Update at 16:00 GMT, Jan 28, 2023

Gautam Adani, India’s richest man, began selling $2.4bn-worth of shares in ​​Adani Enterprises, his sprawling conglomerate, despite an attack by a short-seller. Hindenburg Research accuses the wider Adani Group of dodgy accounting practices that it says artificially inflated the share price—a charge the group vigorously denies. The mud seemed to be sticking: Adani Enterprises’ share price dropped by 17% on Friday; Adani Total Gas’s sank by 20%.

President Joe Biden named Jeff Zients to replace Ron Klain as the White House chief of staff. The businessman—who co-owns a popular bagel chain in Washington, DC—coordinated the Biden administration’s covid response. The reshuffle comes at a delicate moment: Mr Biden is under fire for his handling of classified documents, as his party gears up for a presidential reelection campaign next year.

A group of Ukrainian soldiers arrived in Germany and will soon commence training on 40 Marder fighting vehicles that Berlin pledged to Ukraine. The training begins days after Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, promised—after much dithering—to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to fight Russia. The West has stepped up its military support for Ukraine in anticipation of an upcoming Russian offensive.

South Korea’s national pension fund will run out by 2055—two years earlier than expected—according to an official forecast. The service, which is the world’s third largest, had 915trn won ($743.1bn) of funds at the end of October. South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, had promised sweeping pension reforms to counter the effects of a shrinking population and low economic growth.

 

 

Palestinian militants fired two rockets towards Israel from Gaza, both of which were intercepted by air defences, before Israel launched retaliatory strikes. Earlier, Israeli troops killed ten Palestinians and wounded others during a military raid on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces said they were targeting Islamic militants. It is the deadliest such incident in years.

Britain’s chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, outlined his long-term plan to boost economic growth. He said the government will delay tax cuts until it has curbed inflation, which ran at 9.2% in December. Britain’s government faces criticism for overseeing soaring living costs and industrial sluggishness, including a collapse in British carmaking. Mr Hunt rejected “declinism” and said Britain could become the next Silicon Valley.

Hong Kong labelled cannabidiol (CBD) “a dangerous drug” and banned it from next Wednesday. CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabis compound that has shown promise in reducing anxiety and pain, is currently available in bars and shops. Trafficking and manufacturing CBD can carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a HK$5m ($639,000) fine; possession will also be punished.

Fact of the day: 775,014, the number of cars that emerged from British factories in 2022, the worst year since 1956. Read the full story.