Fifteen migrants died after a speedboat carrying them collided with a Greek coast guard vessel off the coast of Chios island late Tuesday, according to Greek authorities. The coast guard said the collision occurred during a pursuit in the Chios Strait, near the village of Vrontados, because the speedboat was making dangerous maneuvers, BBC World reported.
Twenty-four people were rescued, some with serious injuries, and others are reportedly still missing. Greek TV reports indicated that survivors claimed to be mostly Afghans. The coast guard confirmed the speedboat had capsized.
In other news, John Steenhuisen, leader of South Africa's second largest party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), announced he will not seek re-election in April. Steenhuisen's decision could potentially destabilize the coalition government formed in 2024 between the DA and its rival, the African National Congress (ANC), after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority, BBC World reported. Steenhuisen, who has served as the DA leader since 2019 and currently holds the position of agriculture minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa's government, was widely expected to run again.
Meanwhile, in China, rights groups are raising concerns over the detention of two investigative journalists, Liu Hu and Wu Yingjiao, who reportedly exposed corruption by a senior official in Sichuan province. According to rights groups, the journalists were taken by police on Sunday after publishing their investigation, BBC World reported. Chengdu police confirmed the detention of two men with the surnames Liu and Wu on Monday. Critics have long voiced concerns about media repression in China, where authorities have arrested and prosecuted journalists for allegedly "causing trouble." Liu Hu, a prominent investigative reporter, was previously arrested in 2013 on suspicion of defamation.
In France, the Paris prosecutor's cyber-crime unit raided the offices of Elon Musk's X as part of an investigation into suspected offenses, including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography, BBC Technology reported. The prosecutor's office stated that both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to appear at hearings in April. Musk responded to the raid on X, calling it a "political attack." The company released a statement regarding the raid.
Separately, the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) launched an investigation into Musk's AI tool, Grok, over its "potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content," according to BBC Technology.
In other news from China, the country has banned hidden car door handles on electric vehicles (EVs) due to safety concerns, making it the first country to prohibit the use of these designs popularized by Tesla, BBC Technology reported. The ban comes amid increasing scrutiny of EVs by safety watchdogs following several deadly incidents, including two fatal crashes in China involving Xiaomi EVs where power failures were suspected to have prevented doors from being opened. Under the new regulations, cars must have a mechanical release both inside and outside their doors to be sold, according to state media. The new rules are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.
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