5: Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. It’s also the first time that the US marks the insurrection since President Donald Trump, who pardoned 1,600 people who were either convicted or charged with a role in the riot, returned to office. Unlike former President Joe Biden, who used the anniversary to warn against threats to democracy, Trump has no plans to commemorate the events.
$436,000: The US seizure of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro pleased some people, but it was especially fortuitous for one Polymarket crypto investor who earned $436,000. The anonymous gambler made his winnings on the back of a $32,537 bet that Maduro would be out of power by the end of January.
1 million: India’s imports of Russian oil are set to drop below one million barrels per day, after Reliance Energy – the largest Indian importer of Russian crude – said it doesn’t expect any deliveries in January. India had been importing two million bpd at its peak in June, but US sanctions on the top two Russian oil firms, imposed in November, have prompted a slowdown.
27: Netflix has entered the geopolitical fray, pulling all 27 episodes of the hit show “Shine on Me” from its Vietnam platform after the country complained that one of the maps used in the show incorrectly suggests that China controls the Paracel and Spratly island chains. Beijing has claimed control of the islands since 1947, using an infamous nine-dash line to demarcate its territory.
