In Rome, cars with odd-numbered plates have been banned for nine hours on Monday. Authorities in Milan, as well as Rome and Turin, are encouraging people to use public transport by making a single ticket valid for an entire day.
Advertisement
Israeli soldiers wounded in stabbing attacks, 2 Palestinian assailants killed
Israel says 88 of them were attacking or attempting to attack Israelis while the rest died in clashes with Israeli troops. Two Palestinians were killed after allegedly stabbing an Israeli soldier, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
According to the BBC, police will be checking restaurants and bakeries in the 5,000-person town to enforce the ban and levy fines on those who violate it. The people affected by the ban, predictably, find it ridiculous (Italian).
Christmas security warning cautions Westerners in Beijing
In August, a lone attacker fatally stabbed a Chinese woman there and injured a French man in the stabbing as well. Police commonly issue a yellow alert during holiday periods.
According to experts, the unusually calm and dry weather has resulted in pollution is not being effectively dispersed.
Manchester City & PSG target undecided on future, says agent
Pep Guardiola was massively linked to Manchester City but it seems that the French club will also join the race for Pep. Everything remains a possibility, including a sabbatical year”.
Pollution levels in Italy’s business capital have exceeded levels considered healthy for more than 30 days straight, prompting officials to ban private cars from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday this week.
“In these days of major emergency, we can not remain indifferent”, he said in a statement (in Italian).
The current ban, is not the first time authorities have tried to curb traffic, with a ban first being tried out in Milan in 2007 and the country being named Europe’s most polluted city in 2008.
The decision to introduce such a restriction was taken following the lack of rainfall that has recently led to increased pollution levels.
The mayor of San Vitaliano, a town outside of Naples, issued an edict (PDF, Italian) last week banning the use of wood-fired ovens in restaurants for the next three months.
Under the edict, the stoves need to be fitted with special pollution filters before they are allowed back into action.
Advertisement
The restrictions in Beijing mean cars can only be driven on alternate days, depending on whether their number plates end in an odd or even number.
