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Local authorities in various parts of the UK are opting to remove punctuation marks from roadsigns so as to remove confusion. The move comes in the wake of numerous complaints from concerned members of the public that roadsigns contain incorrect grammar. The authorities in the UK's second largest city, Birmingham, have already taken steps to remove apostrophes from roadsigns because council staff spend too much time dealing with complaints over the correct use of punctuation on signs. The Apostrophe Protect

Local authorities in various parts of the UK are opting to remove punctuation marks from roadsigns so as to remove confusion. The move comes in the wake of numerous complaints from concerned members of the public that roadsigns contain incorrect grammar. The authorities in the UK's second largest city, Birmingham, have already taken steps to remove apostrophes from roadsigns because council staff spend too much time dealing with complaints over the correct use of punctuation on signs. The Apostrophe Protect

A group of rebels in Colombia made a serious error during an attempt to kill a senior member of the country's government. A unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) intended to mark the 45th anniversary of the group's formation by killing the politician. As part of the plan, 10 FARC members dressed themselves as policemen and sprayed two motorcycles in police colours. However the terrorists painted the words Policia back to front on the petrol tanks of the motorcycles. This was spotted and

A US TV channel is attempting to make car chases and action scenes containing exploding vehicles carbon neutral. Although carbon dioxide is emitted during the pursuit sequences or when vehicles are crashed and blown up, an offsetting process is being introduced. Concern for the environment has been placed as a high priority by the TV company. It is not clear whether the firm has also found a way to offset carbon or heat emissions from the large amounts of electricity consumed by lighting rigs.

The British Cement Association (BCA) has welcomes the agreement reached between the European Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, and the European Commission on the energy and climate change package. Dr Pal Chana, BCA chief executive, said: “Our biggest fear was that in the rush to get a deal under the French Presidency, industry would be left behind and critical sectors such as cement would be exposed to unfair international competition that simply moved manufacturing to non-carbon constrained c

UK car parking firm NCP has announced plans to pump pleasant aromas into many of its facilities in major cities including London, Birmingham, Leeds and Cardiff. The firm's research has highlighted that many of its customers find the smells often associated with car parks: exhaust fumes, urine and vomit, strangely off-putting. According to the research large numbers of customers seek alternative parking as a result. In a bid to tackle the issue and improve profitability, NCP intends to pump more pleasant sme

The Swedish Road Administration (Vägverket) says preliminary figures that point to a lower level of road fatalities in Sweden in 2008. The data suggests accident levels could be at the lowest level since the 1930s. About 400 people were killed on Swedish roads in 2008 until 18th December, compared with 457 during the same period 2007. Some six fatalities were reported to the Administration during the Christmas period ending 26th December, compared with an average 10. The main reason for the lower fatality r

Work is in hand for a new Formula 1 racetrack in Moscow. The facility will be built by Strategiya and will be located close to Volokolamsk. The facility will be designed to hold up to 100,000 spectators. Parking for 10,000 cars will be built although this could be increased if required. Contractor Avtoban will build the track itself while Stroytekh will construct buildings and structures and Siemens/PKE will equip the track with the necessary electronic. The project is costing some US$151 million.

Spain’s General Traffic Office (DGT) reported a 20.4% drop in the number of deaths in traffic accidents during 2008. The number of people killed on the country’s roads fell to 2,180 in 2008 compared with 2,471 in 2007. On average around six people/day die on Spain’s roads and the government is keen to continue with its measures to reduce this figure further. Actions taken so far include the introduction of a new driving licence points system, more speed cameras, awareness campaigns and an increased police p

The Inzhtransstroj Building Corporation is reported as having delivered three modernised routes for regular use in Russia: two sections of the M-9 federal carriageway in Tversk district, a section of the Amur federal express line (from Chita to Khabarovsk) and the Kirov-Kotlas-Arkhangelsk route. The corporation’s contract portfolio contains around 20 road construction projects valued at E1.3 billion. In addition to construction of the Amur route, the company is currently working in Tversk, Lipec, Moscow and