ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - November 16, 2024

ZeroFox Physical Security Intelligence Daily Brief - November 16, 2024

ZeroFox physical security experts collect, curate, and analyze information derived from open and proprietary sources for comprehensive context of the circumstances surrounding global events. Here is today’s daily roundup of major developments.

Brief Highlights

• Russia to Require Biometrics for Foreign Visitors at Five Border Crossings
• South African Government Cuts Aid to Thousands of Trapped Illegal Miners
• China Unveils New Tax Incentives to Stabilize Struggling Property Sector

Russia to Require Biometrics for Foreign Visitors at Five Border Crossings

The Russian government recently published a decree requiring biometric checks for foreigners traveling through four Moscow airports and a land border checkpoint with Kazakhstan. Effective December 1, 2024, foreigners traveling through these checkpoints must submit their photos and fingerprints to officials. Biometric requirements will be extended to all Russian border checkpoints beginning June 30, 2025. Foreigners who do not require visas to enter Russia will be able to provide their biometrics via a downloadable phone application. According to the government decree, these are temporary measures as part of a policy "experiment" set to expire on June 30, 2026. However, the government may extend the regulations beyond this end date.

South African Government Cuts Aid to Thousands of Trapped Illegal Miners

The South African government announced that personnel will no longer provide basic necessities, such as food and water, to an estimated 4,000 miners trapped in a mine in Stilfontein, located in the country's North West Province. Officials stated that aid was cut in order to encourage the workers, who were illegally mining, to leave the site and get arrested. Police officers also cordoned off the area and cut access points that allowed aid to enter the mine. Illegal mining is a dangerous activity that frequently occurs in the North West province, with an estimated 1,000 incidents since the previous week. The practice is costly for South Africa and allegedly costs the country hundreds of millions in revenue annually.

China Unveils New Tax Incentives to Stabilize Struggling Property Sector

China’s Ministry of Finance announced tax incentives to increase demand and ease developers' financial pressure, outlining measures on home and land transactions to support the crisis-hit property industry. The tax incentives expand the eligibility for the 1 percent deed tax to include apartments up to 140 square meters, up from the previous 90 square meters. The minimum pre-collection rate for land value-added tax (VAT) will be lowered by 0.5 percentage points and residents nationwide will be exempt from VAT when they sell their home after two years of purchase and beyond. These measures will be effective from December 1, 2024. Chinese authorities have rolled out a raft of property relaxing measures since September including lowered down payment requirements, home purchasing restrictions, and mortgage rate cuts, which drove home sales in October, the first year-on-year increase of 2024. However, homebuyer sentiment remains low due to the economic slowdown, income growth stagnation, and concerns about project incompletion. It remains to be seen whether the positive effect of stimulus measures will last in the long term and more support measures are likely to be rolled out.