Beijing opened two new subway lines on Sunday, delayed from a planned late-June start but just in time to carry passengers banned from their cars as the capital tries to clean up its skies before next month’s Olympics.

Passenger service has yet to start, however, on a third line that will serve the Olympic Green and was the site of an opening ceremony and test ride for the media on Sunday morning.

An official with the Beijing subway operating company said it was not clear when the line would begin regular service.

The three new lines, which cost 22.3 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) to build and are part of massive infrastructure plans to ease transport during the Games, will increase the city’s subway lines to eight and expand their reach by 40 percent to 200 km (125 miles).

Eager crowds rushed through the turnstyles when the airport line formally opened in the afternoon.

Inside subway cars on the Number 10 line, a commuter route, many watched clips of professional basketball games on video screens that are also due to carry live shots of the Olympics.

In addition to shuttling Olympic visitors around town, the new lines will boost transport options for Beijing’s residents, whose rising wealth has triggered a boom in car ownership and severely worsened the city’s chronic smog and traffic jams.

The Beijing authorities, eager to improve air quality before the Games start on August 8, will restrict vehicle use to alternate days for even and odd numbered licence plates starting yesterday.

This will require an additional 4 million people to rely on the public transport system, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

No problems mentioned

While the new lines’ maiden journeys went off with no apparent hitches, Zhou Zhengyu, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, sidestepped a question at a Thursday news conference about whether there would be enough time to iron out any kinks before the Games kick off.

Nor did he say if there had been any problems with construction that might have delayed the opening, originally due by late June.

Beijing has largely avoided the problems the last Olympic host, Athens, encountered with delayed infrastructure projects, and has won praise from the International Olympic Committee for finishing venue construction work either on time or ahead of schedule.

Reuters

Transport workers in Italy have gone on strike, forcing the cancellation of thousands of bus, tram and subway lines and snarling traffic across the country.

Railway workers have been on a 24-hour strike since 9 p.m. Sunday. Local transport workers went on strike at 8:30 a.m. in Rome and 15 minutes later in Milan.

The railway company says some commuter trains will continue running. Labor unions says service will be guaranteed during the morning and evening rush hours.

The unions called the strikes to put pressure on upcoming contract renewal talks.

I hate it when people dresses up their dogs and place a basket on their teeth, and a sign saying Kindly donate or Help me. Cute but not nice. Then you’ll see the owner in the shaded part while the dog is suffering in the scorching heat. I was walking to the subway when I saw this horrible sight. I am such a dog lover and this is just unfair. Someone better call the attention of PETA.

Referred by Riyanne

Hey guys and gals…

Have you all decided what you were going to get your father, husband, BF or the man of the house for Father’s Day?

Well i suggest you try something a little bit different this year.

Recently we had our launch party in NY and we had Sanani sponsor our gift bags for the event. The next day i woke up and i realized that i had actually saved a bag for my self (yes people if you having an event make sure you keep a giftbag for yourself) and in it was the Sanani Mocha Coffee. I brewed me a cup and the first thing i had to say was that brewing it smelt lovely. It tasted so good, that i had to order some for my own use.

So yesterday, i brewed myself a batch and put it in my travel sippy and off i went to work. Now there i am on the train enjoying my coffee and listing to Needful Things audiobook (Stephen King, go get it) and this lady sitting next to me is there sniffing my coffee!!!!!!

Sheesh!!!!!! i was like excuse me? and she said it smelt so good she wanted to know what it was. i ended up pouring some of it into her cup and the cup of the guy sitting across me. They all like it

So i decided that i just had to pass this on to you all.

All my readers and visitors can get a discount of 15% off Sanani Coffee. You know i have to share it with you all as a thanks for reading me.

So head on over to www.sanani.com to buy your Genuine Mocha Coffee and put in the code (NYC2008) to get your discount.

After you taste it come back here and let me know what you guys think..

Here is some info about Sanani that i pulled from off their site.

What makes the Sanani Coffee Company special? How can we deliver the ultimate coffee experience that is not available from any other company? And why does our coffee taste so good?

The Origin

First and foremost is the fact that the source of all our coffee is Yemen. Why? Yemen Mocha Coffee is considered one of the finest coffees in the world and has been cultivated and processed in the same way for centuries. This coffee is grown on mountain terraces and naturally dried. No chemicals are used in its cultivation, and it is considered naturally organic.

Our Goal

The Sanani Coffee Company was created with a goal to re-introduce this historically world known gourmet coffee to the most discerning individuals who are accustomed to the best life has to offer. We chose to name the company Sanani. Which literally means “from Sana’a” (the capital of Yemen).

Our Focus

We specialize in Yemen Mocha Coffee exclusively. We are not a one-stop coffee company that sells everything and anything that is related to coffee. The Sanani brand is focused on Yemen Mocha Coffee ONLY. All our effort is exterted into offering the best of Yemen Mocha to the United States and the world.

Having identified the source of one of the finest coffees in the world, we took further steps to determine the best coffee growing regions within Yemen. Once we had obtained the best of the best, we implemented the most stringent selection criteria called Platinum Select™, by which the best coffee even within that region is hand selected to make it into a box of Sanani Coffee.

Our coffee is a grown at about 7000 feet above sea level. It is a well-known fact amongst connoisseurs that coffee grown at high altitudes results in small, concentrated and very flavorful beans. Even the raw green beans from Yemen are intrinsically more expensive.

What makes Sanani special and why does our coffee taste better?