Police patrolled Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on Saturday after authorities for a third consecutive year banned public commemoration of the anniversary of the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The country said some weapons with Swiss-made parts could be sent to Kiev
Switzerland ruled on Friday that shipping weapons with Swiss-made components to Ukraine does not violate the country’s centuries-old neutrality, if certain conditions are met.
“The delivery of war material in the form of assembly elements or spare parts to European armament companies will… remain possible, even if the manufactured war material is likely to be sent to Ukraine,” the Swiss government said.
Officials further clarified that the re-export of weapons is permitted if the share of Swiss-made elements in the final product is below a certain threshold, such as 50% for countries such as Italy and Germany.
The re-export of fully Swiss-made arms and ammunition would still violate the country’s neutrality, however.
Switzerland recently rejected Denmark’s request to provide Ukraine with 22 Swiss-made Piranha III armored infantry fighting vehicles, as well as Germany’s request to give Kiev 12,400 rounds of the Swiss-made ammunition used in Gepard anti-aircraft tanks.
Western countries have been increasingly supplying Ukraine with weapons after Russia launched a military campaign against the neighboring state in late February.
The Pentagon announced this week that the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) will be sent to Ukraine for the first time. Germany similarly pledged to supply Kiev with IRIS-T air defense systems.
The Kremlin responded by accusing the West of “pouring fuel on the fire.” Russia previously said that foreign weapons systems would be treated as legitimate targets on Ukrainian soil.
Russia attacked Ukraine following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols were designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
While the European Union cuts its purchases of Russian oil, it’s also making a move to strike another, less-noticed blow to the Russian economy — depriving insurance for ships carrying its oil.
Electronics manufacturers will be required to make tools and instructions for DIY repair available
New York has passed the US’ first “right to repair” bill governing electronics, which will force “digital electronic products” manufacturers to supply tools, spare parts, and repair instructions to customers and independent resale shops.
Called the Fair Repair Act, the bill passed the state assembly on Friday and is expected to be signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. It will take effect a year after it becomes law.
Grassroots groups and federal agencies alike have long been pushing for legislation to require companies to make repairs more accessible, with even US President Joe Biden issuing an executive order last year calling for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce repair rights.
The New York law encompasses the biggest gains for right to repair advocates thus far, with self-repair group iFixit championing the bill as “one giant leap for repairkind.” Nathan Proctor, the lead Right to Repair campaigner for US Public Interest Research Group, hailed the bill’s passage as a “hard-earned victory” for the movement.
Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, who shepherded the bill through the New York State Assembly, praised it as well, saying it will “put consumers first, level the playing field for independent repair shops, and reduce our e-waste footprint on the environment.”
“By requiring digital electronics manufacturers to allow access to critical information and parts required by independent, local repair shops to complete repairs on most products, this legislation ends what is a monopoly on the repair market by corporate actors and incentivizes competition within the industry,” she said.
Once the law takes effect in New York, other states will likely fall in line quickly, given that repair manuals published in one state can easily make their way over the borders to the next – and to other countries, for that matter.
Electronics are far from the only point of contention with regard to right of repair, however, and the New York law includes exceptions for home appliances, medical devices, public safety communications equipment, and farming equipment.
However, with a massive global food shortage looming, the companies that make farming equipment will have an ever-harder time justifying the proprietary technology that forces users to send for expensive repair technicians whenever a tractor breaks down. The chronic shortage of technicians who are frequently booked months in advance will mean crops that are already scarce are not being harvested.
