On 29th June, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed Record of Discussions with Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Air Pollution Reducing Department of Capital City (APRD), mutually agreed upon the framework and contents of technical cooperation for the “Capacity Development Project for Air Pollution Control in Ulaanbaatar City Phase 3”.

JICA has been supporting capacity development of Ulaanbaatar City in the field of air pollution reduction for seven years through the technical cooperation project Phase 1 and Phase 2. The purpose of the project Phase 3 is to strengthen the capacity for air pollution control in Ulaanbaatar city, paying special attention to the implementation of effective pollution control measures and to the establishment of the necessary coordinating mechanism among APRD and other relevant agencies. The tentative duration of the project will be five (5) years from autumn 2018.

The following outputs will be expected to be achieved through the project:

Capabilities of emission monitoring for the major pollution sources and of air quality monitoring are strengthened.
Capabilities to analyze and evaluate pollution structure of PM, SO2 and NOx throughout the year are strengthened.
Capabilities of technical evaluation and preparation of air pollution control measures for implementation are strengthened.
Decision making process for air pollution control is improved by utilizing the professional agencies, including APRD, National Agency for Meteorology and Environment Monitoring (NAMEM) and the relevant agencies.
Air pollution control measures are enhanced for PM, SO2 and NOX emission reduction at major sources.
Legal framework, resource allocation and coordinating mechanism as a Platform for the Air Quality Management Cycle are strengthened for the Outputs 1 to 5.

'To achieve the goals, we have to attract more investment. We are working to optimise the business environment and make tax reforms in a bid to restore foreign investor confidence,' D.Damba-Ochir, head of the Parliamentary Economic Standing Committee said.

Mongolia's GDP grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, compared to 1.0 percent the previous year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted Mongolia's GDP growth will be 5 percent this year and climb to 6.3 percent next year.

After a corruption trial, the outspoken entrepreneur whose meteoric rise and fall made him the poster boy of a decade-long boom in Brazil that ended four years ago, was found guilty of bribing former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabral, Folha de Sao Paulo reports (in Portuguese).

He was found guilty of giving about $21 million to former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabra in exchange for contracts.
The verdict was based on mounting evidence that Batista had paid about $21 million to foreign bank accounts held by Cabral in exchange for contracts with Rio State.

The 61-year old businessman’s fortune topped out at a whopping $32.8 billion in April 2012, when his oil and gas firm OGX's first wells went into production and his coal, iron ore, shipping and many other ventures were humming along.

The self-made magnate started out with small-scale gold mining in the Amazon which morphed into TVX Gold, a company listed in Canada in the 1980s, but which Batista left under a cloud before it was sold to Kinross Gold in 2001.

Batista's graduated to the big leagues during the last decade's commodities boom with gold, iron ore, oil & gas, shipping, coal, construction and sports promotion companies.

He really scored big in 2008, when it sold Minas Rio iron ore mine to Anglo American (LON:AAL), pocketing $5.5 billion and offloading an iron ore asset that required many billions more to put into production.

But poor planning and corruption caused his empire to crumble and Batista is now, if anything, a symbol of the current Brazil, a country in deep trouble whose economy grew just 1% in 2017, its first year of expansion since 2014.

The 12 edition of the festival is co-organized by the Mongolian Tourism Association, Ulan Bator city governor's office and the city's Tourism Department.

The event includes a fashion parade, the best deel contest and a folk music concert.

Deel is an item of traditional Mongolian clothing commonly worn for centuries.

There are some differences between the costumes of various ethnic groups in the country, but all the deels have the same shape, featuring long sleeves, a wide flap that gets folded at the chest, buttons on the right shoulder, a high collar, and a fabric belt around the waist.

The Mongolian traditional costume consists of a deel, a hat, boots and accessories.

Editor: Shi Yinglun

She will be presenting a ministerial statement as well as delivering a keynote address and a speech at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on Wednesday.

The ministerial statement will be on Malaysia's initiatives, implementation and achievements as well as the challenges faced in regards to disaster risk reduction.

The conference, taking place from July 3 to 6, is aimed at providing a platform for Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to congregate and discuss the various issues revolving around the mitigation and management of natural disasters.

According to Malaysian Ambassador to China concurrently accredited to Mongolia Datuk Zainuddin Yahya, Dr Wan Azizah will also have one bilateral meeting and four courtesy calls on the sidelines.

"Basically there will be three events she will be participating, which is the ministerial conference followed by the Asian leaders meeting and then the technical session,'' said Zainuddin, adding the keynote address will be delivered at the technical session.

On the conference, Zainuddin it is held once every two years to provide Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to share information to discuss various aspects of disaster risk reduction related to their respective countries.

This is Dr Wan Azizah's first working visit overseas since taking office as Deputy Prime Minister.

Jointly organised by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) and the Mongolian government, is the first gathering of the ministerial leaders after the launch of the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM) in 2015 signed in Sendai, Japan.

The SFM was a prelude to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030, which is an agreement amongst Asian and Asia-Pacific nations to share information on efforts taken in the implementation of risk reduction in their respective countries.

Some of the core principles of the Sendai Framework are aimed at reducing mortality, economic loss, and damage to property and infrastructure during natural disasters by the year 2030 through close corporation amongst all stake holders as well as the formulation of a comprehensive preventive mechanism.

Dr Wan Azizah is scheduled to leave for home early Thursday (July 5) morning.

State-owned China Mobile applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a licence to do so in 2011.

But the US Department of Commerce has recommended the licence request be denied.

The advice comes amid rising trade tensions between the US and China.

"After significant engagement with China Mobile, concerns about increased risks to US law enforcement and national security interests were unable to be resolved," said the assistant secretary for communications and information at the Commerce Department, David J Redl.

"Therefore, the executive branch of the US government, through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration [NTIA]... recommends that the FCC deny China Mobile's Section 214 license request."

Neither China Mobile nor the FCC were immediately available for comment on what their next steps would be.

The move by the NTIA - an arm of the Commerce Department that advises US President Donald Trump on telco and information issues - comes at a time of heightened tensions between the US and China over trade and telecom issues.

In April, the Commerce Department found that the Chinese state-owned technology giant ZTE had violated trade bans with North Korea and Iran.

A ban was placed on the firm that prevented it from buying parts from US suppliers - a move that forced Shenzhen-based ZTE to suspend major operations, and threatened to destroy its business.

However, following some pressure from Beijing, the US struck a deal with ZTE that would involve the firm paying a $1bn penalty, hiring a compliance team chosen by the US, and replacing much of its management board, among other measures.

US reaches deal with China's ZTE
China's ZTE 'poses risk to UK security'
In return, the US said it would remove the ban - a negotiation that has been linked to wider trade tensions between the US and China.

ZTE has fulfilled many of these requirements, however, a group of bipartisan senators, including US Senator for Florida Marco Rubio, is currently attempting to maintain the ban on the firm via an amendment to a defense bill.

Reacting to research by The Wall Street Journal that has shown ZTE's management overhaul may not be as dramatic as first thought, Mr Rubio last week questioned why the Trump administration was continuing negotiations with the Chinese firm.

Meanwhile, on Friday, as part of the ongoing trade spat between the US and China, the two giants are expected to introduce further tariffs on each other's goods.

The Trump administration is expected to bring into effect the first tranche of 25% tariffs on $34bn of Chinese goods.

And in retaliation, China is expected to enact its first round of tariffs on $34bn worth of US products.

While the government debt totaled 22.7 trillion MNT at the end of 2017, the figure has decreased to 21.1 trillion MNT as of the first half of 2018.

The Bank of Mongolia is aiming to maintain the rising inflation at the target of eight percent. As of May, inflation in Ulaanbaatar amounted to 6.6 percent while the nationwide inflation rate remained at 6.1 percent. Demand-pull inflation has been gradually increasing in conjunction with a continuing economic recovery. Analysts view that the inflation rate will stabilize at the target level in coming years.

According to the report, government expenditure is projected to grow by five percent and Oyu Tolgoi investment is cited as a factor contributing to an improved economic outlook for 2019.