Good afternoon and Brrrr 🥶, 

As temperatures drop to single digits and even negatives in Pakistan, here are this week’s updates to get you fired up. Plus, our recommendations for the week.

☕ Grab your chaye, let’s go.

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🌍 What in the World

🇬🇱 US President Donald Trump said the US needs to "own" Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so. The White House recently said the administration was considering buying the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, but it would not rule out the option of annexing it by force. Denmark and Greenland say the territory is not for sale. Denmark has also said military action would spell the end of the trans-Atlantic defence alliance.

🇮🇷 The Iranian army said it will safeguard strategic infrastructure and public property from Israel and other hostile groups as it urged Iranians to thwart the enemy’s plots, after Trump issued a new warning to Iran’s leaders over escalating anti-government protests. At least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 arrested during two weeks of anti-government protests. Authorities had cut internet access and telephone lines in Tehran and other cities on Thursday. Live updates here.

🇪🇺 The EU has reached a free trade agreement with South American countries, 25 years after talks began and despite opposition from farmers in several European countries. The EU lauded what will be its largest free trade accord to date, although critics have argued that cheap imports may undercut European farmers in products including beef, poultry and sugar.

🇺🇲 Tensions erupted in downtown Minneapolis overnight Friday into Saturday, as hundreds of protesters packed the streets over the killing of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot this week by an ICE agent involved with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. More than 1,000 demonstrations against the immigration crackdown are planned across the country this weekend. Live updates here.

🚢 South Africa defended its weeklong naval drills with Russia, Iran, China and other countries as “essential”, days after the United States seized a Venezuela-linked Russian oil tanker in the North Atlantic, saying it had violated Western sanctions. Meanwhile, Trump asked for at least $100bn in oil industry spending for Venezuela, but received a lukewarm response as an Exxon executive warned the South American country was currently uninvestable.

🇨🇳 Zhipu AI debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday after raising $558M, becoming the first major Chinese AI company to go public. Share prices on day one valued the company at between $6-8B, a fraction of Anthropic's recent $350B or xAI’s reported $230B valuations. MiniMax became the second ‘AI tiger’ (China-based AI startup) to IPO in Hong Kong on Friday, and saw its shares double in value on their first day as investors clamoured for a piece of a startup with popular consumer apps.

🇵🇰 Home ground

🪖 Pakistan’s military said on Tuesday that security forces killed 2,597 militants in more than 75,000 counterterrorism operations in 2025, as violence claimed the lives of 1,235 civilians and law-enforcement personnel.

💱 The Privatization Commission (PC) Board on Friday took key decisions on several high-profile transactions, suggesting termination of the sale of the House Building Finance Company Limited (HBFCL) stake, issuance of fresh expressions of interest for the Roosevelt Hotel, and inclusion of Islamabad airport in the privatization programme. The Board also approved the formation of a transaction committee for the privatization of Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO).

🛫 Bangladesh and Pakistan are set to resume direct flights after more than a decade, as ties warm and regional power balances shift. Biman Bangladesh Airlines is scheduled to fly its first Dhaka-Karachi flight on January 29 and will be operated twice weekly, the first regular flights since 2012.

🔎 Amnesty International has called for an urgent review of the 27th Amendment, describing it as “a concerted and sustained attack” on the independence of the judiciary. The 27th Constitutional Amendment has been widely criticized for abolishing judicial independence through the formation of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and introducing changes to the military leadership structure by rewriting Article 243 of the Constitution.

✈️ Pakistan is in the final phases of striking a $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons and jets to Sudan’s army, which is battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The Sudanese conflict has stoked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis for more than 2-1/2 years.

🏏 The Pakistan Super League (PSL) expanded to eight teams on Thursday with the addition of Hyderabad and Sialkot as new franchises, marking the league’s second major expansion. FKS secured the Hyderabad franchise for Rs1.75 billion, while OZ Developers acquired the Sialkot team for Rs1.85 billion at a competitive auction.

This Week In History

On Jan. 5, 1896, an Austrian newspaper reported the discovery by German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen of a new type of radiation that came to be called “X-rays.”

On Jan. 6, 1974, year-round daylight saving time began in the United States on a trial basis as a fuel-saving measure in response to the OPEC oil embargo.

On Jan. 7, 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei observed four of Jupiter’s moons for the first time.

On Jan. 9, 1916, the World War I Battle of Gallipoli ended with an Ottoman Empire victory as Allied forces withdrew.

On Jan. 9, 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone at the Macworld conference in San Francisco.

On Jan. 10, 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles went into effect.

Biscuitt recommends…

Reading:

🤖 Dan Wang’s year in review opens with this banger: “Silicon Valley and the Communist Party resemble each other in that both are serious, self-serious, and indeed, completely humourless.” Read here.

Watching:

🔋In Fukushima’s shadow, tracking Japan’s bumpy pivot back to nuclear. Watch here.

📱What actual science says about “brain rot”. Watch here.

🥶 What is life like in the coldest place on earth? Watch here.