The 10 most important things in the world right now

Reuters

An Israeli artillery gun fires a shell into Lebanon, after a roadside bomb exploded next to an Israeli military border patrol near the Shebaa Farms area on Monday, near Kiryat Shmona, Israel, January 4, 2016.

Good morning! Here's what you need to know on Wednesday.

1. North Korea says it has conducted a successful hydrogen bomb test, in a surprise announcement. North Korea reportedly detonated the device at the Punggye-ri underground test site in the far northeast, its official Korean Central News Agency said.

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2. US President Barack Obama's gun-control announcement on Tuesday drew passionate reactions from virtually the entire 2016 presidential field. In an emotional speech at the White House, Obama said that he was taking executive action to expand the number of people subject to background checks when buying guns.

3. JPMorgan Chase has been fined $48 million for failing to meet terms of a settlement to resolve mortgage servicing violations, bank regulators said on Tuesday.

4. Toyota has hired a dream team of scientists to create a car that's "incapable of causing a crash." The Toyota Research Institute was launched with the ultimate goal of producing a car that's unable to cause a collision.

5. Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, rebounding from near 11-year lows in the previous session as concerns over growing supply and rising stock levels outweighed tensions between key Middle East producers.

6. Twitter may soon ditch its 140-character limit and allow users to write as much as 10,000 characters in a single tweet, Recode's Kurt Wagner reported Tuesday.

7. Growth across China's services sector slowed to a crawl in December, fueling fears that economic growth within the country is faltering. The latest Caixin-Markit services PMI gauge fell to 50.2 from 51.2 in November, the lowest level seen since July 2014.

8. Sony sold an incredible number of PlayStation 4s over the holiday period, new data has show. The company revealed at a Las Vegas conference it sold 5.7 million PS4 units during the festive period.

9. Real-estate mogul Donald Trump took a shot at Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson on Tuesday, after the actor suggested that the Republican presidential candidate cheated at golf.

10. The head of Volkswagen AG's top selling brand says he is "confident" the German automaker will reach agreement with US regulators to bring nearly 500,000 diesel vehicles into compliance with US emissions laws.

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