The Labor Law was ratified in 1999, and the authors of the amendments believe that a number of the law's articles don’t meet today’s needs and are outdated. The amendments cover relations between employers and employees, clarifying rights and obligations.

The amendments also include articles that would place restrictions on the employment of minors, workplace discrimination, establishing employment agreements without time constraints for permanent employment, part-time employment regulations, remote working regulations, basing salaries on skills and abilities, annual vacation requirements, and new regulations for vacation days for mining sector employees who work far from home for extended periods.

D.Tsogtbaatar, whose country maintains diplomatic ties with the North, met senior North Korean officials in Pyongyang earlier this month.

Kono and D.Tsogtbaatar could meet as soon as Thursday, the source said. Tsogtbaatar’s visit will be his first to Japan since becoming foreign minister in October.

According to the source, Kono will likely ask Mongolia to increase pressure on North Korea over its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. He will also seek cooperation on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

D.Tsogtbaatar met in Pyongyang with North Korea’s nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam and Ri Su Yong, the top official in charge of foreign affairs, the source said.

Wary of the recent thaw between North and South Korea over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, the Japanese government wants to use Mongolia’s ties with North Korea to “gain whatever information it can” on leader Kim Jong Un’s “true intentions,” the source said.

Japan and Mongolia agreed in March last year to urge North Korea to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions against its weapons programs.

They also agreed on a five-year action plan to further develop bilateral ties including in security and the economy.

Kono will aim to confirm progress on the plan with D.Tsogtbaatar and strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Mongolia, the source said. (Kyodo)

Also Nyamsuren Dagvasuren who won bronze at the Grand Slam in Tokyo will join Davaadorj. Heavyweight and Olympian for Mongolian Temuulen Battulga is the third man to switch to the UAE.

Possible in March they want to compete for the Emirates. If they won’t make that deadline the aim is to compete in May.

The United Arab Emirates previously made a major enquiry taking up a Moldovan team into the UAE. A successful move that delivered Victor Scvortov, Ivan Remarenco won World Championships medals and Sergiu Toma won Olympic bronze in Rio. All athletes came from Moldova. With these strong Mongolian athletes the UAE anticipates again on the ‘market’ and opportunities in a country where there is a lot of competition.

Davaadorj Tumurkhuleg is currently ranked 17th in the World U66kg but has Ganbold ad Dovdon for him. Nyamsuren Dagvasuren is even ranked 7th in the world U81kg, close to Uuganbaatar Otgonbaatar (5th). This category has relatively not much competition in Mongolia. Temuulen Battulga (22) faces the competition of Duurenbayar Ulziibayar (14).

Profile Tumurkhuleg Davaadorj

Mongolian judoka Davaadorj Tumurkhuleg won various events such as the Grand Prix in 2015 in Mongolia. Davaadorj took the world #1 position U66kg and was double medallist at World Junior Championships. Davaadorj won the Asian Games in 2014 in Incheon. He won the Grand Slam of Paris in 2015. He finished 7th at the 2016 Olympic Games. He won 30 World Cup medals.

Profile Dagvasuren Nyamsuren

Dagvasuren Nyamsuren of Mongolia wins World Cup medals since 2012. He won bronze at the Grand Prix Jeju in 2014 and Grand Prix medals in 2015 in Tbilisi and Ulaanbaatar. Nyamsuren won Asian Games bronze U81kg in 2014. He won the Grand Prix Ulaanbaatar in 2016. He took bronze at the Grand Prix in Qingdao in 2016. He captured silver at the Grand Prix in Tashkent in 2017 and bronze at the Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2017.

Profile Temuulen Battulga

Temuulen Battulga won bronze at the World Junior Championships in 2008. He won three bronze Asian Championships. Battulga won the World Cup in Ulaanbaatar three times and Tashkent in 2014. He collected 19 World Cup medals such as silver at the Grand Slam in Paris in 2013 and bronze in 2012. He was flag bearer for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. He took bronze at the Grand Slam in Ekaterinburg in 2017.

“Increased economic cooperation – such as the extension of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative to Latin America, one of the nodes to support China’s vision of a competing global economic initiative – and the continued provision of financing and loans that appear to have ‘no strings attached’ provide ample opportunity for China to expand its influence over key regional partners and promote unfair business and labor practices.”

Tidd added that “Increased reach to key global access points like Panama create commercial and security vulnerabilities for the United States, as do Chinese telecommunications and space ventures with dual-use potential, which could facilitate intelligence collection, compromise communication networks, and ultimately constrain our ability to work with our partners.”

According to the SOUTHCOM commander, China is intensifying its role as a US rival in Latin America.

“The larger strategic challenge posed by China in this region is not yet a military one. It is an economic one, and a new approach may be required to compete effectively against China’s coordinated efforts in the Americas. Some of the most critical elements needed in this effort are not ones that [SOUTHCOM] can bring to bear,” he said.

The US admiral explained Chinese operations in Latin America do not “yet” pose a military threat, but Beijing is increasingly recruiting Latin Americans who participate in the US International Military Education and Training program (IMET).

The program has facilitated the attendance of nearly 16,000 students from the region to various American war colleges, he noted.

“China, in particular, is increasingly aggressive in courting students from the region to attend Chinese military schools, offering to cover all expenses and salaries in return for increased student enrollment,” said Tidd.

Under the broader Belt/Road initiative announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, Beijing plans building a new ‘Silk Road’. It is aimed to connect China to Southeast and Central Asia by land and the Middle East and Europe by sea.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi has recently encouraged Latin American and Caribbean states to expand their trade with the country. Several states including Chile and Bolivia have already declared their readiness to integrate into the initiative.

Rio Tinto, down 1.8% in New York, could face higher costs on its $5.3 billion underground expansion of the giant copper-gold mine in the South Gobi desert near the border with China.

Mongolia gave Rio four years to build a local power plant which could come with a bill as high as $1 billion to serve the mine in the land-locked country to replace Chinese suppliers.

Rio said in a press release Friday "the cost and means of financing this will be finalized between shareholders":

Rio Tinto will continue to review its capex forecasts for the project but has already earmarked $250 million a year for the development of a power station in Mongolia in its 2019 and 2020 capex forecasts.

The underground expansion would lift Oyu Tolgoi production from 125–150kt this year to 560kt at full tilt from 2025, making it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years.

Last month Rio Tinto set up a 80-person office in Mongolia, independent from Oyu Tolgoi to strengthen ties with Ulaanbaatar and serve as a base for exploration in the vast mineral-rich nation of fewer than three million inhabitants.

Earlier January the government served the mine with a new bill for $155 million in back taxes which the company is disputing. Turquoise Hill also had to declare force majeure on deliveries after protests by Chinese coal haulers disrupted deliveries near the border.

Rio has come under pressure from shareholders about its alleged lack of transparency about pledges to the Mongolian government and escalating costs for the expansion, as well as its treatment of minority shareholders of 51%-owned Turquoise Hill.

Rio holds an effective one third of Oyu Tolgoi via its shareholding of Turquoise Hill and the Mongolian government 34%.

Copper was trading near its highs for 2018 on Friday jumping to $3.24 a pound or $7,140 a tonne. Copper averaged $2.80/lb ($6,192/t) over the course of last year.

Concerning the price increase, Radnaasuren Lkhamaasuren, Deputy Head of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM), explained, “Oil dealers recovered around 60 percent of their loss through the excise tax exemption. However, border price had to increase due to oil price surge in the global market. Thus, oil dealers have increased fuel price by MNT 20- 30 per liter in order to prevent price fluctuation.” Fuel Policy Department of the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry informed that the ministry is holding a policy to maintain retail price of fuel. There will not be any fuel shortage issue in the future.

Another good news is the reducing USD /MNT rate. This will have significant impact in maintaining fuel price.” MRPAM is expected to collect MNT 291.8 billion to the State Budget. The officials informed that a total of MNT 223.4 billion will be collected from oil export revenue. For instance, January report shows that MNT 21.9 billion has been accumulated to the budget, of which MNT 19.2 billion were from oil export revenue, displaying 7.5 percent of annual plans. As of February 5, Mongolia’s fuel reserve could cover 39 days of average consumption, informed the related officials.

Additionally, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC ) decision to reduce production output and the political instability in the second half of 2017 had significant impact on global oil price. As for Mongolia, border price at Mongolia-Russian borders have been increased since July 2017, reaching USD 140 per ton. International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility program also forced Mongolia to increase excise tax on gasoline in July and November of last year. Furthermore, Rosneft increased their border price of fuel this month.

Specifically, total production of mining, extractive industry reached MNT 9.4 trillion increasing by MNT 2.3 trillion or 32.8 percent, of which MNT 1.1 trillion or 78.7 percent growth was made up in coal mining and MNT 1 billion or 20.7 percent growth in metal ore mining.

Mining, extractive sector accounts for 72.6 percent of production of industrial sector.

B.Batchimeg