As always, celebrations bring with them a toll: last night there was one death and 473 people were injured, mostly by fireworks. The tragic death occurred in the napoletano region, where a 30-year-old man, sitting at his dining table playing cards just before midnight, was hit by a stray bullet from a pistol fired, presumably into the air, in celebration. This is the highest toll since the New Year of 2001, when four people were killed and over 1000 injured.
In an effort to combat drunken driving, Italy has brought in a law forbidding the sale of alcoholic drinks in clubs, bars and restaurants after 2 am. It is an anomaly that street traders can go on selling them as before. Bar and restaurant owners had been begging the government to relax this law at least for New Year's Eve and, according to the TV news, although this did not happen, no checks were carried out last night. - A very Italian compromise for one night in the face of reality or foolhardiness? What do you think?
3 comments:
What a terribly random thing to happen for the poor card playing young man and brings home that no matter what you do some things cannot be avoided. Are guns common in Italy, I suppose some for hunting.
No good asking the teetotaler what to think about bar hours, although probably no one should be allowed to sell drinks or everyone should.
It's the gunshot that surprised me the most! Are guns legal to be carried there? Here in Canada they must be registered and licensed and are only supposed to be for hunting purposes. (other than the police, of course) And it's illegal to carry a concealed weapon, let along fire them just cuz it's New Year's Eve.
Hi, jmb and Leslie. Awful. Only hunting guns allowed in Italy and then it's like the Uk - you have to have them licensed and a license isn't easy to get. I don't know exactly what sort of gun this was.
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