Five things to know to star your Wednesday

Trump is ramping up threats to gain control of Greenland and the Panama Canal

Donald Trump, who will soon be president again, insists that the United States should take control of both Greenland and the Panama Canal, saying they’re vital for America’s security.

When asked if he would promise not to use military or economic power to take these territories, Trump replied, “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two. But I can say this: We need them for economic security.” He said this during a news conference at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.

Both countries involved have firmly said no to giving up any territory—Denmark won’t give up Greenland, and Panama won’t give up the Canal.

Oil prices rose on tighter OPEC supply and US jobs data

Oil prices went up on Wednesday for two main reasons: oil supplies from Russia and OPEC countries decreased, and unexpected good news about U.S. jobs suggested the economy is growing, which typically means more oil will be needed.

The price of Brent crude oil increased by 32 cents (0.42%) to $77.37 per barrel early in the day. The U.S. oil price (West Texas Intermediate) rose by 42 cents (0.57%) to $74.67.

OPEC’s oil production dropped in December, after going up for two months. This happened mainly because the United Arab Emirates was doing maintenance work on its oil fields, which offset increased production from Nigeria and other OPEC members.

Russia’s oil production in December was lower than planned, averaging 8.971 million barrels per day, according to Bloomberg.

The U.S. economy showed strength too – a jobs report revealed more job openings in November than expected, few layoffs, and workers staying in their jobs. When the economy is strong like this, oil prices tend to go up because businesses and people use more oil.

Read Also: Oil, manufacturing sectors got most bank loans in nine months

Trudeau rejected Trump’s threat to annex Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has strongly rejected Donald Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. might try to take over Canada. Trudeau was very clear, saying: “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.”

He also pointed out how both countries help each other, saying: “Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner.”

Trump had talked about using “economic force” against Canada on Tuesday, while also threatening to add new taxes on goods from Canada, one of America’s largest trading partners.

Trump also shared maps with Canada as part of the United States on social media on Wednesday morning.

TCN said Delta will experience a partial blackout today

Some areas in Delta State will lose power for three hours tomorrow. The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) made this announcement on Tuesday.

TCN’s public affairs manager, Ndidi Mbah, explained they need to fix equipment at their Delta power station. The work will happen from 10 AM to 1 PM on Wednesday.

Here’s what Mbah said officially: “The maintenance aims to address a fault on the 132kV Delta1 busbar.”

This means several areas won’t have electricity during this time:

“Consequently, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) will not be able to offtake power to supply Agbarho/Eku, Otovwodo/Patani, Ughelli/Shell, Beta Glass, Aladja, Isoko/Kwale, and Imoniyame.”

More areas will also be affected: “Additionally, customers on the 33kV Effurun, Enerhen, PTI, Sapele, Refinery 1, Refinery 2, and Warri feeders, which emanate from the Effurun Transmission Substation, will also be affected.”

Nigeria’s military dropped in world rankings

Nigeria’s armed forces are now ranked 39th strongest in the world, according to a new report by Global Firepower, which looked at 145 countries’ military strength in 2024.

The ranking shows a steady decline over the past two years. In 2022, they were ranked 35th in the world. They dropped to 36th place in 2023, and now they’ve fallen further to 39th place in 2024.

This drop happened even though Nigeria bought new fighter jets and other military equipment. It also comes despite the military saying they’ve been successful in fighting terrorists.

In Africa, Nigeria is no longer in the top three strongest militaries. Egypt now leads as Africa’s strongest military, followed by Algeria in second place and South Africa in third. Nigeria comes in fourth, followed by Ethiopia, Angola, Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, and Sudan.