Polish apple farmers casualties of Russia-EU trade war www.rt.com

Poland is expecting a record apple harvest, but growers are having difficulty selling their produce and even face bankruptcy. Before the trade dispute with the EU, Russia accounted for more than half of Polish apple exports.

Bill Gates is now worth $90 billion www.cnn.com

Bill Gates' net worth has crossed the $90 billion threshold, according to a real-time rankings from Bloomberg's Billionaire Index.
Gates' net worth climbed not because of any stock rise at Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), but because of jumps in the shares of Canadian National Railway (CNI) Company and Ecolab (ECL), two smaller companies in which he has holdings.
He's well ahead of Amancio Ortega, the Spanish retailer who is the world's second richest man. Ortega's fortune is $76 billion.
Forbes, which also tracks billionaires' wealth, estimates Gates' net worth at a more modest $78.7 billion. Forbes also says that Gates' net worth briefly topped $100 billion back in 1999, back before the federal antitrust case decision against Microsoft that year and the bursting of the tech bubble in early 2000.
According to Bloomberg, Gates' net worth is up $6.2 billion so far this year, but that's only the fourth biggest gain among billionaires on the index.

New IKEA Japan president takes recalls seriously www3.nhk.or.jp

The new president of major furniture retailer IKEA Japan says she takes a series of recalls at the firm seriously.

India investigating French submarine company data leak www.bbc.com

India is investigating a massive data leak from French shipbuilder DCNS that affects a major submarine contract for its navy, defence officials say.
The leak of more than 22,000 pages exposes secrets about the combat capabilities of Scorpene-class vessels.
It is not clear who first obtained the confidential documents, which were made public by the Australian media.
Earlier this year DCNS won Australia's largest-ever defence contract to build a fleet of advanced submarines.
Details about the Shortfin Barracuda submarine class that will be built for Australia were not contained in the leak.
India signed a $3.5b (£2.6b, €3.1b) deal for six Scorpene vessels in 2005. They are being built in cooperation with an Indian government-owned shipbuilder in Mumbai.
India is investigating the leak to "find out what has happened," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
The Scorpene submarines are small-to-intermediate size vessels currently in use in Malaysia and Chile. Brazil is due to deploy the submarine type in 2018.
A DCNS spokeswoman described the leak as "a serious matter" and said French authorities would formally investigate.

Izuma Ushiyama: Mongolia has high potential to build solar power plant www.gogo.mn

11th Mongolia-Japan International Conference on Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Technologies and International Standardization is being held at the Energy School of the National University of Science and Technology. We deliver you the interview with Chairman of the Board of Ashikaga Institue of Technology, Ph.D., Izumi Ushiyama. 

-What energy technologies are able to be implemented in Mongolia according to the Japanese experience?
-According to the example of Japan, Mongolia has high potential to build solar power plant in renewable energy sector. 

-What is the theme of your presentation at the conference? 
-I will deliver presentation on global trend of using natural renewable energy, its experience and current condition. My topic will cover Mongolia too. 

-How is the possibility and terms to use solar energy in Mongolia? What is the first step Mongolia should take?
-Technology to build solar power plant has developed already. The key thing to consider is to find solution on connection to the central network. For instance, wind power plant need to be built in windy place. 

-What renewable energy policy is Japan maintaining? 
-Government of Japan has started implementing promotional pricing system in renewable energy sector since 2012. Government purchase renewable energy with high cost. 

As a result, renewable energy production reached 80 million kwh over the last three years. 

-How do you evaluate the global energy consumption?
-The most serous problem facing to the world's energy consumption is CO2 emissions. There are two solutions. First, nuclear power station and the second solution is to build renewable energy sources. 

However, Japanese experience show that nuclear power station is not the right solution. Thus, we should use renewable energy. 

R.Oyun

Draft 2016-2020 governmental action program to be submitted to parliament www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ At its expanded meeting held Tuesday, the cabinet discussed a draft governmental action program for 2016-2020, and decided to submit it to parliament, reflecting proposals from local authorities.

This program has been worked out based on the Concept on Sustainable Development until 2030, the election program of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) and views from people, civil society organizations, contracts and documents.

Main objectives of the program are to revive the national economy which is in difficult situation in a short time, to support social sectors by accelerate the economic growth and to improve the people’s livelihood. The program also sets certain goals to empower the public service, to maximize professionalism of public servants, to make the public services quicker and more transparent and to strengthen the national security by fortifying the social trust.

The governmental action program has 350 clauses in four chapters. 

Almost 28,000 workers affected by VW production problems www.rt.com

The biggest European car producer Volkswagen is facing production delays in a dispute with component suppliers. A week of production delays at the main Wolfsburg plant may cost VW up to €100 million in gross profits.“Production at several Volkswagen plants has been interrupted as a result of a halt in component deliveries by external suppliers,” said a statement from VW.

Japan plans $32.8 bil. extra budget for stimulus www3.nhk.or.jp

Rio Olympics 2016: Did the IOC's gamble pay off or did Brazil fail to deliver? www.bbc.com

Awarding the Olympic Games to the Brazilian city of Rio in 2009 was viewed as a gamble by some critics.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) saw it as the perfect opportunity to re-emphasise its core message of taking the spirit of sport to as many people as possible.

IOC president Thomas Bach maintains it was a risk worth taking.

"The Brazilians were great hosts and really united behind these Games," he said. "They turned this great competition into a party for everybody.

"The IOC has shown that it is possible to organise the Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP ranking."

Huge swathes of seats remained empty for key events, blue pools turned green, athletes were mugged, others pretended to be, and a key IOC official - Ireland's Pat Hickey - spent the final days of the Games locked up in a high a security prison accused of trying to pass tickets to touts.

The Olympic movement can tick off another continent but, sporting achievements aside, the feeling is they got away with it - just.

Is the Olympics still a big deal?

Rio's global reach
The viewing figures and the size of the sponsorship deals probably provide the best answers to this question.

Officials say more than half of the world's population consumed the Games in some way. That figure is expected to rise further for Tokyo in 2020.

No other sporting event in the world generates interest in quite the same way, but some have suggested there is an ever-growing disconnect between the Games and the public because of issues such as doping and corruption.

"I think it's been a step back from London," said Ben Rumsby, a correspondent for British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. "It was always expected to be, but I think it's been a bigger step back than the organisers expected and they'll be looking forward to Tokyo, which is expected to be a success."

Did Rio embrace the Games?

Rio closing ceremony
Some people enjoyed the closing ceremony fireworks from outside the Maracana stadium
Political protests before the Olympics, focusing on allegations of corruption and the huge cost of staging the Games, had organisers concerned.

So did worries over security, water pollution and the Zika virus.

But it was the empty seats in some of the venues that provided the biggest headache once the action started.

At first, organisers blamed long queues for the poor turnouts and then pointed out that the Brazilian people are notoriously slow at getting involved in sport, unless it is football or volleyball.

On day one of the athletics, only 58% of available tickets were sold.

"I think we expected the whole atmosphere to sweep us along for the two weeks," said four-time Olympic rowing champion and BBC pundit Matthew Pinsent. "I don't think that has quite happened.

"I do think the spectator ticket sales has been a huge issue that they must have seen coming and they haven't been able to solve."

Why booing of French pole vaulter 'should not be condemned'

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French pole vaulter booed on podium
Overall, there is a feeling organisers could have done more.

The price of a daily ticket, for example, was the equivalent of a half a week's wage for the average worker who lives in a favela.

Even if they were not in the arenas, though, locals were moved by the Games.

"Living in a favela isn't easy, especially when your country tries to make them invisible," said 19-year-old Isabella Alves de Oliveira, who lives in the infamous City of God favela.

"But when we watch people from a favela win Olympic gold, it is amazing.

"I hope the Olympics will leave a positive legacy, one of possibilities and one where children can dream and believe that these dreams can become reality."

What impact did the Russian doping scandal have?

Rio Olympics 2016: Yulia Efimova says 'Rio was awful - it was war'
It was the issue that dominated the build-up to Rio 2016, but, as expected, the action became the focus when athletes started to mount podiums.

There was a residual fallout that crept into the competition, though.

Some of the 271 Russian athletes who made it to Rio were booed, while swimmer Yulia Efimova, who has served a doping ban, was reduced to tears when jeers drowned out the announcement of her silver medal in the 100m breaststroke.

A handful of athletes tested positive during the Games but, given the small numbers so far, there was no controversy to match the pre-Games trouble.

And what about Zika?

It was one of the most talked about subjects before the Games, thanks chiefly to the number of top male golfers who withdrew.

Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson all said Zika was a very real health threat, both to themselves and their partners.

When the action started, it was hardly ever mentioned.

Like those golfers, the mosquitoes stayed away.

What will Tokyo 2020 offer?

As an experience, Tokyo will be more polished, more high-tech and more intense than anything we have witnessed in Rio.

The Japanese capital is one of the most energetic and pulsating places on earth - and organisers are already hard at work to make the Games reflect this.

The addition of several new and exciting sports - like surfing, skateboarding and climbing - to the Olympic programme will no doubt help in this regard, too.

Many of the arenas are already in place, although there has been some controversy over the design and construction of the new Olympic stadium.

There is also an investigation into controversial payments made to officials linked to Tokyo's bid, while the first official logo for the 2020 Games had to be scrapped after claims of plagiarism.

"One thing we won't have to worry about in Tokyo is there isn't a lot of crime," Japan Times journalist Jake Adelstein told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Tokyo is ready to handle loads of tourists and it's a very safe city. How they'll deal with the heat is the question that is up in the air.

"When Japan submitted their bid for the Olympics, they wrote that the mild weather will provide athletes with conditions to perform at their best.

"But Tokyo, at this time of year, is anywhere between 30 and 40 degrees, with humidity at 80%, so if you feel that being on the inside of a sumo wrestler's armpit is the ideal way to perform at your peak, then Tokyo is the place to be."

Who can replace Bolt and Phelps?

medals
It is difficult to imagine the Olympics ever seeing the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps again, but sport needs heroes and new stars are emerging.

In the pool, 19-year-old Katie Ledecky leaves Rio with five Olympic medals, four of them gold. The American is the first women to take gold in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyle since 1968.

"She is special," said former British swimmer Steve Parry, who won bronze at the Athens Games in 2004. "If she continues to progress the way she has been, she could smash all kinds of records."

Compatriot Simone Biles, also 19, also won four golds as she dazzled and bewitched in the gymnastics arena.

In the velodrome, British track cyclist Jason Kenny equalled Sir Chris Hoy's national record of six Olympic golds. If he races for as long as Hoy, then the 28-year-old probably has another two Games to get himself into double figures.

Indian Ambassador requests to study the possibility of operating direct flights to Delhi www.gogo.mn