Zhou Fengsuo, a student leader during the 1989 pro-democracy movement, told Axios he was moved to tears by the historic protests in China over the weekend.
The big picture: The last time large-scale demonstrations rocked China was 33 years ago, during the nationwide mass protests that ended when the Chinese government sent tanks to Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds of young pro-democracy activists.
The Chinese government's efforts to suppress the ongoing, unprecedented public protests over the country's zero-COVID policies are a "sign of weakness," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday.
Driving the news: Chinese censors have hastened to delete social media posts and articles about the protests, even as internet users race to screenshot and repost content related to the protests.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he does not think Russian President Vladimir Putin will use nuclear weapons.
Driving the news: "He is very dependent on the people of Russia and he wants to remain alive, so I don't think he's going to use nuclear weapons," Zelensky said during the New York Times DealBook Summit.
Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a "mistake" for Donald Trump to meet with rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and far-right activist Nick Fuentes, both of whom have made antisemitic remarks.
Why it matters: The remarks from Netanyahu, who is highly popular among Republicans, echo criticism from senior Republicans in Congress and several of Trump's former advisers.
France's staple bread, the baguette, was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list on Wednesday following a vote by the body to recognize the "artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread."
The big picture: The U.N. cultural body defines intangible cultural heritage as not only monuments or collections of objects but also "traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants."
Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who rose to power after the Tiananmen Square protests and presided over years of explosive growth, died on Wednesday. He was 96.
Driving the news: The ruling Communist Party said he died of leukemia and multiple organ failure, state media reported.
Top U.S. officials are considering drastic measures — including barring some asylum seekers and surging prosecutions of illegal border crossings — in preparation for an end to the pandemic-era Title 42 border policy, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Some of the ideas under serious consideration echo controversial immigration policies from the Trump administration. Others could expand legal avenues for migrants and asylum seekers in the region to enter the U.S.
A woman accused of helping dismember and dispose of the body of Spc. Vanessa Guillén, a soldier who was sexually harassed and killed on a Texas military base in 2020, pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Driving the news: Cecily Aguilar, 24, pleaded guilty to four charges, including one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas.
While many in the United States were watching the U.S. men's soccer team defeat Iran in the World Cup on Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a massive potential arms sale to the tournament's host country Qatar, AP first reported.
Chicana DJ "Old School Becky Lu" grew up listening to Art Laboe's syndicated radio show. Now, she's taking over as host following Laboe's death in October at the age of 97.
Why it matters: The percentage of radio disc jockeys who are Latino is declining, according to data gathered by Zippia.com, a job posting website.
The man who helped shape the Mesoamerican story in the latest Black Panther installment hopes the movie will inspire more people to seek out Indigenous history.
Background: "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" introduces Namor, a decades-old comic book character, with a revised backstory rooted in Mayan and Aztec history. He is played by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía
The government of Thailand notified the Israeli government that it received a commitment from Iran not to conduct attacks against Israeli targets on Thai soil, according to an Israeli Foreign Ministry cable and two Israeli officials briefed on the matter.
Why it matters: Thailand is a major tourism destination for Israelis, and Israeli officials haveaccused Iranian operatives several times in the past decade of attempting to conduct attacks on Israelis in the country.
The USMNT's win-or-go-home match against Iran has become more than a game amid heightened geopolitical turmoil.
Catch up quick: Iran's morality police, tasked with enforcing strict codes around women's dress and behavior, arrested 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September for improperly wearing her hijab. Amini died in custody, allegedly after being beaten by officers.
Just about 24 titles in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry are by Latino or Hispanic artists. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is trying change that.
Three Nigerian men who survived an 11-day journey from Lagos to Spain's Canary Islands while stowed away on the rudder of an oil tanker were rescued by the Spanish coast guard on Monday, AP reported.
Driving the news: The Maltese-flagged Alithini II, a chemical and oil tanker, arrived in Las Palmas Port in Gran Canaria on Monday after leaving Nigeria on Nov. 17, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking website.
The Chinese government and international labor laws have failed to protect Chinese laborers working in state-backed infrastructure projects overseas, according to a new report.
Why it matters: Overseas workers can be caught in a no man's land between China's labor laws and those of host countries, putting thousands of workers at risk of exploitation.
Between 400 and 500 migrant workers died as a result of their work for this year's World Cup, a Qatari official involved in the organization of the tournament told British journalist Piers Morgan in an interview that aired Tuesday.
Why it matters: The figure offered by Hassan al-Thawadi — the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy — is significantly higher than any estimate previously offered by Qatar, AP reported.
Amid an unprecedented swell of public anger against the Chinese government, internet users in China are racing to screenshot and repost content related to the COVID protests as censors try to scrub social media spaces of dissent.
Why it matters: Videos and photos posted to social media are one of the only ways to get information about the protests since information is tightly controlled in China and journalism in the country is heavily restricted.
