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Washington confirms suspension of Fulbright programme for Hong Kong, mainland

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3094686/us-china-relations-washington-confirms-suspension-fullbright

The United States has confirmed the suspension of its Fulbright programme in mainland China and Hong Kong, after President Donald Trump pulled the plug on the fellowship earlier this month in response to Beijing’s introduction of a national security law in the former British colony.
In an email sent to US scholars preparing to take part in the programme, the US state department said the 2020-21 exchange “will not operate”, though participants would be allowed to apply to take part in different countries.
The Fulbright programme was established by the US in 1946 and allows American and foreign academics to teach, research and study in each other’s countries. The first agreement was signed with China, but it now covers more than 160 countries.

There goes the US spies and secret agents.

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China’s self-developed large-scale fire-fighting/water rescue amphibious aircraft “KunLong” AG600 successful maiden flight

https://www.cnbeta.com/articles/tech/1007827.htm我国自主研制的大型灭火/水上救援水陆两栖飞机“鲲龙”AG600在山东青岛附近海域，成功实现海上首飞，为下一步飞机进行海上试飞科目训练及验证飞机相关性能奠定了基础。9时28分，由机长赵生、副驾驶刘汝钦、机械师魏鹏和监控观察员焦连跃组成的首飞机组，驾驶着AG600飞机从山东日照山字河机场滑行起飞。经过约28分钟飞行，抵达青岛附近海域上空。

AG600逐步降低高度，平稳入海。10时14分入水，10时18分海上起飞。

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Alibaba, Jack Ma summoned by Indian court on former employee’s complaint

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alibaba-india-exclusive/exclusive-alibaba-jack-ma-summoned-by-indian-court-on-former-employees-complaint-idUSKCN24R053
An Indian court has summoned Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma in a case in which a former employee in India says he was wrongfully fired after objecting to what he saw as censorship and fake news on company apps, documents seen by Reuters showed.

In court filings dated July 20 and previously not reported, the former employee of Alibaba’s UC Web, Pushpandra Singh Parmar, alleges the company used to censor content seen as unfavourable to China and its apps UC Browser and UC News showcased false news “to cause social and political turmoil”.

Civil Judge Sonia Sheokand of a district court in Gurugram, a satellite city of India’s capital, New Delhi, has issued summons for Alibaba, Jack Ma and about a dozen individuals or company units, asking them to appear in court or through a lawyer on July 29, court documents showed.

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Australian Government declares Beijing’s South China Sea claims illegal in letter to United Nations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-25/federal-government-joins-rejects-china-maritime-claims-at-un/12492070

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In a letter to the United Nations, Australia’s permanent mission rejected the Chinese Communist Party’s claim to disputed islands in the crucial trading waters, calling them “inconsistent” with international law.

“The Australian Government rejects any claims by China that are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), in particular, maritime claims that do not adhere to its rules on baselines, maritime zones and classification of features,” the document states.

“There is no legal basis for China to draw straight baselines connecting the outermost points of maritime features or ‘island groups’ in the South China Sea, including around the ‘Four Sha’ or ‘continental’ or ‘outlying’ archipelagos.