A suspected case of bubonic plague in western Mongolia's Khovd province has been confirmed by lab test results, the country's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD) said Sunday.

The 25-year-old female patient from the province and 19 people in close contact with her are now under isolation at a local hospital, the NCZD said in a statement.

The center said the woman was found to have eaten marmot meat last week.

While hunting marmots is illegal in Mongolia, many Mongolians regard the rodent as a delicacy and ignore the law.

Since the beginning of this year, the Asian country has reported 22 suspected cases, six of which were confirmed by laboratory tests. Three of the six patients have died.

Seventeen out of all the 21 Mongolian provinces are now at risk of the bubonic plague, the NCZD said, urging the public to avoid eating marmot meat.

The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots and can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization. Enditem

The Chinese ambassador to Mongolia has rejected remarks made by former president of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj on social media and in a letter addressed to China regarding the implementation of bilingual education of Putonghua and ethnic language in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, saying that his views in the letter are completely wrong and China won't accept them.

"The national common language is a symbol of a country's sovereignty, and it is the right and duty of every citizen to learn and use the common language, which is true not only for China, but also for all countries in the world," said Chai Wenrui, the ambassador to Mongolia, in a letter sent to Elbegdorj.

"At the same time, the Chinese government protects the rights of ethnic minorities, including Mongolians, to use their own spoken and written languages in accordance with law," Chai said.

Chai noted that all affairs related to Inner Mongolian, including the bilingual education reform in Inner Mongolia, are China's internal affairs and no other countries can interfere in them.

In his letter, Elbegdorj criticized the region's education reform, seeing a "dissolution and elimination" of Mongolian ethnicity through their language.

Elbegdorj's letter has been returned as the remarks in the letter were considered wrong, Chai said, adding that he hopes that Elbegdorj can respect China's sovereignty and recognize the truth considering the overall interests of relations between the two countries, and stop hyping up the issue.

Since the fall semester in 2020, students in first grade in ethnic primary and middle schools in Inner Mongolia started to use the State-approved textbook for Chinese, and the course is taught in Putonghua.

Previously, students started taking the course in second grade, while Mongolian language remains the medium of instruction in other subjects from first grade. The Inner Mongolia government released an explanation on its new education regulations on August 31.

Some changes to the regulation which had not been fully explained and disinformation that misled the public had caused concerns from some students and parents that the Mongolian language will be replaced by Putonghua.

Some Western media have also been hyping up the education reform and recent events in the region.

The local government of Xilingol League in Inner Mongolia issued a detailed explanation on September 6, guaranteeing that the new regulation doesn't signal a cancellation of classes taught in the Mongolian language, nor does it mean the end of preferable policies aimed at helping ethnic minority students get into college.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on September 3 that the Western reports were political hype, and that it is every citizen's right and responsibility to learn and use the common language.

Australia has pared its forecasts for mining and energy export revenue this year, as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and metallurgical coal earnings are forecast to be slightly weaker than earlier expected.

Total earnings from mining and energy exports are forecast to fall 12% in the year to June 2021 to A$256 billion ($180.71 billion) from a record high of A$290 billion a year earlier, the Department of Industry said in its latest quarterly report.

“In 2020-21, relatively weak resource and energy commodity prices — with the notable exception of gold and iron ore — and lower coal export volumes are expected to drive a sizable fall in export earnings,” the government said.

The forecast for 2020-21 is down A$7 billion from the government’s previous outlook in June because of weaker than expected energy exports and stronger than expected gains in the Australian dollar, it said.

Earnings from metallurgical coal are forecast to drop by a third to A$23 billion in 2020-21 on lower prices and weaker output from major miners. That is A$2 billion lower than the government’s previous outlook.

LNG revenue is expected to slump 35% to A$31 billion in 2020-21 from a year earlier. That is A$4 billion lower than the government’s previous forecast, partly due to problems at two of the country’s 10 LNG export projects.

Amid the collapse in global growth from the coronavirus pandemic, Australia’s resources earnings have been shored up by iron ore, helped by supply disruptions in Brazil caused by the pandemic and solid demand from China.

“There is little immediate prospect for a major change in these dynamics,” the government said.

It sees iron export earnings slipping to A$97 billion this year from last year’s record A$102 billion, with iron ore prices expected to fall from around $100 a tonne in the December quarter to around $80 a tonne by the end of 2021.

(Reporting by Sonali Paul. Editing by Christian Schmollinger).

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ JMC Projects company of India has been selected as the general contractor in charge of the first phase construction of the oil refinery plant in Dornogobi aimag, specifically development of the refinery’s non-technological facilities and construction site infrastructure. The company will construct administration building, warehouse, repair facility, fire safety and first aid units, laboratory, and water supply system of the refinery.

On September 24, oil refinery project contractor, Mongolian Oil Refinery state owned company, project management consulting company, Engineers India Limited, and JMC Projects company held the project inception meeting virtually, finalizing the detailed plan for project implementation, coordination, and management.

Established in 1982, JMC Projects works in the areas of infrastructure, energy, industry and construction. The company with around 5,000 employees has successfully implemented over 50 development projects in India and other countries.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In order to make public services convenient to the citizens, Mongolia Immigration Agency is providing visa permit, residence permit extension, and visa duration extension services via https://evisa.mn.

Since the service was launched in May 2019, it has provided approximately 7000 foreign nationals from 11 countries with 10 different types of public services. For instance, the service has provided business classification multiple type visa permit to 2000 citizens, tourist type visa-on-arrival visa permit to 2100 citizens, student type visa permit to 800 citizens and also has extended the duration of the residence permit of around 350 employees and foreign investors.

Now people may use the internet from any given area to apply for public services. To use online services please register on https://evisa.mn website and follow the instructions provided to submit the necessary documents for the applicable service. Applications submitted online shall be processed in 3 business days and will be given proper decisions via e-mail and SMS.

Before the establishment of online services, customers were required to visit Mongolia Immigration Agency 2-3 times to submit and receive visa services. As of now, customers can receive their response without having to come to the Agency, which is important to save time and money.

Mongolia Immigration Agency is gradually using technological advances to bring public services closer to the people and simplify them.

Mongolia Immigration Agency

Singapore will be the first country in the world to use facial verification in its national identity scheme.

The biometric check will give Singaporeans secure access to both private and government services.

The government's technology agency says it will be "fundamental" to the country's digital economy.

It has been trialled with a bank and is now being rolled out nationwide. It not only identifies a person but ensures they are genuinely present.

"You have to make sure that the person is genuinely present when they authenticate, that you're not looking at a photograph or a video or a replayed recording or a deepfake," said Andrew Bud, founder and chief executive of iProov, the UK company that is providing the technology.

The technology will be integrated with the country's digital identity scheme SingPass and allows access to government services.

"This is the first time that cloud-based face verification has been used to secure the identity of people who are using a national digital identity scheme," said Mr Bud.

Verification or recognition?

Both facial recognition and facial verification depend on scanning a subject's face, and matching it with an image in an existing database to establish their identity.

The key difference is that verification requires the explicit consent of the user, and the user gets something in return, such as access to their phone or their bank's smartphone app.

Facial recognition technology, by contrast, might scan the face of everyone in a train station, and alert the authorities if a wanted criminal walks past a camera.

"Face recognition has all sorts of social implications. Face verification is extremely benign," said Mr Bud.

Privacy advocates, however, contend that consent is a low threshold when dealing with sensitive biometric data.

"Consent does not work when there is an imbalance of power between controllers and data subjects, such as the one observed in citizen-state relationships," said Ioannis Kouvakas, legal officer with London-based Privacy International.

Business or government?

In the US and China, tech companies have jumped on the facial verification bandwagon.

For example, a range of banking apps support Apple Face ID or Google's Face Unlock for verification, and China's Alibaba has a Smile to Pay app.

Many governments are already using facial verification too, but few have considered attaching the technology to a national ID.

In some cases that's because they don't have a national ID at all. In the US, for example, most people use state-issued drivers' licences as their main form of identification.

China hasn't attempted to link facial verification to its national ID, but last year enacted rules forcing customers to have their faces scanned when they buy a new mobile phone, so that they could be checked against the ID provided.

Nevertheless, facial verification is already widespread in airports, and many government departments are using it, including the UK Home Office and National Health Service and the US Department of Homeland Security.

How will it be used?

Singapore's technology is already in use at kiosks in branches of Singapore's tax office, and one major Singapore bank, DBS, allows customers to use it to open an online bank account.

It is also likely to be used for verification at secure areas in ports and to ensure that students take their own tests.

It will be available to any business that wants it, and meets the government's requirements.

"We don't really restrict how this digital face verification can be used, as long as it complies with our requirements," said Kwok Quek Sin, senior director of national digital identity at GovTech Singapore.

"And the basic requirement is that it is done with consent and with the awareness of the individual."

GovTech Singapore thinks the technology will be good for businesses, because they can use it without having to build the infrastructure themselves.

Additionally, Mr Kwok said, it is better for privacy because companies won't need to collect any biometric data.

In fact, they would only see a score indicating how close the scan is to the image the government has on file.

Delegates from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will visit Mongolia in October for evaluating the implementation of the specific tasks given to Ulaanbaatar for getting off the Grey list. The delegates have a tight schedule which has been complicated by the coronavirus pandemic; following their visit to Mongolia, they will be involved in preparing for next month’s meeting of the FATF.

In October 2019, the FATF added Mongolia to its grey list of nations failing to combat money laundering. Mongolia has since made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and continues to take significant steps towards strengthening the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime.

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. On September 23th (GMT-5), President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga addressed the General Debate of the 75th United Nations General Assembly, taking place in New York, NY, USA, on September 22-29, 2020.

Mr. President,

Mr. Secretary-General,

Distingusihed delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I wish to convey my heartfelt congratulations to you, Mr. President, upon your election as the President of the current session of the General Assembly. I pledge my delegation’s full support and cooperation in the discharge of your onerous responsibilities.

This year the member States are proudly celebrating the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The UN is the optimal structure of multilateral cooperation. It was, indeed, a tremendous achievement when the world’s nations united under the spirit of the UN Charter, set out to resolve their differences and hurdles through negotiations and cooperation.

Along with progress and development came complex and formidable challenges. Our responsibility to address and overcome them has equally increased. The most glaring example is the current 75th session of the UN General Assembly, which is taking place amid worldwide fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

In today’s interdependent world, infectious diseases are spreading exponentially, adversely affecting the economy, social welfare, humanitarian causes, security and human rights.

It is a huge lesson and warning that humankind has been caught off guard and swept by the pandemic in the 21st century with its highly developed medical science. In this time of hardship, multilateralism has taken on an even more significant role. There is a critical need for networked, inclusive and well-timed responses based on unity and cooperation.

We have no doubt that upon release of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, the United Nations and its system organizations will play a major role in ensuring equal access to the vaccine for developing and least developed countries, as well as vulnerable groups, such as children, women, the elderly and indigenous peoples.

We call on international financial organizations and developed countries to continue their support and assistance to developing countries with limited resources and weak social protection systems in their economic recovery and fight against the deadly pandemic.

Mr. President,

This year ushered in the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs. However, it is also the year where COVID-19 restrictions and quarantine are in place worldwide, and the pandemic has not only aggravated the existing challenges, but also reversed some of the hard-won gains made since 2015. Thus, all Governments need to act decisively to fight the pandemic, step up their efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals and fulfill their responsibilities in a more innovative and flexible way.

As a result of a timely containment strategy, mobilization of all possible resources while taking into account the lessons learnt from others, Mongolia has so far no local transmission and no pandemic-related death.

The pandemic, climate change and other threats that have raised alarm worldwide keep reminding humankind of the overriding need to cherish the Earth and live in harmony with nature. The tradition of treasuring, cherishing and protecting the Earth is deeply embedded in the nomadic way of life and the national identity of Mongols.

Interdependence between humans and the natural world is at the root of human existence. To this day we have done everything not to bend down under the overwhelming forces of nature. However, our struggle was not to adapt to nature, but rather to defeat it. Day by day we realize that the fight to win is what is causing defeat, while the fight to seek harmony is the foundation of our existence.

The fact that Mongolia is one of the few countries with zero local transmission of COVID-19 can be traced to our centuries-long tradition of living in harmony with nature. We need to unite our minds and forces to live in concord with nature, rather than dominate it with the help of technological progress.

In fact, nations around the world owe a duty to future generations to protect the Earth and ensure that every individual leads an eco-friendly life.

Mr. President,

For the past 75 years, the United Nations has been fulfilling its responsibility of uniting the world’s nations under one roof and steering them towards growth and development. However, the need for the UN to be more in sync with changing environment, enhance its work and change its working methods is nothing but compelling, if it is to rise to the emerging challenges of international relations. It must take even more innovative and bold action to that end.

Let us joint efforts to build a reinvigorated United Nations and grow together for the sake of Mother Earth and peace and prosperity of all humankind!

I thank you for attention.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The National Committee for Environmental Pollution Reduction and the UNICEF in Mongolia started their cooperation in 2019, attaching attention on mitigating air pollution, reducing negative impacts of air pollution to pregnant mothers and children as well as introducing electric heating appliance to households in ger areas by eliminating coal consumption as well as making people aware of living environmentally-friendly.

On September 23, Minister of Environment and Tourism D.Sarangerel received Representative of the UNICEF to Mongolia Alex Heikens to share information on ongoing projects and programs within the cooperation.

“We have carried out several works within the air pollution reduction project, which is being financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and realized by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia and UNICEF. In particular, air quality monitors have been installed in Bayankhongor aimag alongside use of low-cost, undersized devices.

Furthermore, heating and insulation package for Mongolian ger (a traditional yurt) or CHIPS (Cooking, Heating, Insulation, Product and Service) started to be produced last winter based on our own experience in partnership with our domestic and international partner organizations and the Mongolian University of Science and Technology. The package has been installed in 200 households of Bayankhongor aimag to make measurement and study. And the study reveals that the households benefit from economic savings by using electric heating appliance aside from number of positive outcomes such as being provided with condition to live in clean environment and save their time. In addition, we are happy that the package has become one of products of "Green Loan" issued by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in collaboration with the Mongolian Bankers Association,” said Mr. Alex Heikens.

Minister D.Sarangerel said that air pollution level is increasing in recent years not only in Ulaanbaatar city but also in aimags. We are proud of your team for doing effective works in Bayankhongor aimag, which is one of five aimags where air pollution level is high. I am glad to hear that it will make tangible contribution in mitigating air pollution and providing people with favorable living condition once we introduce the heating and insulation package for Mongolian ger, in the capital city and other aimags further. The Ministry will provide all-round support for accomplishing Government's goal to reduce air pollution up to 80 percent.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The 32nd International Olympiad in Informatics was held online from September 13 to 19 in Singapore.

Out of four Mongolian students who represented the country from “Sant” and “Erkhet Erdem” schools, student of Sant school A.Nyamdavaa won the first gold medal of Mongolia at the Olympia. Prior to it, A.Nyamdavaa claimed the first silver medal of the country as well at the 31st Olympiad took place in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2019.

Mongolian students have been attending the International Olympiad in Informatics since 1991 and won three bronze and one silver medals.