Funding pollution fight

To combat air pollution in Beijing, 1.25 billion yuan ($206 million) will be set aside from a special fund, according to representatives from the municipal legislature body, the Beijing News reported.

The money will be allocated from the special fund, which has 27 billion yuan, said Chen Jingpu, director of the budget work committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress.

In the first week of 2014, according to the Institute of Urban Meteorology, Beijing has seen the worst smoggy weather since 1954, with data indicating that the total number of hazy days for that period was the highest in decades, the Beijing Evening News reported.