11.28.2022

China Protests

Protests against pandemic lockdowns grew across China over the weekend in light of a deadly Friday blaze in Urumqi, a city in the Xinjiang province in the northwest. Ten residents died when an apartment under lockdown caught fire, with protesters claiming lockdown measures hampered rescue efforts.

Demonstrations involving hundreds took place in at least eight cities—including Beijing and Shanghai—and dozens of universities, where gatherings to mourn the fire victims turned into protests of China's restrictive coronavirus policies. Some protesters even called on President Xi Jinping to step down. China's "zero-COVID" approach—which requires stringent lockdowns in response to an outbreak in cases—has led to periods of social isolation and economic slowdown. Officially reported cases reached an all-time high near 40,000 Saturday.

The upheaval comes a month after the 20th National Congress extended Xi Jinping's reign into a third five-year term, where Xi doubled down on the nation's zero-COVID approach. 

Holodomor Remembrance Day

Ukraine over the weekend marked the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor—a severe human-made famine that ravaged the country between 1932 and 1933, killing as many as 5 million people. The causes have been variously attributed to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin seeking to blunt a burgeoning Ukrainian independence movement and agricultural mismanagement by the centralized Soviet Union government. The tragedy has taken on renewed significance amid Russia's current invasion of Ukraine; learn more about the Holodomor here (w/video).

Meanwhile, officials in the capital of Kyiv said power had largely been restored following a Wednesday barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure. The attacks came as snow fell and temperatures dropped below freezing across most of the country. Reports suggest the winter weather has slowed on-the-ground operations on both sides. 

In the country's south, Russian forces continued to shell Kherson, the strategic port city it occupied since March but recently abandoned in the face of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. See updates on the war here.

Succession Rumors in North Korea

The 10-year-old daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made her second-ever public appearance over the weekend, sparking rumors over her potential future in the country's male-dominated leadership hierarchy. Her appearance, the first of which came earlier in the month, makes her the first to be publicly confirmed as one of Kim's children. 

Named Ju Ae, she is believed to be Kim's middle child, with an older brother aged around 12 and a younger sister around 5 years old. Her abrupt debut has left international observers speculating about the status of Kim's supposed eldest child, a boy who has never been revealed in public. Fueling further speculation, she was introduced with honorifics describing her as her father's "most beloved" and "precious" child. The tightly scripted events come a year after Kim supposedly suffered undisclosed health problems, though those reports have been disputed. 

Explore Kim's mysterious family tree here.

Science & Technology

Business & Markets

Politics & World Affairs

Where Americans find meaning in their lives.

Mapping "mind-blowing" seafloor changes caused by February's Tongan eruption. 

The average-sized home in every US state.

A list of beautiful—and inexpensive—beach spots for expats. 

Ranking the greatest TV show theme songs. 

Japanese soccer team cleans locker room after win. 

Banned World Cup beer to be awarded to winning team's country.

How to test if we're living in a simulation. 

Clickbait: Fighting for the right to be boring. 

Historybook: American-born Lady Astor becomes first female member of the House of Commons (1919); Motown Records founder Berry Gordy born (1929); Basketball inventor James Naismith dies (1939); Comedian Jon Stewart born (1962); Margaret Thatcher resigns as prime minister of the UK (1990).