Hard Numbers

Hard numbers: Another South Korean leader sentenced over Martial law, US and China to finish TikTok sale, Guinea-Bissau announces election date, & More

​South Korea's former prime minister Han Duck-soo arrives at Seoul Central District Court to receive a first-instance verdict on insurrection-related charges, in Seoul, South Korea on January 21, 2026.

South Korea's former prime minister Han Duck-soo arrives at Seoul Central District Court to receive a first-instance verdict on insurrection-related charges, in Seoul, South Korea on January 21, 2026.

Matrix Images/Jung Ui-chel
23: The years to which former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was sentenced in jail over his role in helping former President Yoon Suk Yeol impose Martial law in late 2024. The sentence is far longer than the five-year sentence that Yoon himself received last week. Yoon could face a longer sentence after a ruling is made on the most serious charge, insurrection, next month.

20%: The stake Chinese-owned ByteDance will retain in TikTok’s US business, as a four-year-long dispute between the US and China over the app is set to conclude today. Influencers and the 170 million American users of TikTok can breathe a sigh of relief.

3: The number of people killed in a shooting in the rural Australian town of Lake Cargelligo on Thursday. The violence occurred on the same day that the country was honoring the victims of the mass shooting at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach, and just days after the House of Representatives passed legislation that would tighten gun restrictions.

966,152: The estimated number of registered voters in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau. Why is this relevant? Well the country’s military leaders, two months after ousting President Umaro Sissoco Embaló from office in a coup d’état, called an election for Dec. 6. The West African regional body Ecowas had called for a quicker transition.

28%: The surge in iVision Tech’s stock on Thursday after French President Emmanuel Macron wore a pair of their aviator sunglasses during his speech at Davos, a bold choice considering the speech was inside. His staff said the shades were covering up a burst blood vessel. It also comes after Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro’s appearance in a Nike tracksuit during his arrest prompted the sweats to sell out online. Move over Vogue, world leaders are the new trendsetters.

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