Visitors descended on Washington’s National Zoo on Friday to witness the cheery unveiling of two pandas on loan from China. Fans posted photos and videos to social media, as did the zoo under the hashtag #DCPandas.

But in China, the government has sent a chilling message to panda fans to watch what they say online. Some online influencers have been arrested or questioned over what the authorities called “rumors” and “radical fan culture.”

The police have targeted people who have advocated for animal welfare or criticized overseas exchanges like the one that brought pandas to Washington. But state media has also published warnings about broader panda fandom. The moves come amid Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s crackdown on internet fan culture.

China has millions of panda fans, many of whom have taken up the cause of animal welfare in a country where aggressive breeding tactics have injured bears and led to cubs being prematurely separated from their mothers. For years, the authorities tolerated their online activism and criticism, which targeted both Chinese and foreign zoos.

No more. Last month, the police in Sichuan Province said they had arrested 12 people for smearing panda experts, inciting violence and spreading false information about pandas, including two that used to live at the National Zoo.

The authorities have accused panda influencers of harassing staff at Chinese breeding centers and growing rich from livestream donations. The police claim to have uncovered panda-focused “radical animal protection gangs” in three provinces, according to state media.

In a bid to rein in internet culture, Mr. Xi has waged a war on online fandom, comparing enthusiast groups to “evil cults.” The authorities have detained sports fans for smearing Chinese athletes, apprehended people who swarmed airports to greet celebrities, and suspended K-pop fan accounts.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not answer questions sent Wednesday morning.

The crackdown shows how fragile discourse is in China, even when the subject is pandas.

“These civilian ‘patriots’ were sometimes encouraged or tolerated by the government,” said Xiao Qiang, a researcher on internet freedom at the University of California, Berkeley. “But when official narratives have new needs,” he added, “panda fans can also be punished and arrested.”

Online influencers maintain playful social media pages, where users connect around their favorite animals. These communities exploded during the pandemic, as people stuck at home turned to reels of the animals munching on bamboo. One panda, He Hua, has more than 880,000 followers on the platform Weibo. A panda renowned for mischievous escape attempts, Meng Lan, has about 380,000.

Panda enthusiasts even secured policy changes. Their activism helped prompt the national forestry bureau to improve standards for panda enclosures and ban people from paying to hug pandas.

When the Beijing Zoo bolted metal plates onto the windows of Meng Lan’s enclosure last year, to prevent escape, activists flooded government hotlines and social media with complaints. The zoo removed the plates and announced that it would renovate the space.

It helped that advocacy was often tinged with nationalism, like campaigning for the return of a scrappy panda from Memphis Zoo in 2023.

The National Zoo has been a frequent target. The zoo’s application to import the pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao elicited nearly 38,000 comments to the American government, some of them written partly in Chinese. Many commenters mentioned the zoo’s history of using invasive artificial breeding techniques.

“Pandas are a symbol for China,” said Mr. Xiao. The activism is “a unique combination of propaganda and protection of a specific species” that can help “promote a political narrative,” he said.

But the government’s careful dance with panda fans is over. The arrests last month followed the detention in June of four people who had trailed a panda expert at a breeding center in western China, shouting that he was a traitor for working with overseas zoos.

In December, state news agency Xinhua warned fans not to “let irrational misplaced love damage the panda protection field,” calling on them to “create a good environment for the development of giant panda protection research on the basis of science, rationality, and peace.”

The authorities in Sichuan accused a surprising demographic group, the middle-aged, of spending too much time online.

The police said that one woman spread “more than 60 rumors and defamatory videos involving giant pandas since August 2023.” They accused a couple of spreading misinformation on their livestreams for money. The authorities did not release the people’s full names.

While a few panda fans have resorted to extreme measures, most others have reasonable requests, said Sarah Cheng, a Chinese volunteer in Singapore with the group Panda Voices, which has organized international campaigns for panda welfare.

“They just want the pandas to live better,” she said. “They want them to have bamboo shoots and proper bamboo to eat.” But many of their concerns, she said, “have largely gone unaddressed or dismissed.”

The medical student was showering near his dormitory in the jungles of eastern Myanmar when he heard military jets flying overhead. Wearing only undershorts, he raced to a bomb shelter. But there, he faced another danger: a black snake. Grabbing a stick, he killed it before it could bite him.

“It was terrifying,” said Khuu Nay Reh Win, 21, who was inspired to become a surgeon after working as a rebel army medic. “The fear of dying from a snakebite is as real as the fear of bombs.”

Such is student life at Karenni Medical College, a school founded two years ago in territory controlled by rebel forces. The campus, with classrooms and dorms made of thatched bamboo, was built deep in the jungle by the professors and students themselves.

It is one of 18 small universities, colleges and academies established in rebel-held territory in the four years since Myanmar’s military ousted the country’s civilian leaders and seized power in a coup, according to anti-junta officials in five regions of the country. They lack funds for much-needed equipment and supplies, and their facilities are simple. But the hope is that these schools can help create the foundation for a new democratic society in the country.

“We opened without waiting for the revolution to end because we were concerned that if young people were cut off from education for too long, they might change paths, face delays in their learning and miss out on higher education opportunities,” said Dr. Myo Khant Ko Ko, the founder and president of Karenni Medical College.

Myanmar’s civil war has shattered the rhythms of life in the country. Thousands of people have been killed by the military. Tens of thousands more have been imprisoned. Millions have become refugees in their own country. And the economy lies in ruins.

The anti-junta forces are a loose alliance of disparate groups of armed ethnic minorities that have fought the military for years, and of units formed more recently from the ranks of pro-democracy protesters.

In the past 15 months, ethnic rebel forces have scored numerous victories in the countryside, and anti-junta forces now claim control of more than half the country’s territory, giving rise to optimism among supporters.

But the junta retains control of Myanmar’s major cities and the capital, Naypyidaw, as well as most of the country’s wealth and air power. A clear-cut victory remains elusive for the rebels, who lack significant international support, a steady flow of munitions and, most important, a unified command structure, said Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst with the Janes group of military publications.

The 18 schools, which are all located in ethnic rebel territory, are recognized by the shadow National Unity Government, said its deputy minister of education, Sai Khaing Myo Tun. Students pay little or nothing to attend.

Educators are also trying to establish a school system for primary- and secondary-school students, many of whom live in camps for displaced people.

The universities and colleges, with student populations ranging from dozens to the low hundreds, offer degrees in the sciences, liberal arts, agriculture, law, technology, nursing and music, among others. Some have ties to foreign universities and have sent students abroad to study.

To avoid airstrikes, the schools remain as concealed as possible. Some have taken over buildings partly damaged by fighting. Others are tucked away in residential areas or are hidden beneath the jungle canopy.

Some students commute to campus from refugee camps where they live with parents and siblings. Others have enlisted with the rebel forces and attend class when they are not fighting.

One school, the Ta’ang Arts Academy in Shan State, is devoted to ethnic culture and music. Its first class has 27 students. The director, Owm Sa Ngarr, said he hoped to preserve local culture while using music “as a medium for healing the psychological trauma faced by people living in conflict zones.”

The biggest challenge, administrators said, was a lack of funding to buy equipment, pay salaries and improve facilities.

But everyone lives in fear of junta jets and drones.

“Every day, we teach under the constant worry of aerial bombings, listening carefully to the sound of planes and watching the skies anxiously,” said Baby Hsan Chit Su, a founder of (and chemistry professor at) Phanshaw University in Karenni State, a liberal arts college that opened in March.

In the days after the 2021 coup, doctors in Mandalay led walkouts that spurred a nationwide civil disobedience movement. Now, some of them are leading efforts to establish medical schools in rebel-held territory.

Khin Maung Lwin, who resigned in protest from his post as rector of the prestigious University of Medicine, Mandalay, founded the School of Medical Science in Kachin State in 2023 and recruited professors who participated in the civil disobedience movement.

The school, with about 100 students, was forced to shut down twice when bombs began falling nearby. The professors and students moved temporarily to a safer area near the Chinese border, where the students helped care for the injured.

“Many of these students have gained significant hands-on experience in treating trauma,” Dr. Khin Maung Lwin said.

Nelly Phoe, 22, who plans to become a surgeon, is typical of many students at the medical school in Karenni State, the second one to open.

Her family’s home was destroyed by junta artillery. Her mother and a younger brother live in a refugee camp. Two older brothers are soldiers in the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force.

But her life is not easy at the jungle medical school.

A giant snake once slithered near her pillow while she was sleeping. Sometimes, because of inadequate facilities, she bathes in a pond where cows drink. When drones and jets fly overhead, she quickly interrupts her studies, turns off her light and flees to a bomb shelter.

And if snakes and air raids were not enough, she and other students must contend with local cattle that wander onto campus and eat their laundry. A veterinarian from the region said the cows may have developed an appetite for soap because their diet lacks salt.

Mr. Khuu Nay Reh Win, the student who encountered the snake in the bomb shelter, said the cows had eaten all but one shirt and his school-issued medical scrubs.

“I’ve lost more than 10 shirts to the cows,” he said.

Hamas said on Friday that it would release four female soldiers held hostage for over a year in Gaza, as part of a hostage-for-prisoner swap set to take place on Saturday, as Israelis and Palestinians anxiously await the next steps in the cease-fire deal.

In a statement, Hamas identified the four women as Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19. All four were abducted from the military base near Gaza where they served during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that began the war.

Israel said mediators between the two sides had passed along a list of names of hostages slated for release on Saturday, without confirming their identities. It remained unclear whether the four named by Hamas would ultimately be released.

Mediators hope that the six-week truce between Israel and Hamas, which began on Sunday, could lay the foundation for a permanent end to the war in Gaza. But the coming weekend could prove a crucial test for the agreement.

Under the terms of the deal, Israel would be expected to release around 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the four women hostages on Saturday, including some serving life sentences for involvement in attacks on Israelis.

The truce also stipulated that Israeli forces would have to partly withdraw from a wide zone in central Gaza to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to begin heading back to their homes in the devastated north.

And Hamas has also committed to supplying Israel on Saturday with information about the condition of the remaining hostages to be released during the six-week truce, said two Israeli officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy.

Israel has long demanded to know which hostages were still alive after more than 15 months in captivity in Gaza. Hamas has refused to provide the information, with some officials arguing that they could not even confirm their status before a truce allowed its fighters to move and communicate freely.

The 42-day cease-fire deal went into effect on Sunday, pausing the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Hamas agreed to release 33 of the remaining hostages in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians jailed by Israel and a partial Israeli withdrawal. During the pause, both sides agreed to discuss terms for a longer cease-fire.

Many on both sides saw the deal as a bittersweet moment. Gazans were grateful for a reprieve after 15 months of war that killed tens of thousands, even as they feared for their future in the enclave, much of which has been reduced to rubble.

Israelis experienced a moment of collective euphoria over the release of three female hostages — Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31. But their joy was tempered by scenes of Hamas fighters parading through the streets of Gaza in a show of force, despite Israeli leaders’ vows to destroy the group. As part of that exchange, Israel released 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that the Israeli authorities said killed roughly 1,200 and saw 250 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza killed at least 45,000 people, according to local health officials, whose statistics do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Roughly 94 hostages still remain in Gaza, dozens of whom are presumed dead, according to the Israeli authorities. They include Israeli soldiers, male civilians, women and Thai migrant workers.

President Donald J. Trump said he would reach out to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, raising the possibility of rekindling their bromance diplomacy five years after their first round of negotiations drew global attention but did little to reduce Mr. Kim’s growing nuclear threat.

“He liked me and I got along with him,” Mr. Trump said during an interview with the Fox News host Sean Hannity, after saying that he would reach out to Mr. Kim again in his second term. “He is not a religious zealot. He happens to be a smart guy.”

Mr. Trump’s comments, aired on Thursday night, were the first time he has expressed an intent to reopen diplomacy with Mr. Kim since taking office on Monday. During his first term, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim made history when they held the first summit between their nations, which remain technically at war. But their relationship petered out after their three high-profile meetings failed to yield any progress.

It is unclear whether or how Mr. Kim, emboldened by a stronger alliance with Russia and his own country’s military advances, will respond to the overtures this time around. Since Mr. Trump last met Mr. Kim five years ago, North Korea’s missile capabilities have expanded and he could demand a bigger price for making concessions on his nuclear program, analysts say.

Mr. Trump had voiced interest in the North Korean leader during his campaign, saying at one point that “it’s nice to get along when somebody has a lot of nuclear weapons.” Hours after his inauguration, he also told reporters that Mr. Kim was “a nuclear power,” a shift from Washington’s longstanding refusal to recognize North Korea as such.

Officials in South Korea, a U.S. ally gripped by a domestic political crisis following the impeachment of its leader, have feared Mr. Trump’s return might put the Korean Peninsula on a diplomatic roller coaster ride again.

During his first term, Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim first exchanged personal insults and threats of nuclear war. They then shook hands and held three meetings between 2018 and 2019. At one point, Mr. Trump declared on social media that there was “no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea” and that he “fell in love” with Mr. Kim.

Those talks, however, ended without an agreement on how to roll back North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs or when the United States should ease sanctions imposed on the country. Mr. Kim vowed not to engage Washington in dialogue again and has doubled down on building and testing nuclear-capable missiles.

Now, South Korean analysts and officials fear that Mr. Trump might make a deal with Mr. Kim in which North Korea would give up its long-range missiles, but not all its nuclear weapons, in exchange for sanctions relief.

Mr. Trump’s recent statement describing North Korea as a nuclear power clashed with a long-held agreement between Washington and Seoul that North Korea should never be accepted as such.

“We cannot grant North Korea nuclear power status,” South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement after Mr. Trump’s comment.

Despite Mr. Trump’s flattering comments about Mr. Kim, it was unclear whether the dictator would warm to the idea of a renewed courtship. Following the collapse of the first round of meetings, Mr. Kim has championed a new “multipolar” global order, signing a mutual defense pact with Moscow last year and sending weapons and an estimated 12,000 troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Despite suffering heavy casualties in the war against Ukraine, North Korea was preparing to send more troops to Russia, the South Korean military said on Friday.

China has long been the only major buffer between North Korea and American-led international efforts to tame its regime’s military ambitions. In return for helping Russia in its war against Ukraine, Mr. Kim has recruited Moscow as another major ally to shield his country from U.S. pressure.

North Korea had not commented on Mr. Trump’s election or inauguration until on Wednesday, when its state media carried a two-sentence report.

The regime did, however, launch missiles off its east coast in the days before the inauguration. And it is preparing to launch more missiles, according to South Korea’s military, including long-range ballistic missiles powerful enough to reach the continental United States, which tend to annoy American defense officials the most.

North Korean state media reported Friday that the nation’s parliament had this week adopted budgets for the year that would ”ensure the acceleration of the significant change in the national defense capabilities.”

Mr. Kim will likely wait until a Workers’ Party meeting in June or another parliamentary gathering in September to react to Mr. Trump’s overture, said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

“He will react after gauging the Trump administration’s seriousness, intention and calculations behind its North Korea approach,” Mr. Hong said.