Japan gets first sumo champion in 19 years www.bbc.com

Japan has formally named its first home-grown sumo grand champion in almost two decades, in a boost to the traditional wrestling sport.
Kisenosato, 30, was promoted to the top-most yokozuna rank after his win in the first tournament of the year.
He is the first Japanese-born wrestler to make it since Wakanohana in 1998. Five wrestlers from American Samoa and Mongolia have made it in the interim.
Foreign wrestlers have come to dominate sumo, amid a lack of local recruits.
Kisenosato, who comes from Ibaraki to the north of Tokyo and weighs 178kg (392 pounds), has been an ozeki - the second-highest rank - since 2012.
After being runner-up on multiple occasions, he finally clinched his first tournament victory - and thereby his promotion to yokozuna - in the first competition of 2017.
"I accept with all humility," Kisenosato said in a press conference after the Japan Sumo Association formally approved him.
"I will devote myself to the role and try not to disgrace the title of yokozuna."

Japan's much-loved traditional sport dates back hundreds of years.
Two wrestlers face off in an elevated circular ring and try to push each other to the ground or out of the ring.
There are six tournaments each year in which each wrestler fights 15 bouts.
Wrestlers, who traditionally go by one fighting name, are ranked and the ultimate goal is to become a yokozuna.
Many Japanese fans will be pleased to see a local wrestler back at the top of a sport regarded as a cultural icon.
As yokuzuna, Kisenosato, whose real name is whose real name is Yutaka Hagiwara, joins three other wrestlers in sumo's ultimate rank - Hakuho, Harumafuji and Kakuryu.
The trio all come from Mongolia, following a path forged by sumo bad-boy Asashoryu, who was Mongolia's first yokozuna in 2003.
The last Japanese-born wrestlers to reach the top were brothers Takanohana and Wakanohana, who made it to yokozuna in 1994 and 1998 respectively.
In recent years, sumo has been hit by falling numbers of Japanese recruits, partly because it is seen as a tough, highly regimented life.
Young sumo wrestlers train in tightly-knit "stables" where they eat, sleep and practise together and are sometimes subjected to harsh treatment in the belief that it will toughen them up.
In 2009, a leading coach was jailed for six years for ordering wrestlers to beat a young trainee who later died, in a case that shocked the nation.
Those at the top of Japan's national sport are also expected to be role models, showing honour and humility - and can be criticised if they get it wrong.

Sumo must also compete with the rising popularity of football and baseball, which have vibrant leagues that draw crowds of young Japanese fans.
But the sport is attractive to wrestlers from other nations, who can earn a good living. Wrestlers have come from Estonia, Bulgaria, Georgia, China, Hawaii and Egypt, as well as Mongolia and American Samoa.
As a child, Kisenosato was a pitcher in his school's baseball club before he chose to train as a wrestler at a stable in Tokyo.
He made his debut in 2002 and, reported Japan's Mainichi newspaper, the 73 tournaments he took to become a yokozuna are the most by any wrestler since 1926.
Speaking to reporters after the tournament victory on Monday that sealed his elevation, Kisenosato said he was pleased to be holding the Emperor's Cup trophy at last.
"I've finally got my hands on it and the sense of pleasure hasn't changed," he said. "It's hard to put into words but it has a nice weight to it."

Dubai Airport Traffic Slows as Oil Slump Hits Emirates www.bloomberg.com

BHP iron ore output breaks records www.mining.com

Wall Street: S&P and Nasdaq close at fresh records www.bbc.com

Toyota announces investment in Indiana www3.nhk.or.jp

Chile seeking economic partnerships without US www3.nhk.or.jp

Oyu Tolgoi releases Q4 Production Report and 2016 Scorecard www.mongolia.goog.mn

Oyu Tolgoi today announced an update on its production for the fourth quarter of 2016 and, released the latest edition of its Performance Scorecard.

Oyu Tolgoi performed better than target on safety in 2016, and continuing to be one of the leading safety performers across Rio Tinto and peers in the broader mining industry.
Armando Torres, Managing Director – Oyu Tolgoi, said, “The Oyu Tolgoi team delivered a strong performance over 2016 despite significant operational and market challenges. Our safety performance continues to be one of the best in Rio Tinto – and indeed, across our global mining peers, achieving an All Injury Frequency Rate of 0.22 for the year. Oyu Tolgoi also achieved record setting performance in the open pit operation, and underground development continues to progress well – establishing a strong foundation for the year ahead.”
Oyu Tolgoi’s open pit mining and concentrator operations in 2016 achieved record levels for material mined and ore treated, and exceeded both copper and gold production guidance for the year. Concentrator performance during the fourth quarter was strong with the highest throughput since production began.
During Q4’16, progress continued in key areas of underground development with the national workforce working on the underground project crossing 2,000 personnel; Shafts 2 and 5 related activities and construction of critical on-site facilities continued, and the bulk excavation component for the conveyor-to-surface work stream was completed. Lateral development rates are progressing well with a further increase expected in 2017, when additional underground crushing capacity is added.
Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 130,000 to 160,000 tonnes of copper in concentrates and 100,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2017.
Q4’16 Scorecard
Oyu Tolgoi’s total in-country spend since 2010 crossed US$6.1 billion at the end of Q4 – demonstrating a strong, continuing commitment to local content in both operations and underground development, including US$760 million total spend in country in 2016.
The company continued its world-class environment performance, achieving an annual average water recycling rate of 86.2 per cent, and using only 0.423 cubic metres of water per tonne of ore processed – one-third the usage of comparable operations worldwide.
At the end of 2016, 93.5 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi’s total workforce was Mongolian, including 96 per cent Mongolian employees at the open pit mining and concentrator operations; and with South Gobi residents comprising 22 per cent of the total workforce.
Oyu Tolgoi continued its strong contribution to the South Gobi community in 2016 achieving procurement spends of US$69 million, and investing US$9.7 million in sustainable development and community infrastructure projects in the region. Two major infrastructure projects saw significant progress in the last quarter, with the Bayan-Ovoo Primary Health Care Center, a two-story building with 10 beds, a surgery and birthing room, and employing 18 staff, including doctors and nurses completed, and the Khanbogd bulk water treatment plant nearing commissioning.

Presidential election expected on June 26 www.en.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Standing Committee on State Structure backed the parliamentary resolution on designating the date of the upcoming Presidential Election. The resolution suggests that voters in Mongolia will cast their ballots in the Presidential election on June 26, 2017.

US exit from TPP may open the door to China www.rt.com

President Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) may open the way for China to step in and fill the vacuum.
Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the participation of US in the trade deal. The President also promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) sealed with Canada and Mexico.

Alcoa beats revenue estimates, sees higher aluminum demand www.reuters.com

Alcoa Corp (AA.N) reported higher-than-expected revenue in its first quarterly results after the metals company split into two in November, helped partly by a rise in alumina prices.