Public transport passengers face disruption amid nationwide strike

Public transport passengers in Italy were expected to face significant delays and cancellations on Monday as staff at bus, tram and commuter train operators around the country planned to strike for eight hours.

The walkout was set to affect all types of local public transport, from surface services (buses, trams, commuter trains and ferries) to underground metro lines, with the protest’s timing and impact expected to vary from city to city. 

READ ALSO: How is Italy’s nationwide public transport strike affecting travel on Monday?

The strike was called in late July by some of Italy’s largest transport unions to demand the renewal of collective labour agreements and to protest against “the insufficiency of the resources allocated to the [transport] sector, inadequate wages [and] poor work-life balance” according to a statement from union Filt Cgil.

Monday’s walkout came after multiple airline and airport strikes on Saturday and a 23-hour nationwide rail strike on Sunday.

Four climbers missing on Mont Blanc following violent storms

Four climbers, including two Italians and two Korean nationals, were missing since Saturday after violent storms lashed the Italian side of Mont Blanc (4,805 metres), the highest mountain in the Alps, Ansa reported.

Aosta Valley’s Alpine Rescue Service said on Sunday that extreme weather conditions had left the two Italian climbers stranded near the mountain’s summit, at an altitude of over 4500 metres.

The rescue service said they didn’t have any information regarding the whereabouts of the Korean climbers.

Rescuers attempted to ascend Mont Blanc on Sunday morning to search for the missing climbers but had to turn back due to severe weather conditions.

Searches for missing Irish hiker continue in Sardinia

Searches for a 39-year-old Irishman who went missing while on a hiking trip on the Italian island of Sardinia continued on Sunday, Italian media reported.

The man went missing on Friday afternoon while on the third leg of the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara, between Masua and Cala Domestica, eastern Sardinia, according to reports.

Search operations started on Friday evening and were ongoing on Sunday, with rescue authorities being aided by helicopters with thermal imaging equipment, as well as drones and sniffer dogs.

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs told the Irish Examiner newspaper that they were aware of the case and were providing consular assistance.

Italy to trial AI-enhanced teaching in four regions

Italy’s Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara announced on Sunday that 15 classes across four regions would use artificial technology to enhance teaching during the 2024-2025 school year, RaiNews reported on Sunday.

“It will start in 15 classes in Calabria, Lazio, Tuscany and Lombardy,” Valditara told reporters at the European House Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Lombardy.

“We are one of the first countries to start a trial in the use of artificial intelligence for personalised teaching this school year,” he said.

“If the model works, we plan to extend it further because personalised teaching is one of our priorities,” he added, pointing to the “significant role” AI can play in education if “properly guided by teachers”.