Five things to know to start your Wednesday

South Korea’s president was arrested

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly causing an insurrection. He agreed to be arrested, saying he wanted to avoid violence, even though he believes the investigation is illegal.

This is a historic moment as Yoon is the first sitting president to be arrested in South Korea, even though the country has put other presidents in jail after they left office. The arrest marks another dramatic turn for one of Asia’s strongest democracies.

Since December 3, when lawmakers removed him from power after he briefly declared martial law, Yoon had been staying in his home on a hillside. He was protected by his personal security team, who had stopped an earlier attempt to arrest him.

More than 3,000 police officers came to arrest Yoon early Wednesday morning. In response, Yoon decided to cooperate rather than resist. “I decided to respond to the CIO’s investigation – despite it being an illegal investigation – to prevent unsavoury bloodshed,” Yoon said in a statement. The CIO (Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials) is the agency leading the investigation.

The US banned imports from 37 Chinese firms

The United States has banned 37 more Chinese companies from sending goods to America because they allegedly use forced labour in China’s Xinjiang region. These include big companies like Zijin Mining Group, some solar energy companies, including one owned by JA Solar Technology, and the clothing maker Huafu Fashion Co., along with 25 of its related companies.

American and European businesses have been urged to stop working with factories in Xinjiang. Worker rights groups have found evidence of forced labour camps and poor working conditions for the local Uyghur people there, though China says these claims aren’t true.

This is the biggest addition to the banned list since the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act became law in 2021. The list now includes 144 companies that can’t export to the United States.

Nigeria earned N50trn from crude oil in 2024

Nigeria earned about N50.88 trillion from crude oil in 2024. According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the country produced 408,680,457 barrels of crude oil that year.

Statista Research Department, a global statistics company, reported on January 9, 2025, that crude oil’s average price in 2024 was $80.53 per barrel. When multiplied by Nigeria’s oil production, this equals $32.91 billion. Converting this to Nigerian currency at N1,546 per dollar gives N50.88 trillion.

When including condensate (a light form of oil), Nigeria’s total oil production reached 566.79 million barrels in 2024. The country had originally planned to produce 649.7 million barrels of oil in 2024, aiming for 1.78 million barrels per day. The budget was based on an oil price of $78 and an exchange rate of N750 to a dollar, expecting to earn $50.68 billion or N38.01 trillion.

Even though Nigeria didn’t reach its daily production target, it still made more money than planned because oil prices were higher than expected. The falling value of the naira against the dollar also meant that oil sales brought in more naira than originally projected.

Read Also: US, France, Spain top 2024 buyers of Nigeria’s crude

Australia said it would retaliate if Russians killed its volunteer

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned Russia it will face the “strongest possible action” if it’s proven that they killed Melbourne teacher Oscar Jenkins while holding him captive in Ukraine.

This warning came Wednesday after Seven News reported that Jenkins, who went to Ukraine as a volunteer fighter, is believed to have been killed. While Australia’s foreign affairs department hasn’t confirmed this report, which came from unnamed Ukrainian sources, they are very worried about Jenkins’ safety.

“We call upon Russia to immediately confirm Oscar Jenkins’s status, we remain gravely concerned,” Albanese said while speaking to reporters in Tasmania. He added that the government needs to learn all the facts, but if Jenkins has been harmed, it’s “absolutely reprehensible and the Australian government will take the strongest action possible.”

The NBS website is still down

Nigeria’s main data agency, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), still can’t use its website because of a cyber attack that happened on December 18, 2024.

The website still wasn’t working as of January 15, 2025. This is causing worry about whether they’ll be able to release their important monthly inflation report, which usually comes out on the 15th of each month.

Notably, the attack happened shortly after the NBS shared some controversial findings about crime in Nigeria. Their survey showed that Nigerians paid about N2.3 trillion in ransom money over one year.

With the website down for so long, many people can’t get the economic data they need. This is especially problematic for government officials, business analysts, and investors who need this data to make important decisions.