cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47134012

On 9 February 2026, Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, including spurious charges of "collusion with foreign forces” and conspiring to publish “seditious” material. Prosecutors cited more than 160 Apple Daily articles as examples of “seditious publications.” Forced to close by Hong Kong authorities in June 2021, Apple Daily was the territory’s largest mainstream independent newspaper, known for delivering independent reporting. His guilty verdict was delivered on 15 December 2025, but sentencing has been delayed by two months.

Jimmy Lai was tried alongside six former senior staff at Apple Daily. CEO Cheung Kim-hung received six years and nine months in prison; chief editor Ryan Law Wai-kwong, 10 years; executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, 10 years; associate publisher Chan Pui-man, seven years; managing editor of the English edition Fung Wai-kong, 10 years; and lead editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee, seven years and three months. Two other co-accused, pro-democracy activist Chan Tsz-wah, and activist Andy Li, were respectively sentenced to six years and three months, and seven years and three months. Li is believed to be forcibly held in a high-security psychiatric institution in Hong Kong.

...

Since 2020, the Hong Kong government has prosecuted at least 28 journalists, eight of whom are currently detained. Hong Kong is ranked 140th in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index, having plummeted down the rankings from 18th place in just two decades. China ranks 178th of the 180 countries and territories surveyed.

...

Web archive link

I built Statistics for Strava, a self-hosted, open-source dashboard that gives you fun and detailed stats from your Strava activities. You can track any workout over time, visualize trends, and get new insights. All while keeping your data private on your own server.

And the best part: you don't need a Strava premium account

Key Features

• Dashboard – See all your stats and charts at a glance
• Activities - Browse a detailed list of everything you've done
• Monthly View - Monthly stats with an interactive calendar
• Gear stats - Track how much you've used each bike, shoe, etc.
• Custom gear - Add custom gear setups (instructions)
• Maintenance Tracking - Keep tabs on gear wear and tear (instructions)
• Eddington - For your distance milestones
• Segments & Efforts - Dive into your segment history and times
• Heatmap - Visualize where you’ve been active the most
• Strava Rewind - A fun way to look back on your year in motion
• Challenges - See which Strava challenges you've conquered
• Activity Photos - Relive your moments with a photo archive
• AI workout assistant - Get personalized workout suggestions and insights powered by AI
• User badges - Shareable badges you can embed on your website, blog, or forum profiles
• PWA support - Use it like a native app on your phone

I’d really appreciate any feedback or suggestions!

• Live demo: https://statistics-for-strava.robiningelbrecht.be/dashboard
• GitHub: https://github.com/robiningelbrecht/strava-statistics
• Docs: https://statistics-for-strava-docs.robiningelbrecht.be/#/

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47133726

The Maldives said on Thursday that it objected to the UK-Mauritius deal on the Chagos Islands to transfer sovereignty from Britain to Mauritius.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu told parliament that the government formally submitted objections to the UK on November 8, 2024, and January 18, 2026, expressing “rejection of this decision.”

A statement from the presidential office said Muizzu conveyed to British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy during a call on December 15 that the Maldives wanted further consultations on the matter.

Muizzu told lawmakers that legal proceedings have commenced to recover the maritime area lost following a ruling by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

He also announced the government’s decision to rescind a letter sent by former Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius on August 22, 2022, which recognised Mauritian sovereignty over the Chagos Islands.

...

PRAGUE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Sunday he was in favour of banning the use of social media by children under 15, as a growing number of European countries consider similar restrictions.

Countries including Spain, Greece, Britain and France are weighing tougher stances on social media use due to concern over the perceived negative effects on children, after Australia in December became the first nation to prohibit access to such platforms for the under-16s.

"I am in favour because the experts I know say that it is terribly harmful to children. We must protect our children," Babis said in a regular video message posted on several of his social media accounts on Sunday, without giving further details. Later in the day, the government's first deputy prime minister, Karel Havlicek, told a television chat show on private broadcaster CNN Prima News that the cabinet was seriously considering proposing a ban. If it decides to go ahead, Havlicek said legislation would be proposed this year. Spain and Greece proposed bans on social media use by teenagers last week, as attitudes hardened in Europe against technology some say is designed to be addictive. The measures announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez drew fury from Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the X platform, formerly Twitter. Britain is considering an Australia-style ban, while France is working through legislation to ban children aged under 15 from social media use. Governments and regulators worldwide are looking at the impact of children's screen time on their development and mental wellbeing.

Found this gem on the Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo. They don't ship outside china from what I know, unfortunately.

This is something we need to be aware of, and stop if we can.

Port across Italy were reporting strikes and disruptions in their operations as unionized dockworkers staged a 24-hour strike to protest the alleged “militarization” of the ports. Reports indicate ships of Zim and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company were being targeted and forced to hold offshore or divert.

Unione Sindacale di Base (UBB) called for the 24-hour action. They allege the ports are being “militarized” as shipments of arms and military equipment move on ships using their ports. The protest focused on arms to Israel, an issue that repeatedly appeared during the war in Gaza. Activists during the war protested against the ships moving through the ports and sought to deny port calls. The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is investigating incidents related to Maersk Line, Ltd.'s American-flagged ships denied port calls in Spain in 2024.

Title current as of writing this post

European arms makers say they are still waiting for governments to tell them exactly how they plan to use the EU’s €150 billion loan scheme for joint defence procurement.

The EU announced the establishment of the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme in May last year. Since then, 19 EU countries have submitted plans to the Commission, detailing how they intend to use their allocated share of the money, including a list of equipment they plan to purchase.

But defence industry insiders say they have been left largely in the dark. The CEO of the Polish state-owned arms manufacturer PGZ, Jan Grabowski, told Euractiv he has yet to see exactly what Warsaw intends to buy.

“I don’t know what’s in the Polish investment plan,” Grabowski said, adding that PGZ was not certain of which projects and equipment could be funded under the loans.

Poland is by far the biggest recipient of SAFE funding, with an allocation of €43.7 billion, accounting for almost a third of the total envelope. The Commission approved the plans in January, together with those of 15 other capitals. But Poland isn’t the only country whose defence industry is still waiting for clarity.

Four industry sources with knowledge of national discussions, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the plans, echoed Grabowski’s comments, saying it was hard for defence manufacturers to obtain information on what countries planned to buy at this stage.

A fifth source added that companies are increasingly relying on informal contacts within defence ministries to learn about capitals’ needs as early as possible.

Although defence planning is traditionally opaque, European arms manufacturers are now pressing for greater visibility to allow them to prepare. EU capitals have so far made only limited announcements that could help defence companies gauge which contracts might emerge from the €150 billion programme.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk recently announced that Poland intends to use part of its allocation to fund a new anti-drone system dubbed SAN, the country’s own initiative to ward off air incursions. Bulgaria’s state-owned VMZ also inked a deal with German defence manufacturer Rheinmetall last autumn to set up a gunpowder factory in Sopot, financed using Bulgaria’s share of the loans.

It’s unclear how far such statements address industry concerns, as manufacturers prepare for years of production. Defence companies will need to ramp up production lines and deliver equipment over time, requiring clear guidance from governments, Grabowski said.

Industry will also need to rapidly convert large loan sums into military capabilities, under Commission monitoring, he added.

What’s more, arms makers face some of the most technically demanding compliance requirements under SAFE. Capitals must still provide the Commission with a detailed description of the defence products they intend to buy, in line with the regulation. It would then fall on arms makers to trace components back through the value chain and prove that the projects meet the eligibility targets.

Meanwhile, the Commission still needs to approve the national plans submitted by France, Czechia and Hungary, which are still under discussion with national officials. The EU executive said last week it was “finalising” its assessment. It had initially aimed to approve all 19 plans by the end of January.

The Council still needs to approve them before the first funds can be disbursed in April.

Seven employees of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have been denied access to the lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, in Berlin for security reasons.

An AfD spokesman confirmed on Sunday that five of them worked for individual lawmakers, and two were employed by the party's parliamentary group.

He added that one of the two affected parliamentary group employees no longer works for the parliamentary group.

The story was first reported by the news magazine Der Spiegel in December.

No decision has yet been made on the proposal by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner to cancel the salaries of employees who do not receive a house ID card and do not have access to parliamentary IT systems.

In December, she said that people who had not been authorized to access the Bundestag following a security check should generally be barred from working for members of parliament and should not be paid from public funds.

She has asked the parliamentary groups to amend the Members of Parliament Act accordingly.

Bernd Baumann, parliamentary secretary of the AfD parliamentary group, criticized the proposal.

"If employees of members of the Bundestag are denied a house pass and therefore no salary is to be paid in future on the grounds that they are not reliable, the question arises as to what criteria are used to assess this reliability," he said.

The police are tasked with carrying out security checks on employees of members of parliament and parliamentary groups.

Currently, only employees who have access to particularly sensitive classified information are checked to see whether Germany's domestic intelligence agency has any sensitive information about them.

Welcome again to everybody. Make yourself at home. In the time-honoured tradition of our group, here is the weekly discussion thread.

☭ Matrix homeserver and space
☭ Theory discussion group on /c/theory@lemmygrad.ml
☭ Find theory on ProleWiki, marxists.org, Anna's Archive

Centre-left Socialist António José Seguro scored a landslide victory over far-right populist André Ventura in Portugal’s presidential runoff on Sunday, exit polls showed, dealing a blow to the country’s rising populist right and handing the largely ceremonial presidency to a moderate figure promising stability after years of political turmoil.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/50537922

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/50537635

Archived

For an administration otherwise so uncertain of its motivations, Sir Keir Starmer’s government has proved remarkably determined to get its dud ­Chagos Islands deal over the line. No warning, from any quarter, has deterred the effort.

Not the opposition of the Chagossian people, evicted by Britain in the 1960s, the majority of whom have made it clear they do not want the islands to fall into Mauritian hands. Not America’s ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, who understatedly warned that surrendering the strategically important territory was not the “ideal outcome”. Not the opinion of US senators that No 10’s legal case for secession was “nonsense” fuelled by “a misguided anti-western agenda”. Nor the considered view of the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who told this paper that the deal’s potential to ­strengthen Chinese influence in the region meant it was “one of the dumbest geostrategic mistakes”.

[...]

The case against ceding control of the Chagos Islands is by now well-rehearsed and unanswerable. The islands are home to the US-UK military base on the island of Diego Garcia, nicknamed “the footprint of freedom” for the unique aerial ­access it affords to the Middle East, Indian and Pacific theatres. Having turned this strategic asset over to Mauritius, whose claim to the land is ­dubious, Britain plans to pay the new owners £35 billion over the next 100 years for the privilege of leasing it back.

That extraordinarily unfavourable arrangement, championed by Sir Keir’s special envoy to the archipelago, Jonathan Powell, was a completely unforced error triggered by a non-binding resolution of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which the UK could, and should, have simply ignored. Labour’s rationalisations were always blatantly spurious. It complied with the ICJ’s edict under the naive impression that Britain would then be able to parade as a paragon of virtue to the global south.

[...]

From any angle, Sir Keir’s unfathomable desire to surrender the Chagos Islands has been a chaotic and embarrassing debacle, symptomatic of the government’s misplaced goals and strategic ­confusion. However unattractive the prospect of another U-turn, Labour should resile from the project while it still can. Further humiliation is now a certainty either way.

My biased quotes:

The government says a Liquefied Natural Gas import facility in Taranaki will save New Zealanders about $265 million a year.

Energy Minister Simon Watts on Monday announced a contract was expected to be signed by the middle of the year, with construction finishing next year or early 2028.

"We need to get rid of the dry risk," Luxon told reporters on Monday.

"I'm not going to guarantee, based on the advice I've been given the benefits outweigh the costs."

A factsheet supplied by the government said the infrastructure costs would be paid for through a levy on electricity of between $2 and $4 /MWh.

The facility was expected to cut future prices by at least $10/MWh, and curb an expected 1.25 percent reduction in Gross Domestic Product from higher energy prices.

Procurement started in October in response to the independent Frontier report, which the government largely rejected.

The government largely rejected the recommendations of the review carried out by Frontier Economics, with sector players including Simon Bridges criticising a lack of bold action.

"It would make no economic sense to develop an LNG import terminal to meet just dry year risk as the large fixed costs would be spread over a relatively small amount of output," the Frontier report said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/50538886

Archived

On January 29, 2026, the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) participated in an event at the National Endowment for Democracy which launched former City University of Hong Kong Professor Hon-Shiang Lau’s book “Tibet Was Never Part of China Since Antiquity.” The book launch included a panel of Tibetan leaders and experts who discussed Tibet’s historical sovereignty and refuted the People’s Republic of China (PRC) narrative that Tibet has always been a part of China. Professor Lau’s groundbreaking scholarship clearly dispels PRC propaganda that Tibet has been a part of China by analyzing official Chinese documents and definitively establishing the historical fact that Tibet had for centuries until 1950 been independent and sovereign.

Former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom (and United States Senator and Governor of Kansas) Sam Brownback delivered keynote remarks highlighting Tibet’s long history as a free and sovereign nation and warning about the growing cultural genocide the PRC is committing against the Tibetan people. On a panel moderated by the Washington Post’s Josh Rogin that included Lau, Sikyong Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), and ICT Research and Monitoring Head Bhuchung K. Tsering, Brownback contextualized the importance of Lau’s scholarship within the larger Tibetan movement. The PRC’s forcible assimilation of historically independent Tibet lays bare the hypocrisy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s anti-colonial rhetoric. The CCP fears religious freedom more than any weapon, Brownback observed, because it undermines the weak foundation of the state.

Lau noted his purposeful choice of publicly available, Chinese-sourced official documents created before the 1950 occupation in hopes of credibly refuting the CCP’s false narrative around Tibet’s historical sovereignty. For example, China has not historically played, or sought to play, any role in the selection process of the Dalai Lama.

[...]

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said political leader Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken by force in Caracas.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said her opposition colleague Juan Pablo Guanipa had been kidnapped just hours after being released from detention.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner said on Sunday that Guanipa, leader of the Justice First party, was taken in the Los Chorros neighbourhood of the capital Caracas.

"Heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothes arrived in four vehicles and took him away by force," she wrote on social media early on Monday.

MBFC
Archive

When metaphysicians wish to persuade a naturalist that the intellectual and emotional life of man unfolds according to “the inherent laws of the Spirit,” the naturalist shrugs his shoulders and continues his patient study of the phenomena of life, of intelligence, and of emotions in order to prove that all can be reduced to physical and chemical phenomena. He seeks to discover their natural laws.

Results mean coalition of recently installed PM has supermajority in lower house of parliament

Japan’s conservative governing coalition has dramatically strengthened its grip on power after a landslide victory in Sunday’s elections in what will be seen as an early public endorsement of the new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.

Her Liberal Democratic party (LDP) had won 316 seats by early Monday, comfortably surpassing the 261 it needed for an absolute majority in the 465-member lower house and the highest number since the party was founded in 1955. With her coalition partner, the Japan Innovation party, which won 36 seats, Takaichi now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats, easing her legislative agenda as she can override the upper chamber, which she does not control.

MBFC
Archive

Russian forces carried out a series of attacks overnight on Feb. 8-9, killing one person and injuring two others amid a targeted missile and drone attack on multiple Ukrainian cities.

The southern city of Odesa was subject to large-scale drone attack, which local officials reporting damage to "residential infrastructure" in the city.

. . .

Odesa City Military Administration head Serhiy Lysak said that a fire broke out at multi-story residential building, adding that a gas pipeline was damaged in the attack. Car fires were also reported in the city.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported that a 35-year-old man was killed, and two others, including a 19-year-old woman, were injured in the attack. A total of 21 apartments were damaged in the strike on the residential building in the Prymorskyi district of the city.

MBFC
Archive