Delhi begins car restriction plan to tackle pollution

The Indian capital is running a 15-day trial where private cars will be allowed on the roads only on alternate days [Harish Tyagi/EPA]

New Delhi has kicked off a drastic new plan aimed at reducing its record-high air pollution by limiting the numbers of cars on the streets for two weeks.

Starting from January 1, the Indian capital will test a plan where private cars will be allowed on the roads only on alternate days, depending on whether their license plates end in an even or an odd number.

Most cars appeared to be following the rules on Friday and traffic was a trickle compared to the usual rush-hour chaos. But with schools and colleges shut, and many offices closed for the New Year's holiday, far fewer people needed to be on the roads.

"The reports we are receiving are that, by and large, Delhi has accepted the new rule. Till now, there have been few violations," Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister, told reporters.

Police appeared to be purposefully keeping a low profile - except for a handful of major intersections, where police and civil defence volunteers set up checkpoints to watch for wrong-numbered license plates, there was little official presence on the roads at all.

When cars were pulled over, the result was almost always a warning, not the $30 fine that has been announced.

"Today we are just educating drivers," assistant sub-inspector Krishan Singh told the driver of an Associated Press vehicle - with the wrong license plate number - when it was pulled over.

Last week, the city government announced a number of exemptions to the new rules, including top politicians, judges, police and prison officials, women and sick people and two-wheelers like motorbikes and scooters.

Still, the 15-day trial represents the most dramatic effort the city has undertaken to combat pollution since a court order in 1998 mandated that all public transport run on compressed natural gas.

'Most polluted city'

The World Health Organization last year named New Delhi the world's most polluted city. The pollution is at its worst in the winter, with grey skies and a dense cover of smog through the early morning hours.

Delhi has an estimated 7.5m registered vehicles and a large number run on highly polluting diesel. In addition to the massive numbers of vehicles on its roads, construction dust, the burning of crop waste in nearby farming areas and the city’s proximity to the Thar desert also add to the pollution.

Environmental expert Anumita Raichaudury said that it was good news for the city to finally have an emergency plan for times when pollution hits hazardous levels.

"It's important to clamp down by taking at least 50 percent of the vehicles off the roads for an immediate impact," Raichaudury said.

China Ends Controversial One-Child Policy

The change, which was prompted by concerns over the country's ageing population and shrinking workforce, was announced in October by the ruling Communist Party and takes effect from the first day of 2016.

The policy was instituted in the late 1970s, and restricted couples to only a single offspring through a system of fines and even forced abortions.

For years the authorities argued it was a key contributor to China's economic boom and had prevented 400 million births.

Families in rural areas were allowed to have children if the first was a girl, while ethnic minorities were allowed an extra child, leading some to call it a "one-and-a-half child" policy.

But it also led to heart-breaking losses for would-be parents, and prompted sex-selective abortions or infanticide targeting girls because of a long-held social preference for boys.

China's population is now ageing rapidly and there is a severe gender imbalance - all while the nation's workforce grows ever smaller.

The new law means married couples are now allowed to have a second child, but the limit on additional births remains.

Officials from the National Health and Family Planning Commission said back in November that around three million extra babies will be born each year over the next five years as a result.

This would add a total of around 30 million people to China's labour force by 2050, the officials added.

Despite the change, many experts say it is too little, too late to address China's coming population crisis.

Others have warned that many couples do not want more children, particularly given the costs, and the effects of the change remain unclear.

Airport Officers Told To Hide From Gunmen

Nearly 300 aviation police officers, from Chicago Police Department, are not permitted to carry guns at O'Hare and Midway airports.

Aviation department documents advise the officers to lock doors, turn off lights and remain quiet if an active shooter is at one of the terminals.

In an investigative report by CNN, the documents state: "If evacuation is not possible: hide."

O'Hare International Airport employs nearly 300 unarmed aviation officers

A separate training video seen by the news network adds: "If evacuation is not possible, you should find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you.

"Block entry to your hiding place and lock the door."

The no-gun policy for aviation police officers has been in place for more than 20 years, and the Service Employees International Union Local 73 - which represents them - has been unable to persuade the aviation department to change the policy.

One of the officers told CNN: "We're not trying to replace the Chicago police officers; we just want to have the tools to do the job like every other law enforcement agency in the country.

"We're nothing but casualties if you tell us to run and hide. And how can the public look at us if they see police officers running and hiding?"

Owen Kilmer, deputy communications director for the Chicago Aviation Department, said in a statement that with "the current security structure in place, violent crime incidents at O'Hare and Midway airports are extremely low - ensing that the millions of passengers who fly through Chicago each year feel secure at the airports".

O'Hare - the third busiest airport in the US - has a budget for 175 armed police officers, around 260 unarmed aviation police and another 170 private security, according to Chicago city records.

North Korea's Kim Says He Is Ready For War

In only his fourth speech since taking over from his father, he said: "If invasive outsiders and provocateurs touch us even slightly, we will not be forgiving in the least and sternly answer with a merciless, holy war of justice."

He called on his military to work on developing technologies with the aim of having more "diversified attack means".

But Kim also insisted he would pursue "unification" and added: "We will continue to work patiently to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and regional stability."

r frosty relations in the region firmly with the South, he said: "South Korea has made a unilateral case for unification and increased mistrust and conflict between us."

Yet he said he is open to talks with anyone interested in "reconciliation and peace" and promised to "aggressively" attempt to improve ties with the South.

Applause was played at various points throughout the apparently pre-recorded message.

Photographs of factories and farms were interspersed with footage of the North Korean leader standing in a wood-panelled room in front of a red flag bearing the crest of the ruling Workers' Party.

Kim said in last year's address that he would be open to a summit with the South, but tensions increased in 2015, particularly in August, when a landmine blast on the border wounded two South Korean soldiers.

Seoul blamed Pyongyang, who denied responsibility.

The two sides met for talks after a military stand-off and agreed to reduce tensions and hold further discussions.

However, subsequent negotiations have been fruitless.

On Wednesday, North Korean state media said its top negotiator with the South, Kim Yang Gon, had been killed in a road accident.

"We should cherish last year's high-level talks and make continued efforts to seek dialogue and not take any further steps backwards," Kim said of the August talks.

In a response to the speech, South Korea's foreign ministry restated its position that it was open to talks, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

"North Korea should take note that we are seeking to develop inter-Korean relations and lay the groundwork for peaceful unification," an unnamed government official said.

Rwandan President to run for third term in office

Kagame became president in 2000 after being Rwanda's de facto leader since the end of the country's genocide in 1994 [AP] 

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has declared he will run for a third term in office after his second seven-year term expires in 2017.

The announcement in his end-of-year message on Friday follows last month's constitutional referendum in which 98.3 percent of Rwandans voted to approve the country's revised Constitution to allow Kagame to run again after his term ends. The move has been opposed by the US.

"Given the importance and consideration you attach to this, I can only accept." But, he added, "I don't think that what we need is an eternal leader."

Kagame became president in 2000 after being Rwanda's de facto leader since the end of the country's genocide in 1994. 

He is credited with stabilising the country and promoting economic growth after the mass killings, but critics say he is an authoritarian ruler who does not tolerate opposition and he is accused of human rights abuses.

Senate head Bernard Makuza has said previously that Kagame, whose current term ends in 2017, could run for another seven-year term and then two five-year terms, possibly keeping him in power until 2034.

"But it all depends on his will," he said.

Kagame is the latest long-serving ruler in an African country to attempt to extend his hold on power. Similar moves have already sparked violence and instability in countries like neighbouring Burundi and the Republic of Congo. 

NGOs warn changes to visa waiver program will affect aid efforts

Some of the world's most prominent aid groups and other nongovernmental organizations warned that their ability to brief U.S. and United Nations agencies on humanitarian crises will be hurt by a recent change in a 30-year-old visa program.

They also warned that the move could even hurt their ability to carry out much needed aid work in war zones, potentially having a damaging effect on lifesaving humanitarian operations.

They fear that the visa adjustments will mean that many of their staffers who spend time in some of the world's worst crisis-hit countries — such as Syria and Iraq — will be prevented from visiting the United States or face long delays in getting permission to enter the country. 

The controversy centers on an amendment to the visa waiver program (VWP) that Congress recently rushed into an omnibus spending bill and President Barack Obama signed into law on Dec. 18.

The VWP allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. without needing to obtain a visa. The legislation, which was introduced in response to the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, introduced a number of changes, including requiring a visa for anyone who has visited Iraq, Syria, Iran or Sudan in the previous five years.

Lawmakers supporting the amendment are concerned that citizens of the 23 European Union countries that participate in the VWP could travel to the U.S. after receiving training in Syria from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.

Aid workers say they were blindsided by the passing of the amendment. Alex Gray, the global humanitarian director at Relief International, said he didn’t expect the amendment to become law so quickly. “We heard discussion that this might be happening, but we thought it was just political gesturing,” he said.

NGOs are concerned that the provisions are too general and could affect the humanitarian work they do in those countries.

The amendment is “overly broad and contains discriminatory nationality provisions,” InterAction, an alliance of U.S.-based global NGOs, said in a letter to members of Congress. “For the NGO community, [the amendment] would limit the work of international humanitarians who are on the ground in Iraq, Sudan and Syria, providing lifesaving assistance to those who need it most.”

The U.N. lists Iraq and Syria as two of its four Level 3 emergencies — its classification for the largest and most severe humanitarian crises. 

Gray said that because Iraq and Syria are Level 3 countries, the “bulk of the international humanitarian aid workers are actually traveling back and forth,” disqualifying them from entering the U.S. without a visa under the new law. 

He is based in the United Kingdom and is one of those aid workers who benefit from the VWP. In the last few years, he has traveled many times to northern Iraq, Syria and Sudan.

Relief International, which provides water, sanitation and emergency health services to displaced people in countries surrounding Syria, has its staff from regional offices attend conferences in the U.S. quarterly to brief donors and policymakers. “We are already starting to talk about not having our global meetings in the U.S. anymore,” Gray said.

The American Civil Liberties Union has also warned that the amendment is too broad and called for exceptions to be made for those who have traveled to Syria, Iraq, Iran and Sudan for educational and professional purposes, including humanitarian aid workers.

"This includes weapons inspectors examining Iran nuclear facilities, social workers interviewing Kurdish refugees in Iraq, physicians treating patients in Darfur and human rights investigators documenting atrocities committed by ISIL," Joanne Lin, an ACLU legislative counsel, wrote in an article on the group’s website.

The changes have yet to be put into practice, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is responsible for implementing the VWP provisions.

“At this time, no determination has been made as to how the waiver provision would be implemented,” DHS representative S.Y. Lee said in a statement. “We will announce any changes affecting travelers to the United States from visa waiver program countries as soon as that information is available.”

The DHS has not provided details on when that information will be available or indicated if exceptions will be made for aid workers.

“It concerns us because it impacts on our operations,” Gray said. “Until we have clear information in terms of how it’s being implemented, how can we plan in our procedures and operational decisions?”

Sara Margon, the Washington, D.C., director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said she still “does not know how things are going to play out.”

“HRW staff who have traditionally benefited from the VWP and who have visited these countries of concern will, of course, follow the new procedures for visa applications, which could lead to delays or even denials. It all depends on how the legislation is implemented,” she said.

More than 20 million people visited the U.S. under the VWP in 2013, according to the DHS.

The amendment could affect Americans as well, NGOs warned. The VWP operates on the principle of reciprocity with other participating countries like France and Denmark. When the U.S. makes a change in its policy affecting their citizens, those nations will often make the same change regarding Americans.

“Requiring a visa to travel to those countries will add obstacles to their necessary work and may make it more difficult for Americans to manage employment as humanitarian workers,” InterAction said in its letter.

Muslims to ISIS: Sorry, Too Busy Binge-Watching to Join You

ISIS’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi recently called on Muslims around the world to “join the fight,” but social media users have been quick to offer their reasons for staying at home.

A writer and human rights activist named Iyad El-Baghdadi translated ISIS’s call to arms into English on Twitter, where the snarky responses have been rolling in. One of the most popular excuses? Too much can’t-miss TV and film, like the newly released Star Wars: The Force Awakensand the upcoming Sherlockspecial.