India’s citizenship law is sparking protests

India’s citizenship law is sparking protests [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( Protests against India’s new citizenship law have drawn a large police response as the death toll climbs. The US is looking to reopen dialogue with North Korea on "all issues of interest." And as climate talks dragged on in Madrid, there seemed to be no consensus. --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Deadly clashes over India’s citizenship law [A man runs past a burning bus that was set on fire by demonstrators during a protest against a new citizenship law, in New Delhi, India, Dec. 15, 2019.]( Credit: Adnan Abidi/Reuters Several people were killed and [more than 100 activists were injured]( in New Delhi on Sunday as they clashed with police, who used tear gas and baton charges to disperse demonstrators at a major university. The protests are in [response to a new Indian citizenship law](. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government says the new law will save religious minorities such as Hindus and Christians from persecution in neighboring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan by offering them a path to Indian citizenship. But critics say the law, which does not make the same provision for Muslims, weakens India's secular foundations. Anger with Modi's government was fueled by [allegations of police brutality]( at Jamia Millia Islamia university on Sunday, when officers entered the campus in New Delhi and fired tear gas to break up a protest. There were similar scenes at the Aligarh Muslim University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where police also clashed with protesters. Also: [In August, India shut down Internet access in Kashmir. It’s now the longest ban imposed on a democracy](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](. US to North Korea: ‘You know how to reach us’ US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, urged Pyongyang on Monday to return offers of talks, dismissing leader Kim Jong-un's year-end deadline while highlighting Washington's willingness to discuss "all issues of interest." [Tension has been rising in recent weeks as Pyongyang has conducted a series of weapons tests and waged a war of words]( with US President Donald Trump, stoking fears the two countries could return to a collision course they had been on before launching diplomacy last year. Biegun arrived in Seoul on Sunday amid speculation he might try to salvage negotiations by reaching out to North Korea, which has vowed to take an unspecified "[new path](" if Washington fails to soften its stance before the end of the year. "The United States does not have a deadline. We have a goal," Biegun told a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon. "Let me speak directly to our counterparts in North Korea. It is time for us to do our jobs. Let's get this done. [We are here, and you know how to reach us](," Biegun said. Also: [How North Korean hackers became the world's greatest bank robbers]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Lebanon’s economic woes lead to violent street clashes [Smoke rises from tear gas during anti-government protests in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 15, 2019.]( Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters Tear gas engulfed central Beirut as security forces [chased protesters near Lebanon's parliament]( on Sunday in a second night of street clashes that wounded dozens of people. Protesters had returned despite a fierce crackdown by security forces the night before when clashes also injured dozens. It marked the most violent unrest in the capital in a historic wave of protests that has swept Lebanon since Oct. 17 and pushed [Saad al-Hariri to resign]( as prime minister. The protests erupted from anger at a political elite that has overseen decades of corruption and steered the country toward its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war. Riot police and security forces, [deploying again in large numbers](, unleashed water cannons at hundreds of demonstrators who remained on the streets. Lebanon's economic woes, [long in the making](, have come to a head: Pressure has piled on the pegged Lebanese pound. A hard currency crunch has left many importers unable to bring in goods, forcing up prices. And banks have [restricted dollar withdrawals](. Also: [Beirut once billed itself as a glitzy capital. Now its economy faces a painful reckoning.]( Climate consensus stymied Major economies [resisted calls for bolder climate commitments]( as a UN summit in Madrid limped toward a delayed conclusion on Saturday, [dimming hopes]( that nations will act in time to stop rising temperatures devastating people and the natural world. With the two-week gathering spilling into the weekend, campaigners and many delegates slammed Chile, presiding over the talks, for drafting a summit text that they said [risked throwing the 2015 Paris Agreement into reverse](. "At a time when scientists are queuing up to warn about terrifying consequences if emissions keep rising, and school children are taking to the streets in their millions, what we have here in Madrid is a [betrayal of people across the world](," said Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, a climate and energy think-tank in Nairobi. The annual climate marathon had been due to conclude on Friday, but dragged on with ministers mired in multiple disputes over implementing the Paris deal, which has so far failed to stem the upward march of global carbon emissions. Also: [Activists enraged by slow pace of climate diplomacy in Madrid]( And: [Is climate change causing us to experience ecological grief?]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme Everybody loves cake. That's why you need to watch your stuff, especially in the wild.[It just take an instant to ruin the birthday party](. Extra: As the UN accuses Chilean security forces of human rights abuses, [protesters refuse to back down in their fight against inequality](. Reuters contributed to this newsletter. --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [The river Seine in song]( - [Protesters take to streets hours after Algerian election]( - [The NBA in Mexico]( - [Youth protest pension reforms in France]( - [US senate votes unanimously to recognize Armenian genocide]( - [The disunited kingdom]( - [Historic electric plane flight]( - [UN climate summit draws to close with mixed results]( - [India’s citizenship law]( - [US-China announce trade deal]( - [UK landslide, but what's next?]( 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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