The 10 most important things in the world right now

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China soldiers sunset

Reuters/Stringer

Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Marine Corps are seen in training at a military training base in Bayingol, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, January 20, 2016.

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

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1. Facebook's stock exploded after the social media giant reported its fourth-quarter earnings. The stock went up over 13% as Facebook beat estimates on the top and bottom line, as well as on the company's solid user growth.

2. Google is asking for sanctions against Oracle after one of the software developer's lawyers discussed confidential details about the search giant's relationship with Apple at a court hearing earlier this month.

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3. North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range missile as soon as in a week, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported early on Thursday, citing an unnamed Japanese government official.

4. Apple is likely to update the iPad Air in March, according to a report Wednesday from 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman. The "iPad Air 3," as the device is likely to be named, may include support for Apple Pencil, the stylus introduced alongside the larger, professionally-oriented iPad Pro last year.

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5. A Kosovar citizen accused of hacking the personal data of more than a thousand US officials and sending it to Islamic State militants in Syria appeared in US federal court in Virginia on Wednesday.

6. The Syrian government in 2015 ignored most United Nations requests to deliver humanitarian aid to some of the 4.6 million people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas, the UN aid chief said on Wednesday.

7. Germany is accelerating a programme to bring its gold back to the country, after decades of storing the majority of its reserves overseas. Gold is an increasingly attractive asset to hold due to the volatility seen in markets so far in 2016.

8. WPP, the world's biggest advertising company, spent a whopping $4 billion with Google last year - and $1 billion with Facebook, WPP's CEO Sir Martin Sorrell told Business Insider.

9. Sweden intends to expel up to 80,000 migrants who arrived in 2015 and whose application for asylum has been rejected, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman said Wednesday.

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10. 2015 was a tough year for Chinese property developers. Plagued by falling property prices, largely as a result of a mounting supply glut in smaller cities, one third reported an operating loss.

And finally ... These are the 30 most creative people in advertising under 30.

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