Five things to know to start your Thursday

There was a terrorist attack in New Orleans

A deadly attack shook New Orleans’ French Quarter on New Year’s Day when a former U.S. soldier drove into crowds of people, killing 15 and injuring about 30 others. The driver was flying an ISIS flag from his truck and drove around barriers that had been set up to protect the area.

The attacker was Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old from Texas who had served in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan. Police killed Jabbar in a shootout after he crashed into the crowd.

The attack happened at about 3:15 in the morning where Canal Street meets Bourbon Street, a famous area where tourists often go to enjoy music and bars. At the time, people were out celebrating the New Year. During the shootout, two police officers were hurt.

The situation remained dangerous even after Jabbar was killed. Police found weapons and what looked like a bomb in his vehicle. They also found and safely removed two possible bombs in the French Quarter.

Nigeria’s new withholding tax policy has begun

The Federal Government has started implementing the 2024 Withholding Tax Regulations, which aim to make its tax system more modern and efficient. President Bola Tinubu approved these changes in July 2024, and they officially started on January 1, 2025.

The new rules, officially called the “Deduction of Tax at Source (Withholding) Regulations, 2024,” are meant to make paying taxes easier, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, manufacturers, producers, and farmers. The changes will help make the tax process simpler and reduce paperwork for businesses.

Taiwo Oyedele, who leads the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, announced these changes on New Year’s Day through his X account (X was formerly called Twitter). He wrote: “As part of the ongoing fiscal policy and tax reforms, the 2024 Withholding Tax Regulations, which was approved in July 2024 and published in the Official Gazette in October 2024, take effect today 1 January 2025.”

Read Also: Here’s what to know about new withholding tax regulations

Asian factories ended 2024 on a weak footing

Factories across Asia struggled at the end of 2024, and business leaders are worried about 2025. They fear two main problems: the possibility of Donald Trump becoming president again and China’s ongoing weak demand for goods.

On Thursday, reports came out showing how well factories were doing in different Asian countries in December. These reports, called Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs), showed that manufacturing slowed down in China and South Korea. However, there was some good news from Taiwan and Southeast Asia, where factory activity showed signs of improvement.

President-elect Trump has said he plans to put high taxes on goods coming from Mexico, Canada, and China. This could hurt other countries that make and sell a lot of products, and affect business around the world.

In China, the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI showed factory activity barely grew in December. The number dropped to 50.5 from 51.5 in November, which was lower than experts had predicted. (Any number above 50 means business is growing, but just barely in this case.)

NNPCL may slash its oil supply to Dangote

According to The Punch, the Nigerian government might give less oil to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, down from its current 300,000 barrels per day, unless Nigeria can produce more oil overall.

This change is being considered because two other refineries – Warri and Port Harcourt – have started working again. Together, these two refineries can process about 135,000 barrels of oil per day. These facilities are run by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and have only recently started working again after being ignored for many years while Nigeria imported fuel instead.

The government wants to make sure all refineries get enough oil under its new program where refineries can pay for crude oil in Nigerian naira instead of dollars. The goal is to create more competition among companies that make fuel products. Before this new program started, the government used to give about 445,000 barrels of oil per day to refineries run by NNPCL.

South Korea’s Yoon refused to back down, and opposition says he’s ‘delusional’

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was recently impeached, has written a letter to his supporters promising to “fight until the end.” Yoon is now facing possible arrest over his declaration of martial law on December 3.

In his letter written Wednesday night, Yoon reached out to the hundreds of supporters who have gathered near his official residence to protest against his investigation. “I am watching on YouTube live all the hard work you are doing,” he wrote.

According to Seok Dong-hyeon, a lawyer who advises Yoon, the letter also included these words: “I will fight until the end to protect this country together with you.”

The Democratic Party, which holds the majority in parliament and led Yoon’s impeachment on December 14, criticized his letter. They said it shows that Yoon is delusional and remains determined to complete what they call his “insurrection.”

The party’s spokesman, Jo Seoung-lae, responded strongly, saying: “As if trying to stage insurrection wasn’t enough, he is now inciting his supporters to an extreme clash.”