JOHANNESBURG: South African police said they arrested four men en route to Russia who are suspected of having been recruited to fight in the military there.
The men were stopped at the boarding gate in Johannesburg on Friday, police said, weeks after reports another 17 South African men were stuck in Ukraine after being lured into joining mercenary forces with the promise of lucrative contracts.
It is illegal under South African law for citizens to provide military assistance to foreign governments or participate in foreign armies without authorization.
“The arrests followed a tip-off from (Johannesburg airport police) regarding four males who were en route to Russia,” the elite Hawks police unit said in a statement on Saturday.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that a South African female had allegedly been facilitating the travel and recruitment of these individuals into the Russian Federation military,” it added.
The Hawks said the four suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday on suspicion of contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into how the 17 men ended up fighting in Ukraine, amid ongoing efforts to bring them home.
Police have also said they will investigate Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who was accused by her half-sister of being involved in luring those men to Russia under false pretenses.
Zuma-Sambudla resigned as a member of parliament on Friday, but has not publicly responded to the allegations.
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South Africa arrests four men suspected of planning to fight for Russia
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South Africa arrests four men suspected of planning to fight for Russia
- The men were stopped at the boarding gate in Johannesburg on Friday, police said
- The Hawks said the four suspects are expected to appear in court on Monday
China to ban hidden door handles on cars starting 2027
- All car doors must include a mechanical release function for handles, except for the tailgate
- New policy aims to address safety concerns after fatal EV accidents
HONG KONG: China will ban hidden door handles on cars, commonly used on Tesla’s electric vehicles and many other EV models, starting next year.
All car doors must include a mechanical release function for handles, except for the tailgate, according to details released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday.
Officials said the policy aims to address safety concerns after fatal EV accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside vehicles.
The new requirement for both internal and external door handles will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. For car models that were already approved, carmakers will have until Jan. 1, 2029, to make design changes to match the regulations.
Vehicles including Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, BMW’s iX3, and other models by many Chinese brands feature retractable car door handles that could be subject to the new rules.
Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at technology research and advisory group Omdia, said the global impact of China’s new rules could be substantial and other jurisdictions may follow suit on retractable door handles. Carmakers will be facing potentially costly redesigns or retrofits.
“China is the first major automotive market to explicitly ban electrical pop-out and press-to-release hidden door handles,” he said. “While other regions have flagged safety concerns, China is the first to formalize this into a national safety standard.”
It’s likely that regulators in Europe and elsewhere will reference or align with China’s approach, Liu said. The new requirements would impact premium EVs more as retractable door handles “are treated as a design and aerodynamic statement,” he added.
A draft of the proposed rules was published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in September for public comment.
Last year, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into cases where Tesla’s electronic door handles reportedly failed to work.
All car doors must include a mechanical release function for handles, except for the tailgate, according to details released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Monday.
Officials said the policy aims to address safety concerns after fatal EV accidents where electronic doors reportedly failed to operate and trapped passengers inside vehicles.
The new requirement for both internal and external door handles will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027. For car models that were already approved, carmakers will have until Jan. 1, 2029, to make design changes to match the regulations.
Vehicles including Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3, BMW’s iX3, and other models by many Chinese brands feature retractable car door handles that could be subject to the new rules.
Chris Liu, a Shanghai-based senior analyst at technology research and advisory group Omdia, said the global impact of China’s new rules could be substantial and other jurisdictions may follow suit on retractable door handles. Carmakers will be facing potentially costly redesigns or retrofits.
“China is the first major automotive market to explicitly ban electrical pop-out and press-to-release hidden door handles,” he said. “While other regions have flagged safety concerns, China is the first to formalize this into a national safety standard.”
It’s likely that regulators in Europe and elsewhere will reference or align with China’s approach, Liu said. The new requirements would impact premium EVs more as retractable door handles “are treated as a design and aerodynamic statement,” he added.
A draft of the proposed rules was published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in September for public comment.
Last year, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation into cases where Tesla’s electronic door handles reportedly failed to work.
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