Nobel Peace laureate faces accusations of genocide in The Hague

Back to the streets in Hong Kong [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( A former Nobel Peace laureate is urged to cease the “genocide” against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar. In Sydney, the air quality is so bad that fire alarms are going off. And South Korea is looking to draft more men into its military — and punish those who refuse to join. --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today In top court, Myanmar urged to ‘stop genocide of own people’ [People protest outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during a hearing in a case filed by Gambia against Myanmar alleging genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya population, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Dec. 10, 2019.]( Credit:Yves Herman/Reuters Gambia's legal team described mass rapes, the burning of families in their homes and killing of dozens of Muslim Rohingya children with knives as it set out its genocide case against Myanmar at the UN's International Court of Justice on Tuesday. Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, [looked on impassively as the alleged atrocities were detailed]( at the beginning of three days of hearings in The Hague. The hearings were instituted by Gambia against Buddhist-majority Myanmar in November. "All that The Gambia asks is that you tell Myanmar to [stop these senseless killings](," Gambia's Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said in opening comments. More than [730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after the military-led crackdown]( and were forced into squalid camps across the border in Bangladesh. Also: [Suu Kyi’s defense of genocide charges may shock the West. But it bolsters her status at home.]( And: [A Rohingya refugee's journey from stateless to US citizen]( --------------------------------------------------------------- NewsMatch Do you value the global journalism you read here every morning? [Make a gift]( to support our work now, and your donation will be matched. [Donate here](. Sydney smoke the equivalent of ‘80 cigarettes a day’ As brushfires continued to blaze outside of Sydney, still weather conditions are keeping a thick blanket of smoke from blowing away. The haze in Australia’s largest city is bad enough to [set off fire alarms and halt the ferry service](. Athletes said being in the city’s air is “[like smoking 80 cigarettes a day](.” The normally clear harbor is shrouded in haze, obscuring vision. A 40-mile-long firefront is devastating tinder-dry areas northwest of Sydney, and sending hazardous smoke across the east and over the Pacific, even causing haze more than 1,200 miles away in New Zealand. Sydney's air quality index readings in some parts of the city on Tuesday were [11 times the threshold considered hazardous](, government data showed. Bushfires are common in Australia's hot, dry summers, but the ferocity and early arrival of the fires last month in the southern hemisphere spring is unprecedented. Experts have said climate change has left bushland especially dry. Also: [Stunning video shows 'firenado' burn across Australia]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a smart speaker? Listen to The World's new show called [The Number in the News](! We produce The Number in the News daily from our studio in Boston. Host Bianca Hillier will tell you one number you won’t forget and why it’s the news today. Add The Number in the News to your Amazon or Google news briefing. South Korea wants to draft more men for its shrinking military — and punish those who dodge [A demonstrator shouts during a rally ahead of the so-called "Normandy" format summit in Paris, where leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France will meet to discuss steps to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 8, 2019.]( Credit: Jeon Heon-kyun/Reuters In South Korea, there is mandatory military service for all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 18 and 40. It’s a two-year tour. You can refuse, but instead of military service you’ll do prison time. And dual citizens have to decide either to serve or give up their South Korean citizenship within the year they turn 18. As reporter Kelly Kasulis writes, “With a growing population crisis and technically an ongoing war with North Korea, [South Korea may start to forcibly conscript more overseas Koreans and foreigners](. The government-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses is currently wrapping up research around the idea of drafting naturalized citizens — those who gain South Korean citizenship, but aren’t born with it — to cope with the country’s dwindling number of troops.” Take Young Chun. He was born and raised in the US. He considers himself American. And he had no idea that, at 18 and also as a South Korean citizen, he’d have to serve in the military or give up his citizenship. He didn’t know that until he got his draft notice while working as an English teacher in Seoul. The letter included a notice from the Ministry of Justice that banned him from leaving the country. Chun was forced to serve from 2004-2006. “The military wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be,” he said. “[It was far worse](." Also: [Charging South Korea more for US troops would 'turn us into mercenaries,' expert says]( And: [South Korea's Moon calls for peace with North Korea]( Backlash in India over controversial citizenship bill Hundreds of protesters [took to the streets in India]( on Monday as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government offered a controversial bill in parliament that would give citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from three neighboring countries. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called the bill “[an attack on the Indian constitution](.” On Tuesday, parliament's lower house approved the measure covering citizenship for non-Muslim minorities, specifically Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs, who fled Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan before 2015. The bill was originally introduced in 2016 during the Modi government's first term but lapsed after protests and an alliance partner's withdrawal. Also: [Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's new 'anti-Muslim' law causes uproar]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme Some people go all out with their holiday lighting. When it’s your neighbor, it can be liberating to [concede defeat](. Extra: If you have some time, this is a great read on [the fight for Hong Kong’s soul](. Reuters contributed to this newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [Humanitarian hero, or genocide enabler?]( - [Ukraine corruption]( - [House judiciary committee reviews impeachment arguments and evidence]( - [Afghanistan lies]( - [Women now run politics in Finland]( - [Russia banned from international sports]( - [New Zealand volcano eruption leaves many unaccounted for]( - [UK election]( - [Ukraine's Zelenskiy and Russia's Putin face-to-face meeting]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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