Amit Dave/Reuters

• Gautam Adani — Asia’s richest person — saw his wealth plunge over $20 billion on Friday alone, per Bloomberg.
• The wealth wipeout followed a crash in the shares of his listed businesses, after a bombshell short-seller report.
• Adani is now the world’s 7th richest person — down from the 4th position earlier last week.

It’s just one month into 2023, but Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest person, has already seen his wealth plunge by nearly a quarter following a short seller’s bombshell report against the Adani conglomerate.

In a scathing report last Tuesday titled “how the world’s 3rd richest man is pulling the largest con in corporate history,” Hindenburg Research leveled allegations of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme” at the Adani Group.

Shares of the company’s listed businesses crashed in response, losing over $50 billion in market value Wednesday through Friday, according to Bloomberg. 

Since much of Adani’s wealth is derived from his stakes in the companies, the Indian billionaire’s wealth also took a massive hit, plunging $20.8 billion on Friday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Adani, who’s wealth clocks in at around $92.7 billion as of January 30, is still the world’s richest Asian, but his ranking on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index has dropped to the seventh place — down from the fourth position earlier last week. His fortune has fallen almost $28 billion or about 23% so far this year.

This is the largest ever hit to the Indian billionaire’s wealth and the steepest ever market-driven decline for anyone in Asia, according to Bloomberg.

Adani Group has strongly rebutted Hindenburg’s report

Hindenburg’s report also comes at an inopportune time for the Adani Group, which is offering a secondary share sale of Adani Enterprises — the flagship business of the Adani business empire. The sale closes Tuesday.

But the Adani Group had not taken the attack lightly — in fact, it has put up strong rebuttals against Hindenburg’s allegations and said on Thursday it was exploring legal action.

On Sunday, the conglomerate also issued a 413-page report against Hindenburg, saying its report is “nothing but a lie.” 

“This is not merely an unwarranted attack on any specific company but a calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India,” the Adani Group said in its Sunday report.

Hindenburg responded on Sunday the Adani Group failed to answer most of the questions it had asked and had “predictably tried to lead the focus away from substantive issues and instead stoked a nationalist narrative” and tried to conflate Adani’s rise with the success of India itself. 

“To be clear, we believe India is a vibrant democracy and an emerging superpower with an exciting future,” Hindenburg said in its strongly worded statement. “We also believe India’s future is being held back by the Adani Group, which has draped itself in the Indian flag while systematically looting the nation.”

Hindenburg further said “fraud is fraud, even when it’s perpetrated by one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.”

Adani did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment sent via the Adani Group.

Liane Hentscher/HBO

• Warning: There are spoilers ahead for season one, episode three of “The Last of Us,” “Long, Long Time.”
• Insider rounds up game references and small moments you may have overlooked.
• The show changes Bill’s story, gives the infection an origin, and features a truck from the game.

Joel, Sarah, and Tommy were almost infected on the series’ pilot.Sarah and Joel narrowly missed eating potentially infected food a few times on “The Last of Us” pilot.

HBO, composite by Kirsten Acuna/Insider

Early on Sunday’s episode, Ellie asks Joel how the cordyceps infection spread so quickly back in the day. Who was the first person bitten? Joel tells her the “best guess” is that the cordyceps mutated by getting into the food supply and a basic ingredient like flour or sugar.

“There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere,” Joel tells Ellie. “All across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal, pancake mix. You eat enough of it, it’ll get you infected.”

When Joel mentions pancake mix, it should make you think back to the show’s first episode. Sarah originally wanted to make pancakes for Joel’s birthday. They were out of mix, so they had eggs instead. If they had pancakes for breakfast, they likely would’ve been infected.

Joel and Sarah avoided possible infection multiple times on the premiere. When they left the house, their neighbor offered them biscuits. The older neighbor eating one later became infected. Sarah also avoided some cookies in the afternoon because she wasn’t a fan of the flavor.

You can read more on the their near miss here.

Bill’s Massachusetts town on Sunday’s episode is idyllic. The one in the game is gross and rundown.The entrance to Bill’s town (and a map of it) in the game versus Bill’s pristine town in the show.

Naughty Dog, HBO

Bill’s Lincoln, Massachusetts, sanctuary looks like a pristine, well-preserved town that’s frozen in time and unmarred by the apocalypse.

The one featured in the game isn’t the sort of place you’d want to make your home for two decades. It’s falling apart, grimy, and looks like a looted town. Joel, Ellie, and Bill still run into the infected in Bill’s safe space.

Bill lives in a church instead of a house in the game.There’s a church seen in Bill’s town like the one he lived inside of in the game.

Naughty Dog, HBO

In the game, Bill leads Joel and Ellie through a church where he sleeps on a beat-up mattress in a mostly empty room.

Bill lives like a king on the show in a house with a white-picket fence. There is a church in Bill’s town, likely a nod to the one featured in the game.

Bill dies on Sunday’s episode, but he’s still alive in the game. Frank is never seen alive in the game.Frank and Bill get to play out their lives differently on “TLOU” series.

HBO

Sunday’s episode is a complete expansion on Bill and Frank’s game characters. 

The pair’s love story on HBO’s adaptation is a much richer and respectful adaptation of Bill than the version that’s glossed over in the game where his sexuality is merely implied, but never directly stated, and the relationship is depicted in a negative light.

In the game, Joel and Ellie seek out Bill, shown as a paranoid loner who speaks to himself, to help them fix a vehicle and carry on their mission. Frank, also Bill’s partner in the game, is only seen dead, hanging after committing suicide some time ago after an infected bit him. 

In the game, we learn the two had a nasty falling out, resulting in Frank’s eventual death. 

As far as we know in the game universe, Bill is still alive. 

During a Zoom conversation with showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann in December, Insider asked why the show expanded upon Bill’s story in a significant way, giving him a happily ever after.

Mazin said that after two episodes filled with action and danger, there was an opportunity to take a breath in the story and show survival from a different vantage point.

“There’s this lovely thread that indicated this hint of a relationship between Bill and Frank in the game,” Mazin said.

He added: “I just suggested to Neil that maybe we pull that thread and we take it in a different direction in terms of the way it was depicted in the game, and use it to show the passage of time and use it to explore some of these themes that are so important to the length of the show, themes about what it means to love somebody, the different kinds of love, including a love that can be very protective and violent and dangerous, and how we could give these two men a win.”

You can watch our conversation with the showrunners on Sunday’s episode here.

Joel never knew about Frank in the game.Joel asks Bill about Frank in the game.

Naughty Dog, composite by Kirsten Acuna/Insider

On Sunday’s episode, we see Joel and Tess visit with Bill and Frank in the past.

In the game, Joel and Tess only know Bill. Frank was his secret partner. When Bill, Joel, and Ellie come across Frank’s body, a confused Joel asks Bill about the man.

On the show, Frank is supposed to have multiple sclerosis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by the episode’s end.Near the end of Frank’s life, we see him in a wheelchair.

HBO

Towards the episode’s end, Frank is seen on a wheelchair and has limited use of his hands and legs. On HBO’s official “TLOU” podcast, host Troy Baker asked the showrunners Frank’s diagnosis.

“We didn’t necessarily want to specify it for the audience,” Mazin said. “It was either MS or early ALS.”

 

On their last day on Earth, Bill makes Frank the same meal they had the first day they met.Bill serves Frank his first and final meals.

HBO, composite by Kirsten Acuna/Insider

Bill cooks Frank rabbit and serves it with a the Beaujolais wine.

The shot of Bill walking out of the kitchen into the dining room is a match of the same scene from earlier in the episode when he serves a hungry Frank food.

Joel and Ellie find a hopeful note from Bill on the show. It’s in direct contrast to the hate-filled note Joel finds in the game from Frank.The differences between Bill’s and Frank’s letters in the show versus the game.

HBO, Naughty Dog

Bill’s letter to Joel provided hope and advice for him to take care of Tess.

It read: “…I respect you so I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand. I used to hate the world and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then, I protected him. That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do and God help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep Tess safe.”

Since Bill doesn’t die in the game, there’s no note from him for Joel to find. Instead, players can find a mean-spirited note in the game addressed to Bill from Frank. If you find it, Joel hands it to Bill who reads it and drops it to the ground.

In part, Frank’s note to Bill read: “I want you to know I hated your guts. I grew tired of this shitty town and of your set-in-your-ways attitude. I wanted more from life than this and you could never get that.”

Not only did Bill and Frank live in a well-kept town on the show, but Bill did eventually understand what Frank wanted from life. The two built a beautiful life together despite the circumstances of the apocalypse.

Joel’s demeanor toward Ellie slightly softens by the episode’s end.Joel takes Bill’s advice to heart on Sunday’s episode.

HBO

Bill’s letter told Joel he’s still here to keep people, like Tess, safe.

Druckmann told Insider the lesson Bill learned about “what’s important in this life” on Sunday’s episode reflects back to Joel and his current mission to get Ellie to the Fireflies. He may not be able to protect Tess, who died on last week’s episode, anymore, but he can use his abilities to help a young teenager.

Of Bill’s letter to Joel, Druckmann said, “He gives him this warning that’s too late. Here’s what you gotta do for Tess. And then Joel realizes, ‘Well, it’s too late for Tess. Maybe it’s not too late for this kid.'”

After making a car battery with Bill’s supplies, Joel opens up to Ellie for the first time and tells her about his brother Tommy, who’s located in Wyoming and in trouble.

The truck Joel and Ellie take at the episode’s end is the one they find in the game.The truck in the game versus the show.

HBO, composite by Kirsten Acuna/Insider

Joel and Ellie leave Bill and Frank’s town in Bill’s blue-and-white pick-up truck on the show.

Bill leaves Joel the car key on the show. The truck is similar to the one Joel and Ellie eventually drive off with in the game, but it’s found in a different way.

In the game, Ellie and Joel go on a hunt for a car battery with Bill to patch up a vehicle to continue on their journey west. Instead, the trio come across Frank’s body before Ellie finds the car battery they were searching for in a blue-and-white truck. After a fallout with Bill, Frank found Bill’s hidden car battery and planned to use the truck to escape the town before he was bitten and infected.

The song that plays at the end of the episode was heard earlier in the episode.Ellie finds a cassette tape with Linda Ronstadt’s music in Bill’s truck.

HBO

Ellie finds a cassette tape in the glove compartment of the truck. It’s Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time.”

That’s the song Bill and Frank played on the piano the first day they met. Instead of making a meal for Frank and allowing him to hit the road, the two shared an instant attraction, fell in love, and spent their lives together for 16 years.

The episode closes with the song playing as the camera pulls into Bill and Frank’s open window where they’re presumably lying dead in each other’s arms as we hear the lyrics: “I think I’m gonna love you for a long, long time.”

On HBO’s official podcast for the series, Mazin said the song was used to bring Bill and Frank together. 

“We had this idea that Bill and Frank would connect over a song, that would be the thing that would essentially lead Frank to feel differently about Bill, to not just go, ‘Oh, I see what’s going on with this guy,’ but also to want him,” Mazin said. 

Of why this song in particular was selected, Mazin explained, “I’m looking for a song that describes a state of permanent, lonely heartache that can never be soothed. And I’m also looking for a song that isn’t overplayed, that didn’t feel cliché, or syrupy, or gloppy.”

Mazin wound up texting his friend Sirius/XM host Seth Rudetsky for a suggestion. He said Rudetsky delivered the Ronstadt suggestion in about four seconds.

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The threat actors behind the GOOTLOADER malware continues to improve their code by adding new components and implementing new obfuscation techniques.

Mandiant researchers reported that the UNC2565 group behind the GOOTLOADER malware (aka Gootkit) continues to improve their code by adding new components and implementing new obfuscation techniques.

Gootkit runs on an access-a-as-a-service model, it is used by different groups to drop additional malicious payloads on the compromised systems. Gootkit has been known to use fileless techniques to deliver threats such as the SunCrypt, and REvil (Sodinokibi) ransomware, Kronos trojans, and Cobalt Strike.

In the past, Gootkit distributed malware masquerading as freeware installers and it used legal documents to trick users into downloading these files. 

The attack chain starts with a user searching for specific information in a search engine. Attackers use black SEO technique to display a website compromised by Gootkit operators among the results.

Upon visiting the website, the victim will notice that it is presented as an online forum directly answering his query. This forum hosted a ZIP archive that contains the malicious .js file, which is used to establish persistence and drop a Cobalt Strike binary in the memory of the infected system.

In November 2022, Mandiant researchers spotted a new variant of GOOTLOADER, tracked as GOOTLOADER.POWERSHELL, that used a new infection chain. The new variant writes a second .JS file to disk and creates a scheduled task to execute it. Below is the attack chain of this new variant:

1. The user visits an UNC2565-compromised site (usually related to business documents) and downloads a malicious ZIP archive.
2. The malicious ZIP file is saved to the user’s Downloads folder.
3. The user opens the ZIP file and clicks the .JS file inside. This is a trojanized JavaScript library containing an obfuscated JScript file, which will ultimately execute GOOTLOADER.POWERSHELL. Recently observed trojanized JavaScript libraries include jQuery, Chroma.js, and Underscore.js.
4. The JS file is launched using WScript.exe.
5. The WScript.exe process creates an inflated file with a .LOG extension to C:Users%USERNAME%AppDataRoaming<RANDOM_DIRECTORY><HARD_CODED_FILE_NAME>. The dropper writes more obfuscated JScript code followed by a padding of random characters to increase the file size.
6. The .LOG file is renamed with a .JS file extension.
7. The dropper creates a scheduled task that executes the new JScript file. The scheduled task is executed immediately after creation but also serves as a persistence mechanism to run the second JScript file at the next logon.
8. WScript.exe and CScript.exe launch a PowerShell process that reaches out to 10 hard coded domains.
   • Victim information collected includes environment variables, Windows OS version, filenames, and running processes. This information is Gzip compressed, Base64 encoded, and sent to the command and control (C2) server in the Cookie header.
9. The C2 returns a payload, which is executed using the Invoke-Expression PowerShell cmdlet. This leads to the download of two payloads into registry keys: FONELAUNCH and a secondary payload to be executed by FONELAUNCH (mirroring steps 6 through 10 of the previous infection chain).

Mandiant researchers observed the UNC2565 group adopting three obfuscation techniques, such as hiding the code within altered versions of legitimate JavaScript libraries such as jQuery, Chroma.js, and Underscore.js, in an attempt to evade detection.

“Beginning in November 2022, Managed Defense observed a new obfuscation variant, tracked as variant 3, with modified infection that is more complex than the previous variants. This new variant contains additional string variables that are used in a second deobfuscation stage.” reads the report published by Mandiant. “This new variant has been observed trojanizing several legitimate JavaScript libraries, including jQuery, Chroma.js, and Underscore.js”

Upon successful execution of the GOOTLOADER file, additional payloads are downloaded, including FONELAUNCH and Cobalt Strike BEACON or SNOWCONE that will be stored in the registry. Then the payloads are executed via PowerShell in the later stages.

FONELAUNCH is a .NET-based launcher, it loads an encoded payload from the registry into memory. Since May 2021, the researchers have observed threat actors using three different variants of FONELAUNCH that differ in their loading mechanism:

• FONELAUNCH.FAX reads and decodes data from the HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftFax%USERNAME% registry key. The returned content is expected to be a .NET assembly, which is loaded at runtime into memory.
• FONELAUNCH.PHONE mainly reads and decodes data placed in a specific registry key. The returned data is expected to be a DLL, which is loaded via a publicly available DynamicDllLoader project.
• FONELAUNCH.DIALTONE reads and decodes data from the HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoft%USERNAME% registry key. The returned content is expected to be a PE file, which is injected into a separate process and executed.

The report published by Mandiant also includes Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) and YARA rules associated with these threats.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, GOOTLOADER)

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Most Adani group shares extended their sharp falls to Monday as a detailed rebuttal of a U.S. short-seller’s criticisms by the Indian conglomerate failed to pacify investors whose market losses have now risen to $65 billion over three days.

Flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), which is facing a crucial test this week with a follow-on share offering, rose 3%, but was off initial gains of as much as 10% and significantly below the offer price.

Adani, led by Asia’s richest man Gautam Adani, has locked horns with Hindenburg Research and on Sunday hit back at the short-seller’s report of last week that flagged concerns about its debt levels and the use of tax havens. Adani said it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS) plunged 20% each on Monday, while Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) was down 16%. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slipped 1.1%.

Adani Enterprises’ $2.5 billion secondary share sale entered its second day amid weak investor sentiment. The stock was trading at 2,848 rupees in early trade, far below the price band for the share sale of 3,112-3,276 rupees per share.

On Friday, the first day of the offer, the issue was subscribed 1% amid a broader fall in shares. Initial data from stock exchanges on Monday showed Adani has now received bids for 563,156 of the 45.5 million of shares, or 1.2%, on offer. Foreign and domestic institutional investors, as well as mutual funds, have made no bids so far in the offering, according to the data.

Indian regulations say the share offering must receive minimum subscription of 90%, and if it does not the issuer must refund the entire amount. Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among investors who bid for the anchor portion of the issue.

Adani Group told Reuters in a statement on Saturday that the sale remains on schedule at the planned issue price, even as sources said bankers of the country’s largest secondary share sale were considering extending the timeline beyond Jan. 31, or tweaking the price due to the fall in its share price.

The Hindenburg report has led to a massive wipe-out in seven listed companies of the Adani group since last week. As of Monday, the seven listed group entities have collectively lost $65 billion in market capitalisation since the report was released. Adani Total Gas lost the most, at $21 billion.

On Monday, responding to Adani’s rebuttal, Hindenburg said the “response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions.”

The stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for 60-year-old Adani, a school-dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping to rank eighth on the Forbes list.

Hindenburg’s report said five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios, a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities, of below 1 which it said suggested “a heightened short-term liquidity risk”.

It said key listed Adani companies had “substantial debt” which has put the entire group on a “precarious financial footing” and that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations”.

Adani’s response on Sunday stated that over the past decade, its group companies have “consistently de-levered”.

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India’s Adani Group issued a detailed riposte on Sunday to a Hindenburg Research report that sparked a $48 billion rout in its stocks, saying it complies with all local laws and had made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

The conglomerate led by Asia’s richest man, the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, said last week’s Hindenburg report was intended to enable the U.S.-based short seller to book gains, without citing evidence.

For 60-year-old Adani, the stock market meltdown has been a dramatic setback for a school-dropout who rose swiftly in recent years to become the world’s third richest man, before slipping last week to rank seventh on the Forbes rich list.

Adani Group’s response comes as its flagship company, Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), pushes ahead with a $2.5 billion share sale. This has been overshadowed by Hindenburg’s report, which flagged concerns about debt levels and the use of tax havens.

“All transactions entered into by us with entities who qualify as ‘related parties’ under Indian laws and accounting standards have been duly disclosed by us,” Adani said in the 413-page response issued late on Sunday.

“This is rife with conflict of interest and intended only to create a false market in securities to enable Hindenburg, an admitted short seller, to book massive financial gain through wrongful means at the cost of countless investors,” it added.

Hindenburg said on its website Adani’s “response largely confirmed our findings and ignored our key questions.” It reiterated that it was short on the Adani group through U.S. traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.

Its report had questioned how the Adani Group has used offshore entities in tax havens such as Mauritius and the Caribbean islands, adding that certain offshore funds and shell companies “surreptitiously” own stock in Adani’s listed firms.

The research report, Adani said, made “misleading claims around offshore entities” without any evidence whatsoever.

Hindenburg said it “found Adani’s lack of direct and transparent answers” on the allegations of use of offshore entities “telling”.

Adani said on Thursday that it is considering taking action against Hindenburg, which responded on the same day by saying it would welcome such a move.

Hindenburg’s report also said five of seven key listed Adani companies have reported current ratios, a measure of liquid assets minus near-term liabilities, of below 1 which it said suggested “a heightened short-term liquidity risk”.

It said key listed Adani companies had “substantial debt” which has put the entire group on a “precarious financial footing” and that shares in seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside due to what it called “sky-high valuations”.

Adani’s response stated that over the past decade, its group companies have “consistently de-levered”.

Defending its practice on pledging shares of its promoters – or key shareholders – the Adani Group said that raising financing against shares as collateral was common practice globally and loans are given by large institutions and banks on the back of thorough credit analysis.

The group added there is a robust disclosure system in place in India and its promoter pledge positions across portfolio companies had dropped from more than 50% in March 2020 in some listed stocks, to less than 20% in December 2022.

The Hindenburg report, and its fallout, is seen as one of the biggest career challenges to face the billionaire, whose business interests range from ports, airports, mining and power to media and cement.

Adani’s response included more than 350 pages of annexes that included snippets from annual reports, public disclosures and earlier court rulings.

Hindenburg, Adani said, had sought answers to 88 questions in its report, but 65 of them were related to matters that have been disclosed by Adani portfolio companies in annual reports.

The rest, Adani said, relate to public shareholders and third parties, and some were “baseless allegations based on imaginary fact patterns”.

Hindenburg said “Adani failed to specifically answer 62 of our 88 questions.”

Hindenburg is known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter.

Adani also responded to allegations by Hindenburg relating to the company’s auditors, saying “all these auditors who have been engaged by us have been duly certified and qualified by the relevant statutory bodies.”

Its response comes just hours ahead of India market opening, when the $2.5 billion secondary share sale begins its second day of subscription. Friday’s plunge took Adani Enterprises shares below the issue price, raising doubts about its success.

In a separate statement on Sunday, Adani Group’s chief financial officer Jugeshinder Singh said it is focused on the share sale and is confident it will succeed. He also said its anchor investors have shown faith and remain invested.

“We are confident the FPO (follow-on public offering) will also sail through,” he said.

Ukraine’s military said its forces repelled an attack in the area of Blahodatne in the eastern part of the Donetsk region, while Russia’s Wagner private military group said it took control of the village.

* Russia accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately striking a hospital in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine on Saturday in what it said was a war crime that killed 14 people and wounded 24 patients and medical staff. There was no immediate response to the allegations from Ukraine. Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described the situation at the front as “extremely acute“, especially in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive.

* Tearful mourners in Kyiv commemorated a British volunteer aid worker, Andrew Bagshaw, killed while attempting a rescue mission from the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to contacts with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz though has no phone call scheduled with him, a Kremlin spokesman said. Scholz, who last week approved providing Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukrainian forces, was quoted in a published interview as saying he would speak to Putin again but the onus was on the Russian leader to withdraw troops from Ukraine “to end this horrendous, senseless war…”

* Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov will hold a meeting with Lynne Tracy, the new U.S. ambassador, early next week, RIA news agency reported.

* Zelenskiy condemned the idea of neutrality in sports at a time when his country’s athletes fight and die in war, while their Russian counterparts might be allowed to compete.

* Russia said it will not hold annual talks with Japan on renewing a pact that allows Japanese fishermen to operate near disputed islands, saying Japan had taken anti-Russian measures.

* Expedited talks are under way among Ukraine and its allies about its requests for long-range missiles that it says are needed to prevent Russia from destroying its cities, a top aide to President Zelenskiy said.

* German arms-maker Rheinmetall is ready to greatly boost output of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West, and may start producing HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in Germany, CEO Armin Papperger told Reuters.

* Ukraine has been promised 321 heavy tanks by several countries, its ambassador to France said.

* Poland will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine on top of 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has pledged, the Polish prime minister said in an interview with Canadian television.

* Ukraine imposed sanctions on 182 Russian and Belarusian companies, and three individuals, in the latest of a series of steps by Zelenskiy to block their links to his country.

* On a trip to Turkey and the Middle East this week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s top sanctions official will warn countries and businesses that they could lose U.S. market access if they do business with entities subject to U.S. curbs as Washington cracks down on Russian attempts to evade sanctions.

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