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President Xi Jinping's Made in China 2025 plan has spurred startups in electric car technologies, and raises concern about overcapacity. Electric cars is one of 10 sectors in the Made in China 2025 plan to promote global competitiveness for Chinese companies and domestic dominance. China Construction Bank and National Development and Reform Commission announced a $47 billion plan. Direct government subsidies of $15 billion over last 5 years have also increased the number of startups.

All automakers in China are required to produce electric cars. The electric cars sold in China at 777,000 make up half of the electric cars sold in the world. 

Local governments in places such as Anhui province have invested in electric car companies. One such company Singulato in Tongling, Anhui, is profiled here, with its first electric car expected by the end of the year priced at $43,000.

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Ramachandra Guha comments on the selection of Institutions of Excellence by the Government of India- ten private and ten public institutions- that can be turned into world class leaders in the education field. He says IIT Madras would be a better choice than IIT Delhi, IITMumbai and Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore are considered good choices. The choice on the list of Jio Institute is seen as strange because it is has no students and no campus and still at the concept stage. KREA is a better choice for an education project at an early stage, says Guha.

Institutions not on the list that deserve attention are Ashoka for the best social science departments, Jindal for infrastructure, Azimji Premji for research on policy issues, and Ahmedabad University for innovative trans-disciplinary approach.

 

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For the seat bottom longer is better, and this gives more support under the thighs. Reclining means pressure gets distributed on your back. Leg and calf rests help distribute weight.

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The European Commission hits Google with a $4.3 billion fine for antitrust violations on the Android operating system used in smartphones.

The company that created Android was founded by Andy Rubin and Rich Milner in 2003, and acquired by Google in 2005 for $50 million. This article gives a timeline for Android's development. The original Android went through modifications after Apple developed a keyboardless smartphone and introduced it in Jan. 2007. The original Android was a keyboard system like that of Blackberry. Google modified the system to come up with its own smartphone in September 2008 made by HTC in China called HTC Dream. Within 2 years in 2010 Android was used in 33 million smartphones surpassing Nokia at 31 million devices. From Jan. 2007 to 2010 in the space of 3 years the Android system changed the world of mobile phones. 

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The European Union has a massive surplus of $147 billion with the U.S. President Trump is making this an issue in trade negotiations. A 20% tariff on German cars imported into the U.S. is part of the tariff response from the Trump administration. 

To settle this dispute Germany is making new offers with the visit of European Commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, to Washington. France sees little room for compromise as it sees Trump's efforts designed to break European unity by driving a wedge between France and Germany.

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This report in the Economist after the Chequers meeting and the resignation of Boris Johnson and David Davis says this has improved May's position, yet there are dangers with the hardline Brexiters likely to continue their efforts to take Britain out of the EU. It says the Labor Party is hardly interested in what happens with the infighting in the Conservative Party, and the Labor Party would like to see the collapse of the May government with fresh elections later in 2018.

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Some Russians see the Helsinki Summit as having the unintended effect of reducing the chances U.S. relations with Russia can be improved. Mr. Bolton, Trump's National Security Adviser wanted to see Mr. Trump bring up the issue of meddling in the election and seek public guarantees that this would not happen again. Trump's deference to Mr. Putin may result these Russians say in the U.S. Congress, media and public opinion limiting any repair of U.S. Russia relations that have fallen to new lows. 

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Britain's prime minister survives a vote in parliament called by the camp in her part that opposes a hard Brexit that calls for Britain severing connections with the EU. After she caved in to some demands from the camp that supports a hard Brexit on the issue of EU customs union, others with different views in her party called for a vote in parliament through an amendment. Theresa May survived this vote by just 6 votes following a vote a few days before called by the Brexit hard liner camp in her party which she survived. Britain's electoral Commission ruled that the Vote Leave campaign had violated the law by exceeding the spending limit of 7 million pounds by funnelling 675,000 pounds to BeLeave a pro Brexit youth group. There is now no certainty that a Brexit deal can make it through parliament if it is reached with the EU. A fresh election, or a second referendum on Brexit or terms of Brexit are likely if May's government collapses in 2018.  ...

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This WSj editorial says the meeting of president Trump and president Putin in Helsinki on July 16, 2018, projected weakness and was "a personal and national embarrassment." It say Mr Trump could not even support his own intelligence adviser Dan Coats over Mr. Putin. This will bring Democrats and Republicans together and offers ammunition for the president's opponents, says the Journal. 

It also says that on the Nordstream pipeline Mr. Trump was right about Germany having it own favorable dealings with Russia. On NATO the lack of strategy and Mr. Trump's swagger, saying what comes to his head for Mr. Trump, only weakens support for the alliance in the U.S. The NATO alliance with spending above 2% by Germany and France after calls by Mr. Trump for spending 4% strengthens NATO, yet weakens it by weakening the alliance with America's European partners. 

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U.S. president Trump stands by president Putin as he denies Russian involvement in the U.S. presidential election of 2018. This contradicts the conclusions reached by U.S. intelligence agencies. Resulting in criticism from Republicans in his own party.

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Mark Landler of the NYT points out that president Trump has neglected all the conventions followed by American presidents abroad during his meeting in Helsinki with Russian president Putin. At the meeting both presidents in unison denied the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies and the Justice Department investigation. Nothing resembling this has happened with a U.S. president on foreign soil.

 

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The Putin Trump meeting in July 2018 creates a storm in the U.S. over denials by the Russian president and the U.S. president about any interference by Russia in the 2018 U.S. presidential election. As the New York Times reports all intelligence groups in the U.S. have confirmed the interference. The images of the two presidents saying this just as the Mueller investigation gathers evidence is one more unusual event in 2017-2018, with what was once seen as improbable taking place.

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The European Commission decision to fine Google $4.3 billion should help app developers come up with new apps that respect user privacy. Google has built up a huge base of data on users that enables it to dominate the market. The hope is that a new generation of apps will enforce users rights and ensure "privacy by design," create the transparency in functioning that is missing with Android. The Facebook scandal on privacy rights led to a shift in attitudes towards Android and the nature of its lack of transparency.

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A NATO summit has tension and uncertainty with president Trump pushing forward his idea that Europe should take on a larger share of the burden for its own defense. Some of this goal was achieved with the jawboning style of Mr. Trump- NATO plans to increase military spending and increase EUropean governments share of defense spending. A European Defense Fund with 13 billion euros of funding is being set up to develop military capabilities. This is also what Mr. Trump hopes to accomplish by using this approach where other approaches were resisted by Germany in previous American administrations from Bush to Obama. It is also why Mr. Trump says he thinks NATO is now stronger than before, even though his approach throughout is unorthodox from Korea to NATO. Europeans see a divergence between the U.S. and EU on issues- such as Iran, Middle East and Israel, and Mr. Trump's efforts to maintain good ties with Russia meeting Mr. Putin after the Summit. This leads to a sense that the U.S. cannot be depended on in the face of threats to the EU. Mr. Trump's policy suggests the U.S. has no permanent friends or permanent enemies, will follow its own interests independently of its transatlantic partners, says one expert. At the root of the problem lies Trump's conviction that the European nations benefit economically by spending less on defense and thrusting more of the burden on the U.S. -even after 2 costly wars have diminished American desire to take on responsibility especially as other economies have prospered better than the U.S. ...