Delhi's cars and the odd-even formula

Residents complain of the dense smog which often engulfs the city in the morning [Altaf Qadri/AP]

The Indian capital has started the trial phase of a new initiative which will see private cars allowed to operate only on alternate days from January 1-15, depending on whether their license plates end in an even or an odd number.

The initiative started on Friday as part of a sweeping plan to reduce Delhi's record-high air pollution by limiting the numbers of cars on streets for 14 days.

Air quality in Delhi has been a problem for many residents in recent years. Many middle and more affluent class families buy air filters for their homes and the sight of residents wearing surgical masks is not uncommon.

The city has also seen a marked increase in the number of hospital patients with respiratory illnesses.

Delhi pollution worsening

Pollution has been on the increase in Delhi in recent years. Last year, the World Health Organization named Delhi the world's most polluted city in a study of 1,600 cities.

Residents complain of the dense smog which often engulfs the city in the morning. Many factors have contributed to the pollution, including the burning of refuse, ash from crop waste in farming areas and emissions from transport.

The most recent Economic Survey of Delhi shows the city had more than 8.8 million vehicles on the road in the year 2014 to 2015.

This marked a 14 percent rise in the number of vehicle registrations from the previous year.

"The way we look at it is that this is an opportunity," says Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director, research and advocacy with India's Centre for Science and Environment.

"During the coming fortnight when the number of cars will be halved on the road, this will free up a lot of space for the city's public transport to become more efficient.

"That will also lead to a more efficient utilisation of the existing fleet, unlike today where bus operations have become so inefficient, just because of road congestion.

"Studies show that buses don't even get to complete the scheduled trips. So when you're freeing up space, all modes of public transport will function better - be it autos, taxis or buses. The overall system efficiency to carry more people will improve dramatically."

Cars not only polluters

Plans to lower the city's pollution levels include shutting down one of the oldest and least-efficient power plants.

Measures also include a temporary ban on the sale of large diesel vehicles and expensive toll charges for trucks deemed to be polluting the Indian capital.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court also banned trucks from entering the city if they are over 10 years old. Taxi firms have also been told their cars have to switch to compressed natural gas by the end of March.

Traffic policemen and thousands of volunteers will check cars and violators will be fined $30 and asked to return to their point of origin.

It will be months before any discernible progress is made. On the first day of the limited ban, the average particulate matter (PM2.5) levels for New Delhi were higher than 297. That is a relatively low number for the city at this time of year, but remains about 15 times higher than the WHO standard of 20.

One caveat is that schools and colleges were shut and many offices remained closed for the New Year’s holiday.

There are a number of exemptions to the new rules, including women, politicians, judges, police officials, sick people and motorcycles. Women will be allowed to drive their cars on all days as long as they are accompanied by only women, and children below the age of 12.

The government has also hired around 3,000 private buses to provide transport from residential areas and to ease the added strain on the city’s already overworked public transport system. Schools will also remain closed until the end of the trial, so school buses can be used as public transport.

"The biggest challenge is to make people realise that this fight against pollution is for them, for their health, for their own good," said Gopal Rai, Delhi Transport Minister.

Russia reportedly names US as threat to national security for first time

Russia has named the U.S. as one of the threats to its national security in a new assessment signed by President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, according to a published report.

Reuters reported the document, “About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation,” replaces the 2009 version endorsed by former President Dmitry Medvedev, which didn’t mention the U.S. or NATO. Russia continues to increase its role in solving global conflicts, which has caused some reaction from the West, according to the document.

It is the first time Russia has officially named the U.S. a national security threat, according to Reuters.

Russia claims its heightened global reach has caused “counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs.” The document claims that Western pressures will likely lead to increased “political, economical, military and informational pressure” on Russia.

Relations between Moscow and the West became to deteriorate stemming from Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Western nations have repeatedly accused Russia of funding insurgents in Ukraine despite Moscow’s denials.

Russia’s security document accuses the U.S. and EU of supporting an “anti-constitutional coup d’etat in Ukraine,” which has deepened the rift between Moscow and the West.

The U.S. and European Union have imposed sanctions against Russian companies and businessmen. Russia, in turn, clamped down on food imported from EU countries.

The expansion of NATO also concerns Russia. The document also said the U.S. has expanded its military biological labs in neighboring countries.

According to Reuters, the document fails to mention anything on Russia’s ongoing airstrikes in Syria, which has aided the Bashar al-Assad regime in the embattled nation. Assad, a Russian ally, has received military support from Russia in its civil war against U.S.-backed rebels and the Islamic State.

The little car you can drive in France without a licence

Losing one's driving licence in the UK is a serious matter - expensive and, to say the least, very inconvenient.

But in France, no licence? No problem. You can simply go shopping for a VSP a voiture sans permis - a small two-seater car that anyone aged 14 or over can take out on the road with as little as four hours' experience behind the wheel, sometimes not even that.

It's impossible to say how many there are as no official figures exist. It is what the French call a chiffre noir - an unknown quantity. 

You'll probably hear them coming first, a high-pitched whine like a sewing machine being run at full throttle. If you get stuck behind one on a windy rural lane, tant pis. Top speed is 45km per hour (28mph). It's probably a good idea to stop in the next lay-by and admire the view for a while rather than sit fuming in its wake.

On market day in my nearest town here in Brittany the little voitures sans permis splutter into the main street. Although the literal translation is "car without licence" it is in fact the driver who doesn't need to bother himself or herself with any proof of ability behind the wheel.

Once seen as an anachronism that, given time, would inevitably be legislated out of existence they remain a vital means of transport for an ageing rural population. For the most part they are scruffy and battered. Their bodywork is faded and peeling, often touched-up with a spot of household gloss paint. Wire and gaffer tape hold loose panels together and one I saw had its bumper held in place with washing line fashioned into an elaborate blanket stitch.

My local notaire, or solicitor, admits she is nervous on Thursdays - which is market day. Especially of the old ladies. The problem, she told me is one of inheritance. A husband who always did all the driving passes away and the voiturette is inherited by his wife.

Because it's impossible to survive here without wheels she will nervously trundle into town at snail's pace. She won't do much damage because she is going so slowly. Insurance will only get expensive if she hurts someone, but most of the time it's just a busted wing mirror or a slight scratch and the insurance company just takes the hit. 

I tell her that I am frankly astonished that VSPs still exist. 

"Well," she says with a shrug, "there are people who would still drive without a licence but they would be in much more powerful, and therefore more dangerous cars."

The fact is that a lot of conducteurs who lose their licence because they are too fond of the pastis, walk out of court down to their local VSP outlet, et voila they can be back on the road in hours. Yes, they ought to have insurance, which is pricey if you have a record of illness or a fondness for alcohol - it can set you back as much 85 euros (£63) a month. A reputable dealership won't sell you a car unless you can show insurance, but it's not a problem if you pick one up from your mate. 

I asked around in my local bar but the drinkers were coy about their reasons for driving sans permis. 

One chap told me the theory exam for a full licence was too difficult. But in a quiet moment the patron told me what he said was a common story. One of his regulars lost his licence and bought an ancient voiture sans permis. When his licence was reinstated, he sold the voiturette to a drinking chum who had just had his licence taken away . It changed hands once more in the same way and then after a year or so the original owner (who evidently hadn't kicked his pastis habit) bought it back again.

The barman shrugged. "Ca roule," he said. That's how it goes. (So many people shrugged while I was investigating this story I looked to see what the French word was for "shrug". They don't have one.)

Curious as to how strict a dealership would be, I went to the local VSP outlet - it's not a regular garage, they are sold alongside tractors and motor-mowers. 

The salesman tells me they sell three a week on average. So, would they sell a voiturette to just anyone who walked in off the street? "Mais, oui," he says, "provided they have insurance." But what about knowing what to do at a roundabout? It turns out that the salesman takes the would-be purchaser for a spin. If he and the car come back in one piece, he'll do the deal.

"That's a big responsibility, isn't it?" I ask. Another eloquent shrug.

Here my eyes were opened to the new generation of VSP. I got to take a ride in the latest top of the range model - called, without any intended irony, the "sports" model. (Top speed still 45km per hour.)

At a cool 14,000 euros (£10,000) it has air conditioning, a reversing camera and a top-flight sound system, which is essential for the new target market.

Microcar, Axiam, Ligier and other manufacturers are aiming their publicity at young urbanites. You can't take VSPs on motorways or expressways but they are cheap to run, turn on a centime and are easy to park. 

They also aim the hard sell at parents. Since last November children as young as 14 can drive VSPs. They're deemed to be safer than a scooter and it's a way out of the cliche of "Mum's Taxi" service.

Youngsters at least have to take a theoretical exam in the French highway code (this is waived entirely if you were born before the law was last changed in 1988) and drive accompanied for a minimum of four hours, but no-one has to sit any kind of practical test to frappe la rue (hit the road) in a VSP. 

So whether you prefer red, white or rose, to stay safe on French roads there is there is perhaps another French "whine" you should be steering clear of.

Atlanta girl shot during robbery for her hoverboard

Atlanta police say a 16-year-old girl suffered a gunshot wound Saturday when two robbers tried to steal a hoverboard she got for Christmas.

The teen was shot around 6 p.m. after the robbers followed her home from a convenience store, Fox 5 Atlanta reported Saturday.

Police said a bullet struck the girl in her lower back.

She was in good condition at a hospital.

The robbers got away. It wasn't clear if they made off with the hoverboard.

“It’s crazy. Over a hoverboard. Really?” Sherica Davis told Fox 5. Her daughter is a friend of the victim.

WSB-TV reported Sunday the bullet came out the girl's side after it struck her in the back.

Her brother Doryan Sanford said his sister was riding the hoverboard she got for Christmas and didn’t realize she had been targeted by robbers.

“He just said, ‘Give it up,’ and I said, ‘What?’ He pulled out a gun and put it to my face," Sanford told the station. “I pushed him back. That’s when I tried to close the door and that’s when the bullet came through and hit my sister.”

“She was screaming and screaming, ‘I got shot,’” he said. “I just got a towel and tried to stop the bleeding.”

Police searched the area with a helicopter.

There was no word on a description of the robbery suspects.

Saudi Arabia breaks off ties with Iran after al-Nimr execution

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was speaking after demonstrators had stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences.

Mr Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours. 

Saudi Arabia was recalling its diplomats from Tehran, he said.

Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having "distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region".

"Iran's history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction," he told a news conference.

US state department spokesman John Kirby said: "We will continue to urge leaders across the region to take affirmative steps to calm tensions".

"We believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations remain essential," he said.

A diplomatic rupture between the major Sunni and Shia powers in the region will resonate across the Middle East where they back opposing sides in many destructive wars and simmering conflicts. 

Players are already lining up along sectarian lines to support either Tehran or Riyadh. 

Last year had ended with a bit of hope that talks on ending Yemen's strife had, at least, begun. Syria was to follow this month. It looks an awful lot harder now. 

In October Saudi sources told me they only dropped their opposition to Iran's presence at Syria talks after the US persuaded them to test Tehran's commitment. 

But they doubt Iran will do a deal, and see it as key source of regional instability. 

On the other side, Iranian officials don't hide their contempt for the Saudi system and its support for Islamist groups. 

There's been barely-concealed anger for months. Now it's boiled over. 

Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face "divine revenge" for the execution - an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East.

Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a "martyr" who had acted peacefully.

Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. The Saudi foreign ministry said none of its diplomats had been harmed in the incident.

Iran is Saudi Arabia's main regional rival - they back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

Relations between the countries have been strained over various issues in recent decades, including Iran's nuclear programme and deaths of Iranians at the Hajj pilgrimage in 1987 and again in 2015.

Most of the 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks over the last decade.

Sheikh Nimr was involved in anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Arab Spring, up to his arrest in 2012.

The execution sparked new demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, where Shia Muslims complain of marginalisation, as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries.

The top Shia cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani denounced the execution as an "unjust aggression".

The leader of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, launched his sharpest attack yet on the Saudi ruling family on Sunday, accusing them of seeking to ignite a Shia-Sunni civil war across the world.

He said the blood of Sheikh Nimr would "plague the Al Saud [family] until the Day of Resurrection", prompting cries of "Death to the Al Saud!" among an audience watching his address.

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Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr?

• In his 50s when he was executed, he has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family
• Arrested several times over the past decade, alleging he was beaten by Saudi secret police during one detention 
• Met US officials in 2008, Wikileaks revealed, seeking to distance himself from anti-American and pro-Iranian statements
• Said to have a particularly strong following among Saudi Shia youth

Sweden begins border ID controls to halt refugee influx

Fences have been mounted to separate domestic and international travellers at Malmo train station [EPA]

Sweden has begun ID controls as part of the government's efforts to limit the number of refugees entering the country.

Everyone entering Sweden from midnight on Sunday by bus, train or ferry from Denmark will be checked and those lacking valid ID documents will be turned back.

Sweden, which until recently was known as one of the most welcoming countries in the world for people fleeing wars, has said it can no longer cope as the influx of refugees and migrants reaches record numbers.

With more than 160,000 asylum-seekers arriving to the country of 9.5 million in 2015, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, accommodation for new arrivals is running out.

"We must get the number of asylum seekers down. ID controls are one way to achieve this," Morgan Johansson, justice and migration minister, said in December.

Of those seeking asylum in Sweden in 2015, about 80 percent lacked passports or equivalent IDs at the time of filing their applications, according to the Swedish Migration Agency.

The controls follow the reintroduction of border checks in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and several other European countries.

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said refugees will face increasingly slim chances of asylum in Europe should more countries follow Sweden and impose stricter entry requirements.

Mattias Axelsson, UNHCR spokesperson in northern Europe, said governments must understand that refugees are under tremendous strain and that those fleeing do not always have the possibility to bring ID documents.

"You can't expect that those who have the right to asylum also have the right documents with them from the beginning, that is simply impossible," he told Swedish news agency TT.

"We follow this with growing concern."

Besides refugees, ID controls will have a big effect on passengers travelling from Denmark, as about 70,000 people - many of them commuters - cross the Oresund bridge each day.

The plans have been heavily criticised by operators and commuters on both sides of the strait, as the controls are expected to add at least half an hour to a journey that normally takes 35 minutes.

Rights groups have also been critical, saying that the ID controls are part of measures that limit refugees' possibilities to seek asylum.

Sweden has seen a decrease in the number of people seeking asylum in recent weeks, following news of tighter border checks and stricter rules for residency permits.

In November, the Migration Agency said Sweden was no longer able to provide shelter for all asylum seekers, saying families with children would be given priority.

Deadly earthquake rocks northeastern India

One man was reported dead in Bangladesh after apparently suffering a heart attack following the quake [EPA]

At least five people have been died after a strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck northeast India near the country's borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh, sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.

The Indian government confirmed the death toll on Monday morning, saying at least 33 people were also injured in the earthquake which struck near the city of Imphal.

Another man was reported dead in Bangladesh after apparently suffering a heart attack following the quake.

Dozens more were injured in the scramble to escape buildings in India and Bangladesh after they were woken by the early morning tremor.

Police in Dhaka said 40 people were being treated at a major hospital in the Bangladeshi capital, including one university student who jumped from a fourth-floor balcony and was in a critical condition.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 4:35am local time (23:05 GMT Sunday), 29km west-northwest of Imphal, capital of Manipur state, where dozens of buildings were damaged.

A resident in Imphal told Al Jazeera that the earthquake was the largest he has ever felt.

"People came running out of their homes screaming, some crying," he said, adding that a heavy bell at a nearby temple began ringing immediately after the quake.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that he had spoken to local authorities in Assam about the impact of the quake.

The tremors were felt as far away as Kolkata some 600km distant in the Indian state of West Bengal, where buildings shook.