Ghost of Tsushima: Mongols are the bad guys in Japanese game www.news.mn

In Ghost of Tsushima, the Mongols are definitely the bad guys. Ghost of Tsushima is made by Washington-based studio Sucker Punch Productions, its first new PlayStation 4 game in six years.

Ghost of Tsushima takes players to 13th-century feudal Japan, transporting them to a time when the legendary samurai fought to protect the country from Mongol invaders. Specifically, the game takes place in 1274 during the invasion of Tsushima Island, a real historical event that would mark the start of a Mongol campaign against Japan.

At the centre of the real invasion of Tsushima Island in 1274 was Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, the famous first emperor of the Mongol Empire. Kublai Khan was the fifth emperor of the Mongols, whom he ruled from 1260 to 1294. By the time that Kublai Khan decided to invade Japan in an effort to expand his territory further, the Mongol Empire already stretched across most of Asia and parts of Europe. It was the largest contiguous land empire in history, although the British Empire remains the largest empire in history in terms of maximum land area.

In 1266, Kublai Khan sent emissaries to Japan with a letter of invitation to join the Mongol Empire as “nobody would wish to resort to arms.” After Japan rejected the invitation, Kublai Khan dispatched several more emissaries between 1268 and 1272, all the while building up his army and preparing his naval fleet to take Japan by force.

Kublai Khan’s first target was Tsushima Island, which is located between Korea and Japan. At the time, the Mongol Empire ruled the Korean Peninsula, making it the perfect launching point for the attack on Japan. Ghost of Tsushima shows us an alternate version of what happened when the Mongol army landed in Tsushima on Oct. 5, 1274, led by the merciless Khotun Khan, a fictional character who seems to be a stand-in for Kublai Khan.

Unlike the events of the game, which sees Jin eventually push back the invaders and kill Khotun Khan, the real-life Mongol Empire completely slaughtered Tsushima’s forces, defeating the samurai led by the island’s governor, Sō Sukekuni, who may have inspired Lord Shimura in the game. The Great Khan’s conquest of the island was so complete that there was little uprising as the invaders moved on to Iki Island and then Kyushu, which is the main southern Japanese island.

According to historical accounts from that time, the Mongol army was only pushed back after landing on Kyushu’s Hakata Bay, where they faced fierce opposition from the samurai forces tasked with defending the island. Ultimately, the Mongol generals decided to retreat from the island.

It was during this retreat in November 1274 that a typhoon is said to have struck the Mongol fleet and almost completely decimated the invasion force. This storm was believed by the Japanese to be a “divine wind” – or ‘Kamikaze’ – sent to protect the country from the Mongols. At the time, some believed the “divine wind” was created by the Shinto god of lightning, thunder, and storm Raijin.

Copper price surges to two-year high www.mining.com

Copper futures prices rallied on Tuesday after the agreement of a massive economic stimulus plan in Europe, optimism about a covid-19 vaccine and ongoing worries about pandemic-hit supply from top producer South America.

Copper for delivery in September trading in New York changed hands for $2.9750 a pound ($6,560 a tonne) in early afternoon trade, up 2% from Monday’s settlement.

Copper futures prices are on track for the highest close in two years and are now up by more than 50% from the covid-19 lows struck in March.

Top-listed copper miner BHP announced on Tuesday that it expects its copper output to fall by between 5% and 14% in its next fiscal year to end-June 2021.

BHP, which part-owns and operates Escondida in Chile, the world’s largest copper mine, said the expected fall in copper production is due to a reduction in its workforce related to covid-19 restrictions.

The Melbourne-based company now expects 2020-2021 copper output of between 1.48m – 1.65m tonnes, down from 1.72m tonnes produced in the year prior.

Copper price surges to two-year high
In a recent note, Capital Economics points out that output rates have fallen sharply in Chile, Peru and Mexico, which together account for 45% of global production.

Output is now at levels last seen in 2017 during a protracted strike at Escondida, which by itself is responsible for nearly 5% of worldwide production.

Surging Chinese imports
Customs data released last week showed China’s unwrought copper imports (anodes and cathodes) in June rose a stunning 50% from the previous month to 656,483 tonnes – a full 15% above the previous monthly record.

June cargoes were double that of the same month last year as the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in China, responsible for more than half the world’s copper consumption, rapidly recover following the covid-19 slump.

Over the first half of 2020, imports totalled 2.84m tonnes – up 25% year-on-year and on track to easily beat 2018’s annual record of 5.3m tonnes.

June imports of copper concentrate fell unexpectedly, down 6% to 1.69m tonnes from May, but still up 8.4% from June last year, due to disruptions at mines in Peru, China’s top supplier.

Another indication of demand outstripping supply is the decline in treatment and refining charges. TC/RCs paid by miners to smelters have fallen to an eight-year low, a sign of competition between refiners for available concentrate.

For the first six months of 2020 imports total 10.84 million tonnes, on pace to surpass last year’s record-breaking tally of 22 million tonnes.

Hedge fund bulls
Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show hedge fund positioning in the copper market at its most bullish in two years.

Large-scale speculators like hedge funds have built long positions (bets that copper will trade at a higher level in the future) to pre-pandemic levels and at the same time cut shorts (bets that copper can be bought back at a lower price in the future).

As of Tuesday last week, the net balance was a collective long position of 41,309 contracts, up nearly 30% from the week before and the strongest expression of bullish sentiment since June 2018.

Trump shifts rhetoric as he urges mask-wearing, warns of worsening pandemic www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, in a shift in rhetoric and tone, encouraged Americans on Tuesday to wear masks if they cannot maintain social distance and warned that the coronavirus pandemic would get worse before it got better.

In his first press briefing in months focused on the outbreak, Trump urged young people to avoid going to crowded bars and maintained that the virus would disappear at some point.

Trump’s remarks were a change in strategy from his robust emphasis on reopening the U.S. economy after its long, virus-induced shutdown and represented his first recent acknowledgement of how bad the problem has become.

“It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better - something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is,” Trump told reporters.

Nearly 142,000 people have died in the United States from the highly contagious respiratory illness COVID-19, the most of any country.

The Republican president, who downplayed the virus in its early stages and once referred to mask-wearing as politically correct, has been reluctant to wear a face covering himself.

He wore one for the first time in public during a recent visit to a military hospital but has otherwise eschewed putting one on in front of the press.

Mask-wearing has become a partisan issue, with some supporters of the president arguing that requirements to wear one infringe on their civil liberties. Few people wore masks at Trump’s first rally since the pandemic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, earlier this summer.

As coronavirus cases skyrocket across the country, including in politically important states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona, Trump, who is trailing Democrat Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, on Tuesday showcased a new position on the importance of covering mouths and noses.

“We’re asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask. Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact. They’ll have an effect. And we need everything we can get,” he said.

Trump said he was getting used to masks and would wear one himself in groups or when on an elevator.

“I will use it, gladly,” he said. “Anything that potentially can help ... is a good thing.”

A Biden campaign spokeswoman said Trump’s assertion that his administration has had a “relentless focus” on COVID-19 was preposterous.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said in an interview with CNN that Trump’s new embrace of mask-wearing was a recognition of his mistakes in dealing with the coronavirus.

“This is not a hoax - it is a pandemic that has gotten worse before it will get better because of his inaction, and in fact clearly it is the Trump virus,” Pelosi said.

Trump referred to the virus as the “China virus.” The novel coronavirus outbreak began in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

STRATEGY CHANGE
Trump conducted the briefing on his own, without doctors or other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. His subdued tone contrasted with his previous calls to reopen the economy along with praise for Republican governors who did so and criticism of Democratic governors who implemented tough restrictions in their states.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) response news briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis
The strategy shifts come amid tension within his senior staff about the best way to discuss the virus with the American public and frustration among doctors on the task force that their advice is not being heeded.

The reopening has gone too quickly in some states, leading to spikes in cases and an ever-increasing number of deaths. Following Trump’s initial lead, some Republican governors have also resisted rules requiring that their populations wear masks.

“We’re … asking Americans to use masks, socially distance and employ vigorous hygiene - wash your hands every chance you get while sheltering high-risk populations. We are imploring young Americans to avoid packed bars and other crowded indoor gatherings. Be safe, and be smart,” Trump said.

Trump sought to leave some optimism about treatments even as he acknowledged the grim numbers at present.

“I think you’re going to see something over the next fairly short period of time - maybe very short period of time - having to do with therapeutics and vaccines that are very good,” he said.

Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Timohty Ahmann, Mohammad Zargha, Eric Beech and John Whitesides; Editing by Alistair Bell and Peter Cooney

Speaker G.Zandanshatar visits construction site of oil refinery in Dornogobi aimag www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Speaker of the Parliament G.Zandanshatar visited Altanshiree soum of Dornogobi aimag yesterday, July 21, and got acquainted with the construction process of the oil refining plant.

Bezos, beware! Elon Musk is now the FIFTH-RICHEST person on the planet www.rt.com

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s net worth surpassed $74 billion as of Monday. According to Forbes’ Billionaires List, his fortune has nearly tripled since mid-March, making him the world’s fifth-wealthiest man.
The 49-year-old businessman, who ranked 31st globally as of March, with a net worth just under $25 billion, has now outpaced former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett.

Flash Floods - Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) DREF Operation n° MDRMN012 www.reliefweb.int

Flash floods have been occurring all around the country at different scales due to prolonged heavy rain fall since middle of June and still on going. The rainfall is averaged to be 50-60 millimeters across the country and the highest sum of precipitation was 85 mm in Bulgan province on 8 July 2020.

“Darkhan leather and hide processing complex holds capacity to diversify economy” www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On July 18, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry Z.Mendsaikhan became acquainted with the operations of the complex of the National Center for Livestock Gene Bank and the Institute of Plant and Agricultural Sciences in Darkhan city.

"What development means in a post pandemic Mongolia?" www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mongolia has commissioned an initiative to explore the answers to “What development means in a post pandemic Mongolia? What continues? What is restored? What can never be redone? What new opportunities now exist?”.

Over 20 Mongolian COVID-19 patients retest positive after recovery www.xinhuanet.com

More than 20 Mongolian people tested positive again for COVID-19 after they had recovered and been discharged from hospital, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Tuesday.

Silver price hits highest level since 2016 www.mining.com

Silver prices are latching onto gold’s rally, reaching their highest levels since 2016 on Monday, as concerns about the global economy and market dynamics continue to shift investor attention towards safe haven metals.