Merry Christmas Australia!! - India tightens its grip as unrest spreads - After a respite, Hong Kong clashes are back - Uber bids farewell to its controversial founder - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:

India shut down the internet in more areas and is tightening security in the face of widening demonstrations against a citizenship law that critics say opens the door to official discrimination against Muslims.  Lawmakers from the ruling BJP party planning their own marches to back the controversial law, even though nationwide protests against it are escalating - some 20 rallies on each side of the issue are scheduled from Christmas to New Year's.  At least 21 people have been killed in protests since the law was passed earlier this month.

Hong Kong cops fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who took their pro-democracy movement to crowded malls on Christmas Eve.  Despite being pelted with umbrellas and other objects, the cops did not fire bullets.  It marks a return to tension and violence that had eased in the recent days of the protests, now in their seventh month.  Despite the protests taking a big chunk of of Hong Kong's profits - especially in the tourism sector - Beijing seems intent on waiting out the movement, rather than cracking down.

Venice, Italy has been inundated with floodwater again, surpassing the 1.4 meter mark that the government uses to declare it "exceptional".  At 1.47 meters above flood stage, it's not as bad as November's 1.87 meter floods, but keep in mind that the historic lagoon city had barely begun cleaning up after the previous disaster before this one seeped in.  "I've been living here for more than 50 years and never seen anything like that," said Toto Bergamo Rossi, director of the cultural foundation Venetian Heritage, "It's more than a month now, this is a prolonged emergency."  It's the fifth exceptional flood in Venice this year, whereas even in the worst years of the past only two would occur.

Uber is cutting its remaining ties with founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick, announcing he will resign from the board of directors of the ride-hailing giant by the end of the year.  Uber experienced rapid global expansion under Kalanick, but racked up a series of black eyes as well, in the form of:  A toxic, sexist workplace culture; no screening of drivers in the early days, leading to lawsuits over sexual assaults; clashes with local governments over the company undermining local licensing and regulation of taxis.  He was pushed out of power in 2017, but stayed on the board until now.  Uber shares have lost more than 30 percent since the company's disappointing IPO earlier this year, but Kalanick managed to make US$2.5 Billion by selling his.