The U.S. government, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization (WHO), handed over IT and medical equipment to Mongolia’s Ministry of Health’s National Center for Mental Health. The assistance, which will be distributed to psychological counseling units in nine district health centers in Ulaanbaatar, will help strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers to provide counseling and manage COVID-19-related mental health problems.

USAID Mongolia Senior Development Advisor Thomas Crehan joined partners at the National Center for Mental Health for the handover ceremony attended by Dr. G. Gankhuyag, Director, Division of Non-communicable Diseases Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health; Dr. V. Bayarmaa, Acting Director of the National Center for Mental Health; Dr. Ts. Undral, Director of the Public Health Division of the Ulaanbaatar City Health Department; and Dr. S. Bolormaa of WHO Mongolia.

“The mental health of our front-line workers plays an important role in ensuring the health of the entire population and increasing the chances of recovery of COVID-19 patients,” Mr. Crehan said. “As the country’s enduring partner and third neighbor, the United States, through USAID, is proud to support Mongolia’s journey to recovery against this global health crisis.”

This assistance is an important part of USAID’s partnership with WHO to strengthen the capacity of Mongolia’s health systems in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The partnership is providing urgent medical equipment and critical devices to health care facilities, preventing the further spread of the disease, and improving essential health delivery and COVID-19 related healthcare services.

To date, the U.S. government has provided more than 24.8 billion MNT ($8 million) to help Mongolia respond to the pandemic.

No corner of the world was untouched by Beatlemania. The band and their iconic mops swept through New Zealand in 1964. Lennon left minus a clump of hair after being mobbed by women at the Auckland Town Hall.

There are places they'll remember.

The music of the Fab Four reverberates across the universe. Even in the places they were banned from visiting. From Cuba to Mongolia you'll find public statues of John, Paul, George and Ringo rocking out.

We've strung together a magical mystery tour of Beatle sites for an international pilgrimage.

Back in the USSR

Despite rumours sparked by their song USSR, it was not until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break-up of the band that Ringo Starr became the first Beatle to play Russia in 1998. Their music was banned behind the Iron Curtain but this didn't stop them from becoming superstars. Bootlegged records helped their music spread where the band could not go.

After his death in 1980, the John Lennon Wall "Lennonova zed" in Prague was painted in his memory. You'll also find statues - of varying quality - across the former communist bloc, including in Almaty in Kazakhstan. There are also statues in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and a statue of Lennon complete with wire-rimmed glasses in Havana, Cuba.

In 1968 the Beatles went on a spiritual tour of Uttarakhand in northern India, following the death of manager Brian Epstein.

The ashram they visited, Chaurasi Kutia, fell into disrepair in the early 2000s but has since been restored as a gallery referred to as the "Beatles Ashram". Visitors can pay $13 for a visit which includes yoga, meditation and contemplation of odder inclusions in the Beatles' discography.

After Liverpool, London was a second home to the Beatles. Your first stop - as per the highway code - should be at the Abbey Road Studios. Or, as locals call it, "That bloody Beatles crossing."

The zebra crossing to the recording studios that appeared on the Abbey Road album cover is now chocka from dawn to dusk with tourists recreating the picture. Other stops not to be missed include 3 Savile Row, the site of the band's last ever live concert - on the rooftop of Apple Studios in 1969 - and Marylebone Station, the black and white station through which the band escaped hordes of screaming girls in A Hard Day's Night.

Hamburg

Hamburger Hafen was the "city that built the Beatles". Working in post-war Germany, they booked their first gigs in the Kaiserkeller and Star-Club. Playing as a cover band, the Beatles were booked to play American hits, dressed as rockabillies in leather and slicked-back hair.

Lennon once said the Beatles were "born in Liverpool, but grew up in Hamburg".

Pauli, the district where the band was based, is now home to a Beatles-Platz square and several Beatles-themed musical bar crawls.

Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's central bank said Wednesday that it purchased a total of 9.7 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals in the first seven months of this year.

As of July, the bank's average gold purchase price had been 185,224.93 Mongolian tugriks (58 U.S. dollars) per gram, the Bank of Mongolia said in a statement.

Purchasing gold is one of the key ways for the central bank to ensure the country's economic stability by consistently increasing foreign currency reserves, said the bank.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, Mongolia's forex reserves fell to 2.8 billion dollars in July, down by 1.7 billion dollars from the beginning of this year, according to the central bank.

Central banks across the world typically hold gold as part of their foreign exchange reserves.

The Mongolian central bank plans to purchase at least 24 tons of gold in 2022 to increase the country's forex reserves.

Five-time world Para taekwondo champion Bolor-Erdene Ganbat has expressed his disappointment about not being made an "honoured athlete of Mongolia" on national television.

The status is granted to athletes who perform strongly for the country on the international stage but Ganbat has so far been left out.

As well as his five world titles at 61 kilograms, he has won a host of other titles in the sport and competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games where the sport made its debut.

"I won the Para World Championships five times," he told Mongolia station MSports.

"I won the Asian Championship four times.

"I was named the world’s top athlete twice - but I was not awarded the merited athlete of Mongolia.

"In fact, my Para Taekwondo Association sent a request to the top, but I don’t know where the problem is.

"Every athlete spends a lot of sweat and hard work to achieve success.

"I am a little disappointed that I wasn’t awarded even though I have already met the conditions of a meritorious athlete."

Ganbat reached the quarter-finals at Tokyo 2020, where he lost to Antonino Bossolo of Italy.

He again lost in his second repechage contest and missed out on a medal.

Inner Mongolian produced 600 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2022, rising 21% compared with the preceding year, backed by the joint actions of multiple departments to boost supply, according to Inner Mongolia Daily.

The region has advanced the procedures for coal mining rights, land use, capacity replacement, and environmental impact assessment and speeded up the acceptance of coal mines to ensure safe and stable coal supply.

As of the end of June, the region's daily coal output exceeded 3 million tonnes for nine consecutive months, the local media reported.

In the meantime, Inner Mongolia has also worked to smooth the outward delivery capacity. During the first half, it sold around 590 million tonnes of coal, climbing by about 19%, including 390 million tonnes to users outside the region, which was 24% higher compared with the year-ago level.

In June, Inner Mongolia saw its thermal coal prices pick up slightly but still sit within the rational range, according to data from the price monitoring center of the Inner Mongolia Development and Reform Commission.

During the peak demand month in July and August, Inner Mongolia will continue to accelerate the increase in supply and improve the fulfillment rate of long-term contract supply. Thermal coal prices are expected to fluctuate slightly but still within the reasonable range.

(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Tammy Yang)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will start his Asia trip that will bring him to Japan, Mongolia and South Korea, his spokesman has said.

The secretary-general will leave for Japan on Thursday. In Japan, he will take part in the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima, which is held on August 6 every year, said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

During his stay in Japan, Guterres will meet with several Japanese senior officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He will also meet a group of surviving victims of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as the hibakusha, and will participate in a dialogue with young activists who are leading initiatives on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and other global issues, said Dujarric.

The secretary-general will then go to Mongolia, which has shown a commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament by declaring itself a nuclear-weapons-free zone. Guterres will take part in a tree planting ceremony in the capital city of Ulan Bator to recognize Mongolia’s One Billion Trees initiative, which aims to plant 1 billion trees by 2030 as part of Mongolia’s efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and fight desertification. In addition, he will visit a nomadic family and learn about their way of life, said the spokesman.

Following his visit to Mongolia, the secretary-general will travel to South Korea on August 11. The details of his visit to South Korea are still being worked out, said the spokesman.

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today’s noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

I have a full trip announcement to share with you. As I mentioned yesterday, the Secretary-General will be heading to Japan on Thursday, leaving here, New York, on Thursday. In Japan, he will take part in the Peace Memorial Ceremony in Hiroshima, which, as you know, is held on 6 August every year. The ceremony aims to console the souls of those lost to the atomic bombing, as well as to pray for the realization of lasting world peace. The Secretary-General will honour the victims of the bombings, commemorate all victims of the Second World War, and reiterate his call to world leaders to urgently eliminate stockpiles of nuclear weapons. During his visit, he will meet with several Japanese senior officials, including Prime Minister [Fumio] Kishida. He will also meet a group of surviving victims of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as the hibakusha; and he will participate in a dialogue with young activists who are leading initiatives on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and other global issues.

The Secretary-General will then go to Mongolia, at the invitation of President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa. Mongolia is a country that has also shown a commitment to non-proliferation and disarmament by declaring itself a nuclear-weapon-free zone. During his visit to the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, the Secretary-General will also take part in a tree planting ceremony to recognize Mongolia’s One Billion Trees initiative, which was launched in October and aims to plant, as its name implies, 1 billion trees by 2030, as part of the Mongolia’s efforts to reduce the impact of climate change and fight the increasing desertification which is impacting Mongolia. In addition, he will visit a nomadic family and learn about their way of life. Following his visit to Mongolia, the Secretary-General will travel to the Republic of Korea from 11 to 12 August. The details of his visit to Seoul are still being discussed with the Government.

Airbnb said travel demand remains strong, despite concerns about economic slowdown and rising prices hitting households.

Nearly 104 million nights and experiences were booked on the platform in the April through June period, a record high for the lodging website.

Long-term stays continued to be the fastest growing type of travel, a shift driven by the rise of remote work.

But international and city travel, which had lagged, have also recovered.

The company said it was now in the middle of its strongest peak summer travel season yet, and it assured investors that it was well poised for whatever may hit the economy.

In fact, a slowdown may actually help the company, executives said.

"Airbnb was founded during the recession," chief executive Brian Chesky said in a conference call with analysts to discuss the company's results.

In the event of another slowdown, he said, "we think a lot of people may turn to hosting once again, so this is a big opportunity for us".

Overall, bookings in the April-June period rose 25% from last year to 103.7 million and up 24% from 2019.

Higher prices helped lift the company's revenue, which surged 58% from last year to $2.1bn.

Nearly half of the company's reservations are for a week or longer, the company said.

Travel demand remains strongest in North America, where bookings are up 37% compared to 2019.

Growth in Europe - while travel has recovered from the pandemic - is lagging that recovery, hurt by factors such as the weaker pound.

The company, which announced in May that it was pulling out of China, said demand remained below pre-pandemic levels in the Asia Pacific region, as Covid restrictions keep Chinese tourists at home.

Despite the removal of China listings in July, Airbnb still has more than 6 million active listings on the platform.

Mr Chesky said the company had now achieved "growth and profitability at scale" and said the firm would both continue to invest in the business, and spend $2bn on buying its own shares, which have fallen this year.

Executives said the buyback programme was a sign of their confidence in the company's future.

The company reported a profit of $379m, compared to a loss of $68m last year.

Australia, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of liquified natural gas (LNG), said on Monday it may curb exports to avoid a domestic shortage.

The announcement comes after the nation’s competition watchdog warned of a shortfall and soaring prices next year, and urged the government to make gas that hasn’t been sold under long-term contracts available domestically before it is exported.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said LNG exporters are likely to withdraw more gas from the domestic market than they plan to supply. A shortage equivalent to around 10% of demand is expected, according to Reuters.

Madeleine King, Australia’s Minister for Resources, said she would consult with LNG exporters and the country’s trading partners before making a decision in October.

Australia, along with the US and Qatar, is one of the largest LNG exporters in the world. The main buyers of Australian LNG are China, South Korea, and Japan.

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A global gas supply crunch has worsened in recent months due to international sanctions against major supplier Russia. LNG is widely seen as a replacement for Russian pipeline gas, with buyers in Europe and Asia competing for shipments. This has sent LNG prices up, and spurred Australia's producers to export more than was contracted.

Australia has suffered an energy crisis in recent months due to outages at its coal-fired power plants and a cold snap during the current winter season in the southern hemisphere. The country managed to avoid blackouts in June after the energy market operator capped wholesale electricity prices and temporarily suspended the electricity spot market. Households in the country's most populous state, New South Wales, were urged to save power.

French container carrier CMA CGM has announced that the rail service between China and Mongolia is back active in its Intermodal and Transport Solutions portfolio.

The rail service China - Mongolia was closed due to severe congestion and long delays at the gateway port for the cargo bound to Ulaan Bator in Mongolia, but CMA CGM said it is advised by the rail service operator that "the situation has considerably improved".

Therefore, the Marseille-headquartered company confirmed that it now accepts bookings for the product rail Tianjin (China) > Ulaan Bator (Mongolia).