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Global Stage: Live from Davos WATCH
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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Demonstrators including Tibetans, Uyghurs and Hongkongers protest against plans to open new Chinese mega-embassy, in London, United Kingdom, on Jan. 17, 2026.

Demonstrators including Tibetans, Uyghurs and Hongkongers gather outside the Royal Mint Court to protest against plans to open new Chinese mega-embassy, in London, United Kingdom, on Jan. 17, 2026.

Wiktor Szymanowicz/ZUMA Press Wire
600,000: The square footage of a new Chinese mega embassy slated for construction in London. (That’s 56,000 square meters for you non Imperial measurers.) London approved the project despite warnings from both local and US politicians that the building could be used for spying. The decision also comes right before Prime Minister Keir Starmer [...]
​U.S. President Donald Trump takes oath as Barron Trump and Melania Trump look on the day of his Presidential Inauguration at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump takes oath as Barron Trump and Melania Trump look on the day of his Presidential Inauguration at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
2.7%: The US year-on-year inflation rate as of December. When Trump took office last January, consumer prices were rising at a rate of 3%. Since then, inflation briefly fell to as low as 2.3% – not far from the Fed’s target of 2% – but tariffs and continued high costs for housing and groceries have buoyed the number again. Although the US has seen [...]
​Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025.

Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrives at a court to attend a hearing to review his arrest warrant requested by special prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea, July 9, 2025.

REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool/File Photo
5: The number of years South Korea’s ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced in prison today, on charges related to his failed attempt to impose martial law last year. Seoul’s Central District Court found him guilty of illegally using his bodyguards to prevent his arrest. [...]
A teenager poses holding a mobile phone as a law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, on December 10, 2025.

A teenager poses holding a mobile phone displaying a message from TikTok as a law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney, Australia, on December 10, 2025.

REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo
4.7 million: Australia’s government said today that 4.7 million social media accounts belonging to teenagers were deactivated in the first two days after a first-of-its-kind ban on social media for users under 16 took effect on Dec. 10 last year. Even so, many teenagers have said they’ve been able to get around the ban by lying about their age. [...]