US reunites 100 children separated from their families along US-Mexico border

Many families from Central America were torn apart by the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following US reunites 100 children separated from their families along US-Mexico border [A group of migrant families walk from the Rio Grande, the river separating the US and Mexico in Texas, near McAllen, Texas, March 14, 2019.] Credit: Eric Gay/AP/File photo United States The Department of Homeland Security says it has reunited 100 children — mostly from Central America — with their families, after they were separated by the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance border policy. [Around 350 more reunifications]( are also being processed. President Biden had issued an executive order on his first day in office to reunite the families. The parents are, however, entering the US on [temporary visas](, without guarantees that they won’t be deported and separated from their children again. Around 5,500 children were forcibly taken away from their parents under the previous administration, most of them in 2018. Hong Kong A monument remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing has been removed from the University of Hong Kong. The 26-foot Pillar of Shame made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschioet depicted bodies in red and orange colors piled on top of each other. It was one of the [few public memorials left]( in Hong Kong that commemorated the incident. The university said the monument will be moved into storage over [potential “legal risks”]( for the school. ”They are sending a signal to the students that it is over with the democracy movement and that it is over with free speech in Hong Kong,” Galschioet said in a statement. Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin has given his annual address. In it, he put the ball in NATO’s court to avoid a conflict in Ukraine. He said that the Biden administration had agreed to [hold talks in January](, but called on the West to quickly meet Russia’s demands. Last week, the Kremlin called on NATO to [halt its eastward expansion]( and demanded legally-binding security guarantees against offensive weapons being deployed to countries neighboring Russia. Moscow currently has around 100,000 of its troops stationed along the border with Ukraine, raising international fears of a potential invasion. --------------------------------------------------------------- Last call to support The World in 2021! Well, this is it! There are just a few days left to donate to The World’s nonprofit newsroom in 2021 and keep our coverage free and accessible to everyone. Your gift supports our hardworking team of journalists, producers and editors who bring you the best in human-centered international coverage every single weekday. We need just 103 more listeners to give $130 (or $11/month!) to reach our goal before we say goodbye to 2021! [Please make your gift today](. With gratitude, The entire team at The World --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Fighting continues in Ethiopia amid UN call for human rights probe]( [Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road leading to Abi Adi, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, May 11, 2021.]( Credit: Ben Curtis/AP/File photo The Ethiopian government continues to push back against Tigrayan forces in the ongoing civil war that began in November of 2020. The conflict has left thousands of people dead and millions of others displaced. Both sides have been [accused of human rights violations](. [Los Posadas holiday tradition brings ‘joy to the people’ in California community hit hard by the pandemic]( [Firebaugh residents perform traditional Aztec dances for the Virgen de Guadalupe celebration.]( Credit: Madi Bolanos Every December, Catholic Latinos across California honor the Virgen de Guadalupe. The [celebration of Las Posadas]( commemorates the appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to an Indigenous man named Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531. Honoring that tradition was especially important this year for the Firebaugh community that’s been hit hard by the pandemic. --------------------------------------------------------------- Dance with The World, 2021 edition: A playlist It's that time of the year when The World staff shares a Spotify playlist with our newsroom's favorite songs and albums of 2021. So, for a minute or two, forget political crises, breakthroughs in space exploration and crypto, and take a listen to "[Dance with The World, 2021 edition: A playlist](." [Cover art for albums of multiple artists. 'Suba' by Omar Sosa and Seckou Keita; 'El Alimento' by Cimafunk; 'Deja' by Bomba Estereo; 'Seeking New Gods' by Gruff Rhys; 'Dualite' by Ekin Beril; 'Rainbow Islands (NG+)' by Apta; 'Yéla Mama' by Eat my Butterfly; 'Sonidos De Karmatica Resonancia' by Zoé.]( Courtesy of the artists --------------------------------------------------------------- The Top of the World newsletter will resume on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. From all of us here at The World, we wish you a safe and festive holiday season and a very happy new year. 🎉 --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- - [Scatalogical Christmas traditions reign in Catalonia]( - [New Chinese noise pollution law targets retirees dancing in parks]( - [A little baby dinosaur]( - [COVID limits Christmas tourism to the Holy Land]( - [Amid pandemic, many Latino Catholics continue Christmas traditions]( - [Hanging on in Kabul]( - [Haitian film 'Freda']( - [A new pill for COVID-19]( - [Pressure grows on battered British prime minister]( 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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