be the first lady’s first solo international trip since her husband took office. She previously accompanied the president on his trip to Britain for the G-7 leaders’ summit and has kept a busy domestic travel schedule in recent months as part of the administration’s efforts to encourage vaccinations. 
Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press and Reuters news services.
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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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A new and unique park opened in New York City in late May and since then it has become a city gem and tourist magnet.  For VOA, Evgeny Maslov reports from “Little Island” in New York City. Anna Rice narrates.
Camera: Vladimir Badikov, Vladimir Tolkachev 
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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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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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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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Europe’s soccer champions returned home at dawn Monday to the ecstatic cheers of Italians who spent the better part of the night honking horns, setting off fireworks and violating all sorts of coronavirus precautions to celebrate their team’s 3-2 penalty shootout win over England at Wembley.  
Captain Giorgio Chiellini, his fist pumping the air, and coach Roberto Mancini hoisted the trophy high over their heads as they descended from their Alitalia charter flight at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport. Amid cheers from airport workers, defender Leonardo Spinazzola hopped down the steps on one foot, his other one in a cast after he injured his Achilles tendon earlier in the tournament.
“Grazie Azzurri,” read a banner on the tarmac — a sentiment felt across the country after Italy took home its first major trophy since the 2006 World Cup.  
The national team was being feted officially by President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Mario Draghi later Monday, joined by tennis player Matteo Berrettini, who had given Italians another reason for pride Sunday by reaching the Wimbledon singles final. Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic, but he joined Mattarella at Wembley Stadium to watch the Azzurri finish 1-1 after extra-time Sunday and then win on penalties.
For Italians, the championship was a new beginning for their youthful national team and a country that’s been yearning to return to normality 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. As the sun rose Monday, the noise had died down but not the sentiment.
“It seems to me that this victory is so good for the national spirit after all that suffering for COVID,” said Daniela Righino, an Italian living in Uruguay who was back in Rome for the final. “Yesterday was an explosion of joy. I’m happy.”  
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 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.
“It’s been a complicated year for everyone but especially for us, 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 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 Berrettini.
Shoulder to shoulder, fans nervously watched the penalties 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 spot-kick.
Among the sea of blue shirts was an immigrant family from Senegal, who came from the town of Zagarolo, an hour from 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 young 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 fans poured out the piazza, singing the national anthem and lighting flares. Fireworks cracked overhead as supporters 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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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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Three Black players who missed penalty kicks for England in the decisive European Championship shootout against Italy on Sunday night were subjected to racist abuse online, prompting the English Football Association (FA) to issue a statement condemning the language used against the players. Bukayo Saka, at 19 one of the youngest players on the England squad, missed the penalty that gave the title to Italy and denied England its first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup. It was England’s third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shootout, with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho also missing. The FA said in a statement it was “appalled” by the abuse of the three players. The team had taken a knee before games at the Euros to signal its support for an end to racial inequality, and the young, multi-ethnic squad won the hearts of the soccer-mad country before the shootout failure brought out the all-too-familiar messages of hate. “We will do all we can to support the players affected while urging the toughest punishments possible for anyone responsible,” the FA statement said. “We will continue to do everything we can to stamp discrimination out of the game, but we implore government to act quickly and bring in the appropriate legislation so this abuse has real-life consequences.” London’s Metropolitan Police also said it was investigating “offensive and racist” messages on social media. Rashford, who plays for Manchester United, noted the racial abuse he received on social media in May after the team lost the Europa League final. England coach Gareth Southgate was criticized for his strategy of bringing in Rashford and Sancho off the bench to take penalties while star Raheem Sterling was sidelined in the shootout. “They were the best takers we had left on the pitch,” Southgate said. “We win and lose together.” 
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Olympic officials have barred spectators from the games amid spiking coronavirus cases in Japan.  Organizers have long said they will push forward with the Olympics, but experts say the highly transmissible delta variant should give them pause.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.Produced by: Arash Arabasadi  
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Argentina won their first major title in 28 years on Saturday and Lionel Messi finally won his first medal in a blue-and-white shirt when an Angel Di Maria goal gave them a 1-0 win over Brazil and a record-equaling 15th Copa America.   Di Maria, starting for just the second time in the Copa, justified his selection by scoring the opener midway through the first half.   Renan Lodi failed to cut out a long ball forward from Rodrigo De Paul and Di Maria lobbed the stranded Ederson with aplomb. Brazil piled on the pressure in an exciting second half but even with five strikers on the field they could not get an equalizer against an Argentine defense protected by the outstanding Rodrigo De Paul.   “First, we have to congratulate our opponents especially for the first half when they neutralized us,” Brazilian defender Thiago Silva said. “In the second half, there was no contest — only one team tried to play football, the other just wasted time as we knew they would. It’s not an excuse, we didn’t do what we had to, principally in the first half.” Argentina’s win was a particular triumph for Barcelona striker Messi, who picked up his first-ever title in a blue-and-white shirt after more than a decade of club and individual honors. The Argentine players surrounded their captain at the final whistle. Goalkeeper Emilian Martinez celebrated what he called a Maracanazo, a remarkable win at the famous Rio stadium.   “I’m speechless,” he said. “I knew my dream would come true, and where better than the Maracanazo and giving the title to the best in the world and fulfilling his dream.” Messi finished the tournament’s joint top goal scorer with four goals and was elected joint best player along with Neymar.   But he was quiet throughout the game at the Maracana stadium and uncharacteristically missed a golden opportunity to wrap the game up with 2 minutes remaining. When the final whistle went, Argentina TV declared “Argentina Champions, Lionel Messi Champion!”   The match itself was a disappointing one, with Argentina the better side in a cagey first half that featured 21 fouls. However, Brazil came out more aggressively in the second period and as the time ticked on, they threw more people forward — and at one point having five recognized strikers on the field.   Richarlison had a goal chalked off for offside 7 minutes into the second half and then forced Emiliano Martinez into a good stop 2 minutes later.   But as Brazil poured forward gaps opened up and Argentina missed two clear chances to score in the dying moments of the match. The victory was Argentina’s 15th Copa America triumph and means they draw level with Uruguay as the all-time leading winners. “This is a very big title,” Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said. “I hope that Argentines can enjoy it. The fans love the team unconditionally and I think they identify with this side that never drops its guard.”   Their win extended their sequence of undefeated matches to 20 under Scaloni and handed Brazil their first competitive defeat since they lost to Belgium in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup. 
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This is not how USA Basketball expected to open its Olympic summer. Nigeria probably didn’t expect it, either. If there was any expectation of invincibility for the Americans heading into the Tokyo Olympics, it’s already gone — after Nigeria shocked the U.S. 90-87 on Saturday night. Nigeria pulled off an international shocker with a roster primarily filled of little-known NBA players that found a way to beat a group of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract performers. “I thought that the Nigerian team played very physically, did a great job in that regard and knocked down a lot of 3s,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said. “Give them credit.” Gabe Nnamdi, who goes by Gabe Vincent when playing for the Miami Heat, led Nigeria with 21 points. Caleb Agada scored 17 points, Ike Nwamu added 13 and Nigeria outscored the U.S. 60-30 from 3-point range. Kevin Durant, who had never before played in a loss for USA Basketball in 39 senior international games, had 17 points. Jayson Tatum added 15, Damian Lillard had 14 and Bam Adebayo 11. “Just goes to show that we have to play better,” Tatum said. The Americans had gone 39-0 in their last three Olympic seasons — including pre-Olympic exhibitions — on their way to gold medals and had been 54-2 in major exhibitions since NBA players began playing for USA Basketball in 1992. Plus, they’d beaten Nigeria by a combined 127 points in their last two meetings, one at the 2012 London Games, the other a warm-up for the 2016 Rio Games. Nigeria lost to the U.S. at the 2012 Olympics by 83 points. Lost to the Americans again four years later in an exhibition, that time by 44 points.  Not this time. “Nigeria’s come a long way with their basketball,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said.Nigeria coach Mike Brown calls to the team during an exhibition basketball game against the United States on Saturday, July 10, 2021, in Las Vegas.Ike Iroegbu — a former Washington State player who spent some time in the G League — hit a 3-pointer with about 1:15 left to put Nigeria up 88-80. Durant scored the next seven points for the U.S.; a 3-pointer, two free throws following a turnover, then two more from the line with 16.5 seconds remaining. Nnamdi made two foul shots with 13.2 seconds left to restore Nigeria’s 3-point edge. The Americans ran 9.7 seconds off the clock on the ensuing possession without getting a shot off, and Zach LaVine missed a pair of free throws — the second intentionally — with 3.5 seconds left. Precious Achiuwa got the rebound for Nigeria, and that was it. It’s only an exhibition — but the upset was still of the massive variety, the 22nd-ranked nation by FIBA beating the No. 1-ranked team and three-time reigning Olympic gold medalists. Popovich heard the final buzzer and shook hands with Nigeria coach Mike Brown, the Golden State assistant, as the Americans walked off stunned. There was an injury scare for the Americans late in the second quarter, when LaVine got hurt on a play where he was closing out against Nnamdi. He went airborne after a head fake and came down awkwardly, grabbing at his left ankle before getting up and going directly to the U.S. locker room. LaVine was fine and returned in the third quarter. The bigger scare was the scoreboard. Nigeria trailed only 43-41 at the half, led for long stretches of the opening 20 minutes, and simply wasn’t going away.  
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Top-seeded Ashleigh Barty became the first Australian to win the Wimbledon women’s singles tennis title in 41 years on Saturday in London.Barty defeated the Czech Republic’s Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 to claim the title in the first three-setter in a Wimbledon final since 2012.It’s the second Grand Slam title for Barty, who won the French Open in 2019.”I didn’t sleep a lot last night. I was thinking of all the ‘what ifs,’ but when I came out on this court today I felt at home, in a way,” Barty said. “… And I think being able to share that with everyone here and share that with my team is incredible.”Barty, 25, became the first woman from Australia to win the Wimbledon final since seven-time major winner Evonne Goolagong Cawley did it in 1980. She’s also just the fourth player in the Open era to also have won the title as a junior (2011).It was also the 50th anniversary of Goolagong Cawley’s first Wimbledon title. “I hope I made Yvonne proud,” Barty said. Barty recorded seven aces and converted six of eight break opportunities in improving to 6-2 for her career against Pliskova, who is now 0-2 in Grand Slam finals (2016 U.S. Open).After splitting the first two sets, Barty opened up a 3-0 lead in the final set and then held on to serve out for the match in one hour, 55 minutes.”She played an incredible tournament and an incredible match today,” said an emotional Pliskova. “It wasn’t easy to close the second set. I was fighting very hard to make it difficult for her, but I think she played very well, so congrats to her and her team.”Hamburg European OpenElena Gabriela Ruse of Romania stunned top-seeded Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final in Germany.Ruse converted six of 15 break chances and was helped by Yastremska’s nine double faults.In the final, Ruse will face Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, who beat countrymate Jule Niemeier 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-5 in the other semifinal.
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A sealed cartridge of The Legend of Zelda for the old Nintendo NES console has sold for a world record sum of $870,000, auction house Heritage Auctions said in a statement Friday.The cartridge, dated to 1987, is still in its original packaging and trumps the previous world record sale of a video game — $660,000 for a 1986 Super Mario Bros cartridge sold in April — according to the auction house.The game was the “masterpiece” in a sale of 443 lots that runs until Sunday, Eric Bradley, spokesperson for the Dallas-based company, told AFP.The auction house has not revealed the identity of the buyer.Blending adventure, action and exploration in a magical universe, Zelda is one of the most significant titles in the history of video games and one of Nintendo’s best-known series.Retro video games have become increasingly popular with nostalgic collectors in recent years, driving up prices for old-school consoles and cartridges at auctions. 
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In less than two weeks, more than 11,000 of the world’s best athletes will descend on Tokyo to compete at the most unusual Olympic Games in decades. Athletes will compete in empty stadiums after Olympics organizers reversed course Thursday and barred spectators in response to a major coronavirus resurgence. The decision came after Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency in Tokyo, citing the rising rates of COVID-19. “Taking into consideration the impact of the delta strain, and in order to prevent the resurgence of infections from spreading across the country, we need to step up virus prevention measures,” Suga said.  Anti-Olympics protesters hold up signs and banner outside the event venue of the Tokyo 2020 Torch Relay, in Tokyo, Japan, July 9, 2021.The news that virtually no one would be allowed into the games was met with frustration from ticket holders and athletes but relief from many Japanese citizens, who have been protesting the games for months. A national survey conducted in May found that 83% of voters wanted to postpone or cancel the Olympics.Tennis player Nick Kyrgios announced his withdrawal from the games on Thursday via Twitter, citing the lack of fans and a leg injury. Ever since COVID-19 began to wreak havoc on the globe last year, the Toyko 2020 Olympic Games have been plagued by delays, mushrooming costs, health concerns and myriad other issues.  The official cost of the games is about $15.4 billion, but a government audit conducted last December estimated the real cost to be closer to $28 billion.  Roughly 7.8 million tickets were expected to be made available for the games, which would have brought in an estimated $800 million in revenue.  A woman walks past the Olympic rings lit up at dusk in the rain, on the Odaiba waterfront in Tokyo, July 9, 2021.Despite the rising costs and coronavirus concerns, more than 200 countries are still set to come together for peaceful competition from July 23 to August 8. According to entertainment data company Gracenote, the U.S. is expected to win the most medals overall by a wide margin.  “This would mark the seventh successive Summer Games during which the American team would have come out on top of the medal count competition,” Gracenote wrote.  China and Russia are predicted to place second and third in total medals, respectively. However, Russia isn’t officially competing as a country because of a two-year ban issued by the World Anti-Doping Agency for systematic doping of Russian athletes, a practice that is banned in international sports.  Instead, 335 Russian athletes will compete as neutral athletes under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” and are barred from using the Russian flag or national anthem.  Canada, Australia and North Korea have withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics entirely because of the pandemic.
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Hannah Kumari has been an English soccer fan since childhood, but she never wanted to fly an England flag. Until now.Kumari is one of millions of fans ecstatic that England’s men’s team has reached the final of a major tournament for the first time since it won the World Cup in 1966. But like many British people of color, she’s had an ambivalent relationship with symbols of Englishness.Yet embracing them has come more easily thanks to the young, multi-ethnic squad that is on the cusp of triumph in the European Championship. After beating Denmark 2-1 in a semifinal on Wednesday that was watched by half the country’s population, England faces Italy in the final at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.”When I woke up this morning I thought, ‘I’m going to buy a St. George’s flag to hang out the window for Sunday,'” Kumari, who was born and raised in England to an Indian mother and Scottish father, said the day after the Denmark game.”I’ve never owned an England shirt,” the actor-writer said.”Something has definitely changed,” she said. “I feel almost like that team has given me permission to feel like I can wear an England shirt.”England’s Raheem Sterling celebrates a goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship semifinal match between England and Denmark at Wembley stadium in London, July 7, 2021.Ready for hopeThe last few years have been hard on England and the rest of the United Kingdom. Britain’s exit from the European Union — a decision driven in part by a backlash against immigration — left the country scratchy and divided. More than 128,000 people have died in the U.K. during the coronavirus pandemic, the highest toll in Western Europe.Euro 2020 — the name is a year out of date thanks to the pandemic — has provided a much-needed jolt of excitement and fun. Millions weary of lockdowns and bad news are backing a team whose members speak out against racism, take a knee before games, support LGBT pride, campaign against poverty and, crucially, win games.For decades, supporting England has been synonymous with dashed hopes. The lyrics of the country’s most popular soccer anthem, “Three Lions,” originally released in 1996, evokes England’s 1966 triumph and the long drought that followed: “Thirty years of hurt, never stopped me dreaming.”Those 30 years have become 55, but once again England is dreaming.Very different squadThe country’s hopes rest on a team very different from the all-white squad of 1966. A poster created by the Museum of Migration showed what the England team would look like without the players who had a parent or grandparent born abroad: Just three of the 11 starting players remained. Missing were stars who included team captain Harry Kane, whose father is Irish; Marcus Rashford, whose mother is from Saint Kitts; Jamaica-born Raheem Sterling; and Buyako Saka, a Londoner with Nigerian parents.The team is known less for wild off-the-pitch antics than for social responsibility, epitomized by 23-year-old Rashford’s campaign against child poverty, which persuaded the government to restore free lunches for thousands of poor children.Last week, Kane, 27, wore a rainbow armband to support LGBT pride during England’s match against Germany.The players may be young multimillionaires, but they celebrate their local as well as international roots. Rashford’s childhood in a working-class Manchester community inspires his anti-poverty work; Kalvin Phillips is a proud son of the northern city of Leeds; Sterling calls himself the “boy from Brent,” after the London borough where he grew up.English flags fly from balconies near Wembley stadium in London, July 9, 2021.A shift in EnglishnessFor some, their success is helping to make Englishness a source of pride rather than awkwardness.The English make up 56 million of the U.K.’s 67 million inhabitants, but English patriotism and the country’s red-and-white St. George flag were long shunned by liberal-minded Britons, associated with football hooligans and narrow-minded “Little Englanders.” Britishness was regarded as a more welcoming identity by many U.K.-born and foreign-born citizens alike.England’s rugby, cricket and soccer teams have done much to strip the English flag of its negative associations in recent years. The increasing prominence of Scottish and Welsh flags and symbols as those countries gained more political autonomy over the last two decades has also made many people reflect on what English identity means.”There has been an enormous intergenerational shift towards a civic and inclusive English identity that crosses ethnic and faith grounds,” said Sunder Katwala, director of the equality think-tank British Future. “Most migrants to Britain haven’t identified as English, but interestingly, their children have.”Katwala said sports teams and tournaments don’t drive social change but “ratify that shift that has been happening in society.””When I was a teenager we associated football with all of the negative aspects of English identity: With violence, with racism, with hooliganism,” Katwala said.He said the modern, multicultural England team is part of a “culture shift” that has “changed the public conversation about what is English.”Some critics, some boosNot everyone thinks the national soccer team represents all that is best about England. Some conservative commentators have derided the players as uncomfortably “woke.” Team members have been booed by some fans while taking a knee against racism before games. Home Secretary Priti Patel has criticized the kneeling, calling it “gesture politics,” and declined to condemn the booing.Victory has silenced much of the criticism, at least temporarily. Politicians have jumped on the England bandwagon. Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has often criticized protests over racism and Britain’s imperial past, attended Wednesday’s game, awkwardly wearing an England jersey over his dress shirt. He’s under pressure to declare a national holiday if England wins the final on Sunday.Some have compared Britain’s political leaders unfavorably to the national team’s understated manager, Gareth Southgate, who forged his young players into England’s most cohesive squad in many years.England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates after the victory over Denmark on July 7, 2021.School of SouthgateIf the tournament has been therapeutic for England, it is also redemptive for the 50-year-old Southgate. He played for England in the 1990s, and his failed penalty kick during the Euros semi-final in 1996 handed victory to Germany.Opposition Labour Party lawmaker Thangam Debbonaire urged Johnson to study at “the Gareth Southgate school of leadership.””The British people will be asking themselves who they want to lead them. Do they want someone who works hard and has a relentless focus on embodying British values, or do they want the current prime minister?” Debbonaire said in the House of Commons.Southgate addressed the team’s critics in an open letter at the start of the tournament, saying his players would not “stick to football” and keep quiet about social issues.”I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players,” he wrote. “It’s clear to me that we are heading for a much more tolerant and understanding society, and I know our lads will be a big part of that.” 
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