At the training ground of the Eastern Military District (EMD) of Burduny in the Republic of Buryatia, the closing ceremony of the joint Russian-Mongolian exercise "Selenga-2020" was held.

Despite the difficult sanitary and epidemiological situation caused by the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the joint exercise was held at the highest level, where new methods of combating illegal armed groups were tested.

The state flags were lowered and the anthems of the participating countries were sung at the ceremony. Distinguished military personnel were awarded medals of the Russian Ministry of Defence "For Strengthening Military Cooperation," diplomas and valuable gifts.

The head of the exercise, Major-General Ruslan Abdulkhajiev and Chief of Staff of Land Forces of Mongolia Brigadier General L. Onzogoybayar thanked the troops for their high skills and professionalism displayed during performance of the task.

Colonel Ivan Taraev, head of the department of international military cooperation of the EMD, noted the high dynamics of interaction between the Armed Forces of Russia and Mongolia in the military and military-technical spheres aimed at strengthening the defence capability and national security of the two states.

It is also worth adding that the solemn events dedicated to the closing of the annual joint exercise "Selenga" with the participation of units of the Armed Forces of Mongolia were also held at the Doityn Am training ground (Mongolia), where the Mongolian side played practical actions.

Recall that the "Selenga-2020" exercise was held simultaneously for the first time at two training grounds in Russia and Mongolia from October 27 to 31. The "Selenga 2020" exercise was aimed at fighting international terrorism.

About 650 military personnel and more than 100 pieces of equipment were involved from the Russian Armed Forces. The Mongolian Armed Forces involved about 450 people and over 100 pieces of equipment.

For reference:

The drills are held annually since 2008. Until 2011, it was a tactical exercise with live fire and was called "Darkhan" (translated from Mongolian "Builder"). In 2011, the maneuvers were renamed after the name of the river originating in Mongolia, flowing through the territory of the Republic of Buryatia and flowing into Lake Baikal. From that time on, the exercise began to have an anti-terrorist orientation.

In 2019, the exercise took place at the Munh Hat training ground in Mongolia, where the participants worked out the tasks of jointly destroying mock illegal armed groups and protecting a settlement in the border area.

On October 5, the working group that was established by the Government Administration reported its conclusion that “there was no worsening condition for the environment, health of people and livestock due to uranium” after researching and analyzing the area around the uranium plant of Badrakh Energy in Ulaanbadrakh soum of Dornogovi province.

That is why we wanted to bring the actual information to the public and listened to the opinion of an independent professional person. Manager and professor of the Nuclear Physics Research Center at the Mongolian National University N. Norov, who is the first specialist of Mongolia on atomic power stations and also a teacher who brought forth six Mongolian doctors on reactors. This is the interview with him.

The professional team worked on the territory of Ulaanbadrakh soum, where the uranium exploration was taking place, and recently presented its conclusion. It then reported to the public that there was no worsening or harmful condition for the environment, health of people and livestock due to uranium. Do you, as a professional, agree with this conclusion?

I was not in that working group. I was in the large working group that was established by the resolution 47 of N. Altanhuyag’s Government and that included every research and study institution, when twenty calves of Zuunbayan bag herder D. Norsuren had died in late 2012, while grazing in Ulaanbadrakh soum. The results of the study showed that calves died of a chronic selenium poisoning.

We took for analysis the samples not only from the soil and water in the area, but also from the innards of dead calves. One copy of the study was sent to the Republic of Korea. Because that analysis also showed the chronic selenium poisoning, the working group concluded that it had been a selenium poisoning.

What does it mean? It was not because of uranium?

That area in Dornogovi underwent a considerable geological change. The uranium orebody is at the depth of 200 m from the land surface, while below it there is the Zuunbayan Tsagaan Els uranium deposit 800-1 000 m deep. In other words, there are two types of minerals, which went through a very deep geological change. Since Gobi has little water and no permanent flows, the water has a lot of salinity and is enriched with various chemical elements after being transformed for many years.

I was not in the recent working group. So I do not know well about the last conclusion. The previous working group stated that selenium was higher than it should be in most of the drinking water wells. The impact from the uranium radiation is very low there. The upper drinking water aquifer is relatively alright.

For example, it has been observed that amounts of uranium and other elements are high in the aquifer with the uranium orebody. So the water has formed naturally to contain enriched and mineralized amounts including other elements in addition to uranium.

Is there a probability that the impact of the radioactive substance uranium may increase after the beginning of the exploration and study by Badrakh Energy?

Ulaanbadrakh has a relatively little amount of uranium, when compared to other places such as Ulaanbaatar. That is because uranium, which is in granite on the surface, is washed by water, turns into an ore below and becomes enriched. So it is relatively less on the surface. Of course, there are occasional places where the uranium orebody is close to the land surface. These places are called high radiation areas by some movements. But that is just a rock with uranium appearing relatively open. It is a rock that has a bit more uranium. But no person and no animal will eat this rock. Before the French company came to explore, the Russians conducted the exploration and formed the open uranium orebody spots after digging holes. It is hard to call them dangerous.

However, certain movements still assume that Badrakh Energy company has intoxicated the human and livestock?

Badrakh Energy is a company with investments of France and Mongolia. It is talked as if the French come and dig all our uranium. But this is a joint investment company built on an agreement of three countries.

Their technology is the most modern. This method is being used to mine half of uranium produced in the world. This method has developed greatly in recent years. Uranium will be mined through this economically profitable and environmentally relatively clean technology. But it is not being mined right now.

So can I understand that there will be no nuclear waste due to the use of this technology?

Yes, there will be no nuclear waste at all. This is not like digging the earth and draining the groundwater to mine coal. There will be no land digging or water draining. They will retrieve the water of the uranium ore aquifer by circulating it, turn it into a weak sulfuric acid solution, inject back into the orebody, select and leach uranium and adsorb the retrieved uranium in resin. The water will be used in a circulating mode. So it is a relatively clean technology that does not expend water. It is especially suitable for the uranium deposit in Ulaanbadrakh soum. Our uranium deposit has uranium brought by the groundwater, having eventually turned it into an ore. It has clay layers above and below. That is why uranium will not permeate further.

There was a lot of scandal, when they showed a six-legged newborn goat to the public. So this deformation is considered to have formed due to a unique natural phenomenon?

Only an enormous radiation amount can cause congenital deformations. Otherwise, the natural level radiation, which existed for many million years in Mongolia, cannot cause a genetic change.

Genes or the thing called inbreeding impacts the fetus development. I myself am a Dundgovi man. In our Gobi, the livestock is inbreeding. Because it is a desert area, there is a deficiency of improving the livestock. So inbreeding of the livestock should be avoided.

You said that the enormous radiation level could cause a congenital deformation. Can you provide the numbers?

Living organisms across the world are living under the radiation impact. There are three main sources of the radiation impact:

1. Space radiation: The radiation coming from the hot nuclear reaction in the Sun increases the more you get close to the Sun. For example, Dornogovi province is located 760-770 m above the sea level, twice lower than the city of Ulaanbaatar. So it means that people of Ulaanbaatar are more exposed to the impact of space rays.

2. Amount of the radioactive substance radon in the air: This substance enters through breath and causes an internal exposure in people.

3. Soil and things: Nothing is without radioactive substances. The impact from the soil and construction materials is important here.

Our country is similar to the world average. When there is something higher than the average, the radiation in the soil will show higher. For example, if we use the radioactive sand and gravel as construction materials, the building walls will emit a lot of radiation. For example, it was determined that the ash from the thermal power stations no. 3 and 4 should not be used as a construction material. If it is used, then the radiation will rise above the norm.

In other words, we are always impacted by the radiation. It is there to a certain extent. We would talk about the radiation danger, if doses will be many thousand and million times above that level. Our uranium ore did not reach that level. For example, the dose of natural radiation is 0.15μSv/hour. It is same in Ulaanbadrakh soum too. The previously said active spots formed by the Russians in Ulaanbadrakh soum demonstrate approximately 1.0μSv/hour. There should be a talk about the accident if only it increases not 5-6 times, but several thousand and million times above that level.

If it is safe as you say, how is it useful for our country, if the plant that has been built starts to operate?

Our country has two types of energy resource – coal and uranium. Burning coal causes the air pollution and it in turn becomes a national issue. But there is the same enriched uranium in the coal. All coal deposits of our country are adjacent to uranium deposits.

The uranium mine called Mardai in Dornod is close to the Aduunchuluun coal mine. There is a uranium deposit near the Janchivlin spring in Erdene soum, close to the Baganuur coal mine. Beyond the Shivee Ovoo coal mine is the Haraat uranium deposit. Because they are close to each other, uranium enriches in coal. The smoke coming from our power stations contains the very uranium that you fear. To be exact, uranium and other radioactive elements directly wasted into the air in Ulaanbaatar and entering into bodies with breath is more impactful than uranium lying 200 m deep in Gobi.

The countries are now distancing from the 200-year old technology of burning coal. We are still burning it. In order to dig and retrieve one ton of coal in Baganuur, we pile four tons of soil and drain the groundwater. It means that we are operating needlessly four times. The 4th thermal power station burns 70 containers of coal per day. 15 percent of the delivered coal becomes ash. 45 percent of it is moisture or water. So 55 percent or half of it is not profitable. But one gram of uranium is equal to more than twenty tons of coal. It is a much more effective technology.

On the other hand, our country is said to have ample reserves of coal, but they are only about one percent of the total world reserve. But in terms of uranium we have about two percent of the total world reserve.

The southern neighbor is shifting from burning coal to the hydrogen technology. Uranium is important for hydrogen. Because our country does not have the natural gas, we would end up making it from our water. In order split the water, we would need electricity, thus making it expensive. Our coal is a combination of carbon and hydrogen. It means that hydrogen needs to be separated. We will gradually use uranium, process coal and move to the hydrogen energy. That is the way for the development.

Thank you for the important information.

Thank you.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The decision to lower mortgage loan interest rate from 8 percent down to 6 was made on October 1, 2020 by the ordinance of the Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, which allowed to start disbursing mortgage loans to borrowers, who issued their requests after October 1.

As of October 29, 512 borrowers have received mortgage loans worth 37.1 billion in total through the funding investment made available by government and commercial banks, of which MNT 7.8 billion were disbursed to 145 applicants from rural areas.

Asian banks are edging yet closer to crypto and digital currency adoption – with Mongolian and South Korea banks unveiling ambitious new developments in the wake of reports of the launch of Singaporean giant DBS’ forthcoming digital asset exchange.

Although DBS has responded to reports by saying that its exchange is still a “work in process,” the bank has confirmed it is working on the project – and a page for the new platform seemingly went live yesterday, although it appears to have since been taken down later. But elsewhere on the continent, bank-operated crypto projects may materialize before DBS puts the finishing touches on its own trading platform.

Per DDaily, South Korean crypto finance company Delio and Hexland, a South Korean blockchain firm founded by a group of former Samsung developers, have agreed a deal to work with the Ulaanbaatar-based Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB Bank). The deal will also involve Mongolian mineral resource and blockchain company MDKI, whose partners include crypto mining giant Bitfury.

TDB Bank is one of Mongolia’s oldest and largest banks, with 50 branches nationwide. It works predominantly with industrial clients. The companies will initially provide a range of crypto-related services in Mongolia, including crypto custody, remittance, deposits, loans and cryptoasset management.

A Delio official told the same media outlet that the move would allow it to enter the “global cryptoasset financial market” in earnest. (crypto news)

Airbus has come together with a local partner Vertexmon to provide a complete Tetra digital radio communication solution to the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar.

The Tetra system will replace the current analogue system and is designed to cover and ensure the security of governmental operations in the capital. It comprises of a core switch, base station, dispatchers, radio handsets and secure programmes. The implementation of the network will start at the end of 2020.

“We are honoured to gain a new customer and pilot such a project in Mongolia” says Marko Tiesmaki, Head of the Asia-Pacific region for Secure Land Communications at Airbus. “In the flourishing Asia-Pacific region more and more companies and institutions are turning to us for our secure communications solutions, as they have proven to be the most resilient” he continues.

Airbus’ local partner, Vertexmon, provides technical consulting and infrastructure-related solutions. For this project, the company is acting as an intermediary between Airbus and the Mongolian government.

Mongolia's UN ambassador Lundeg Purevsuren has written to Red Bull over Verstappen's 'racist and derogatory' comments.

Following his collision with Lance Stroll during the second free practice session at the Portimao circuit, Verstappen took to the radio to express his displeasure at the incident.

On the radio to his engineer, Verstappen said "Is this fu***g guy blind? What the f**k is wrong with him? Jesus Christ. What a retard. I have damage. What a mongol. I swear."

Verstappen later conceded on Friday that the words he chose were "not the right ones" and that he "never intended to offend anybody", but his comments nonetheless have resulted in groups such as Mongol Identity to release an open letter, asking for a full apology from the Dutch driver.

The Mongolian government has also sent letters to Dietrich Mateschitz, CEO of Red Bull GmbH, and Tobias Moers, CEO of Red Bull Racing's title sponsor Aston Martin, to express his disappointment with Verstappen's language over the radio.

In that letter, Purevsuren - who acts as Mongolia's ambassador to the United Nations and World Trade Organisation - said that he was "confident" that the FIA would take further action against Verstappen.

"I regret the use of racist and unethical language in public by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen during the practice of the Portuguese Grand Prix of the Formula One World Championship on 23 October 2020," reads Purevsuren's letter.

"Sport is considered a symbol of unity all over the world and I believe that there should not be any form of racial discrimination in sports.

"I support the 'We Race as One' initiative of the Formula 1 against racism. But due to the abovementioned incident, I doubt that this initiative meets the reality.

"I am confident that in order to prevent the recurrence of such unethical behaviour in sports, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) will take actions against Red Bull driver Max Verstappen for his unacceptable behaviour of repeatedly using racist and derogatory language against any ethnic groups."

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told the BBC that he does not "condone" Verstappen's choice of language, and that he spoke to the driver internally.

"Max did not mean to cause offence," Horner said. "They were made in the heat of the moment when emotions were running high."

Red Bull has been requested for comment.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Mongolian National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD), the overall tally of patients who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus across the state has jumped to 346, as six more cases were reported during the last 24-hour period.

At a regular news briefing, the NCCD's head Dulmaa Nyamkhuu revealed that 33 patients being treated at the National Center for Communicable Diseases are in a serious condition.

The center's statement further included that a number of 313 patients have so far won the battle against the brutal coronavirus infection and been accordingly discharged from hospitals, with the number including five reported in the previous 24 hours, adding that all the confirmed cases in the East Asian nation are imported from the overseas, mostly from Russia.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On October 30, the cabinet convened an irregular meeting and made a decision to close border crossing checkpoints with the Russian Federation – Borshoo in Uvs aimag and Tsagaanuur in Bayan-Ulgii aimag for 21 days, starting from November 2, Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister Ya.Sodbaatar informed that the decision has been made in connection with the possible risk of infection of COVID-19 amid the increasing number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia, an immediate neighbor of Mongolia.

In specific, as of now, a total of 30 freight truck drivers have been tested positive for the virus while in Mongolia, including two most-recent COVID-19 cases detected from Russian freight truck drivers, who arrived in Mongolia across the Tsagaannuur border point last night.

“As of today, only freight transportation of staple foods, petroleum products and animal fodder are running through border checkpoints located in the western region of Mongolia, and all border checkpoints of the country are still closed to all passenger movements due to COVID-19. However, given the current situation, the aforementioned border checkpoints will be closed completely for 21 days” says the Deputy Prime Minister.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mongolia is now 340, all of them are ‘imported’ or detected from people who arrived from abroad and were placed under mandatory isolation. No local transmission has been detected in the country.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On 29 October, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $410,000 technical assistance (TA) grant to help manage food insecurity risks amid supply disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic in Mongolia.

“Together with its severe economic impacts, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted food supply chains and increased the risks of food insecurity in Mongolia,” said ADB Director for Environment, Natural Resources, and Agricultural Development in East Asia Qingfeng Zhang.

“With this TA, ADB's first focusing on assessing and mitigating the impact of pandemic on food supply chain disruptions, we aim to develop rapid response mechanisms to address food insecurity risks during the pandemic.”

The poor, on average, spend 43% of their household expenditure on food and are particularly vulnerable to increases in food prices. The pandemic’s adverse shocks of increased food prices and reduced household incomes exacerbate the risk of malnutrition among Mongolia’s vulnerable and poor households.

Three in four poor households were negatively affected by the high prices of major food items. The strict quarantine measures and trade disruptions made maintaining food supply chains challenging. In April 2020, 58% of farm households were unable to sell products because of logistical disruptions.

Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolia faces a range of food insecurity risks, including extreme weather, natural hazards, pests, and diseases. Mongolia has one short growing season so not having a timely supply of agricultural production inputs would disrupt grain production.

The vulnerabilities of Mongolia’s food supply chain are likely to exacerbate supply disruptions during the crisis including a weak logistical and storage network, weak biosecurity and food safety arrangements, poor access to financial services among small and medium-sized enterprises and small-scale herders, and high dependency on food imports from the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.

In addition to preparing a short-term response, the TA will assess the vulnerabilities of Mongolia’s food supply chains, provide policy advice, build capacity to manage a wide range of food insecurity risks beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and assist in preparing medium- to long-term strategy and action plan to establish more resilient food supply chains and reduce food insecurity risks.

The TA will also support a feasibility study to establish a price monitoring system along food supply chains and emergency stock systems, and dialogue among public and private stakeholders to form coordinated actions to build more resilient food supply chains including the application of digital technologies.

The TA is estimated to cost $410,000, of which $400,000 will be financed on a grant basis from ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund. The Government of Mongolia will provide counterpart support.

The TA complements other ADB COVID-19 assistance to Mongolia, which includes a $15 million loan to support the wheat supply chain in Mongolia during the COVID-19 pandemic, a $100 million COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option, $30 million in additional financing for the Fifth Health Sector Development Program, and a $26.4 million loan to lessen the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic through the Shock-Responsive Social Protection Project.