Two cases of bubonic plague prompt crack down on marmot hunting www.9news.com.au

Russian authorities have warned people near the country's border with Mongolia not to hunt or eat marmots after an outbreak of bubonic plague.
Two cases of the plague were recorded in the Khovd province in western Mongolia, Russian state media agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

New government structure approved with 14 ministries and 17 ministers www.montsame.mn

The Parliament of Mongolia today passed the bill on amendments to the government structure and composition on its first discussion and accompanying bills. The bill was submitted to the State Great Khural by the cabinet led by Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh yesterday, July 6, based on the consent of President Kh.Battulga in compliance with article 39.3 of the Constitution of Mongolia. The same day, parliamentary plenary session and the standing committee on State Structure discussed the proposal with no objection raised for the bill.

Trump administration begins formal withdrawal from World Health Organization www.cnn.com

(CNN)The Trump administration has notified Congress and the United Nations that the United States is formally withdrawing from the World Health Organization, multiple officials tell CNN, a move that comes amid a rising number of coronavirus cases throughout the Americas over the past week.

The withdrawal, which goes into effect next July, has drawn criticism from bipartisan lawmakers, medical associations, advocacy organizations and allies abroad. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed Tuesday to reverse the decision "on (his) first day" if elected.
Sen. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted the news Tuesday.
"Congress received notification that POTUS officially withdrew the U.S. from the ⁦‪@WHO⁩in the midst of a pandemic. To call Trump's response to COVID chaotic & incoherent doesn't do it justice. This won't protect American lives or interests—it leaves Americans sick & America alone," he wrote.
A State Department official also confirmed that "the United States' notice of withdrawal, effective July 6, 2021, has been submitted to the UN Secretary-General, who is the depository for the WHO." The spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres said he had received the notice and "is in the process of verifying with the World Health Organization whether all the conditions for such withdrawal are met." Those conditions "include giving a one-year notice and fully meeting the payment of assessed financial obligations."
Republicans urge Trump not to terminate relationship with World Health Organization
Republicans urge Trump not to terminate relationship with World Health Organization
The letter addressed to the UN is very short, around three sentences, a source briefed on the correspondence told CNN, and it triggers a one-year withdrawal timeline. However, this source also cautioned that they cannot confirm they saw the final version of the letter.
Among its current functions, the WHO is attempting to coordinate efforts to get personal safety and medical equipment, like ventilators, to hospitals around the world. Elizabeth Cousens, the president and CEO of the UN Foundation, said the organization is "indispensable" in the fight against Covid-19.
Loyce Pace, president and executive director of Global Health Council, echoed that point, telling CNN: "Thousands of people have spoken, from health experts to heads of state and heroes on the frontlines: the world needs WHO. This move signals a dangerous gamble in the midst of a pandemic we have yet to conquer, and without a viable alternative to WHO."
Some have warned that withdrawal in the current environment could also interfere with clinical trials essential for developing vaccines, as well as efforts to trace the spread of the virus globally.
'Short-sighted, unnecessary, and unequivocally dangerous'
President Donald Trump said he was halting funding to the organization in mid-April and announced his intention to withdraw from the WHO in May after he said it "failed to make the requested and greatly needed reforms." Trump had denounced the US' contribution to the WHO -- $400-500 million -- in comparison to China's and consistently accused the organization of aiding China in allegedly covering up the origins of the virus and allowing its spread.
While lawmakers from both parties have long cited systemic problems with the WHO, many have also denounced the President's decision to withdraw during a once-in-a-century global pandemic.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it "is an act of true senselessness." Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he disagreed with Trump's decision.
"If the administration has specific recommendations for reforms of the WHO, it should submit those recommendations to Congress, and we can work together to make those happen," he said.
Last month, despite alleging that the World Health Organization "enabled" the Chinese government's sweeping cover-up of the coronavirus pandemic's origins, members of the GOP China task force urged Trump to reconsider his decision to terminate relations with the international body, arguing that the US can do more to affect change as a member.
Cousens, the head of the UN Foundation, called the decision "short-sighted, unnecessary, and unequivocally dangerous" and said that the US' "ability to lead and shape an agenda for reform is drastically diminished when they step out of the field of play."
"There's no question but that working within an institution like the World Health Organization allows the United States and others to leverage their resources to have much greater impact," she told CNN.
She pointed to the WHO's work in "distributing millions of pieces of personal protective equipment to medical facilities around the world, millions of diagnostic tests, tracking the virus' spread across borders, coordinating global efforts to develop a vaccine, ... coordinating research among over 100 countries ... along with all of the work that they do in low resource and more humanitarian settings."
Move comes as virus is surging
The heads of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Physicians condemned the move to withdraw from the WHO, saying in a statement that it "puts the health of our country at grave risk."
"This dangerous withdrawal not only impacts the global response against COVID-19, but also undermines efforts to address other major public health threats," they said in a joint statement. "We call on Congress to reject the Administration's withdrawal from the WHO and make every effort to preserve the United States' relationship with this valued global institution. Now is the time to invest in global health, rather than turn back."
The number of coronavirus cases continues to surge across the US and in various countries around the world.
There are at least 2,953,423 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 130,546 people have died from the virus in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.
On Monday, Johns Hopkins reported 17,346 new cases and 261 deaths. The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19 after months of dismissing the seriousness of the virus
Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro tests positive for Covid-19 after months of dismissing the seriousness of the virus
Trump has repeatedly insisted that the rise of cases in the US is purely the result of increased testing, but a WHO official knocked down that claim on Monday.
WHO scientists and experts are scheduled to travel to China this weekend to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Tuesday.
Specifically, experts will be seeking to trace the narrative of how the coronavirus might have spread from the wild to possibly farm animals to humans, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program.
Biden vows to reverse decision
The Trump administration has already diverted funding from the WHO and the process to formally withdraw will take a year to complete. Critics of the decision hope that the withdrawal decision will be reversed if Trump loses the presidential election in November. In a tweet Tuesday, Biden vowed to do so if elected.
"Americans are safer when America is engaged in strengthening global health. On my first day as President, I will rejoin the @WHO and restore our leadership on the world stage," he wrote.
US allies have rallied to the support of the WHO, with a top diplomat from Germany calling for global solidarity and Italy's Health Minister criticizing Trump's decision as "serious and wrong".
Trump's decision to permanently terminate the US relationship with the WHO follows a years-long pattern of railing against global organizations, with the President claiming that the US is being taken advantage of. The President has questioned US funding to the United Nations and NATO, withdrawn from the Paris climate accord and repeatedly criticized the World Trade Organization.
CNN's Manu Raju, Richard Roth, Valentina DiDonato, Lauren Mascarenhas and Sarah Mucha contributed to this report.

China’s $3 TRILLION foreign exchange reserves continue to grow www.rt.com

Beijing has continued increasing its foreign exchange reserves – already the world’s largest – adding $10.64 billion in June to its $3.112 trillion, central bank data showed on Tuesday.
The figure is less than the $3.120 trillion expected by economists who were polled by Reuters.

Mongolian model with the world’s second-longest pair of legs www.news.mn

Finding a normal skirt or pair of trousers is never an easy task for 29-year-old B.Rentsenkhorloo, who stands at 6 feet and 9 inches and officially has the world’s second-longest pair of legs.

BoM purchases 2.3 tons of precious gold in June www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In May 2020, the precious metal purchase of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) was 2.3 tons, raising the BoM’s total precious metal purchase of 2020 to 10.8 tons, of which 9.1 tons were gold and 1.7 tons were silver. It means the amount of precious metal purchase increased by 4.8 tons compared with the same period of previous year.

National wildlife crossing standards to be implemented www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Ministry of Road and Transport Development in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism has developed the national standards for wildlife crossings ‘MNS 6515:2015 Passages for wild ungulates along the highways and railways in steppe and gobi areas’ and ‘MNS 6735:2018 Mountain crossings for wildlife migration routes. General requirements’.

ADB to help address and prevent domestic violence in Mongolia amid COVID-19 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $440,000 technical assistance (TA) grant to help address and prevent domestic violence amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) disease pandemic in Mongolia.

“Aside from its severe economic impacts, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a strong impact on domestic violence in Mongolia,” said ADB Social Development Specialist Veronica Mendizabal Joffre. “With this TA, ADB's first focusing on increasing access to support services and prevention of domestic violence during a crisis, we aim to maintain critical response mechanisms for domestic violence and enhance preventive action.”

Police records for the capital city of Ulaanbaatar indicated a 63% increase in reported cases of domestic violence, with 3,100 during the first quarter of 2020 compared to 1,900 reported during the first quarter of 2019. Most of these cases included physical violence (77%), about 90% were committed in a household setting, and women constituted 93% of the victims. Reduced mobility during the quarantine period and social distancing measures have resulted in victims of domestic violence having reduced options for support and counseling. It is likely that many have been forced to remain at home with perpetrators.

Mongolia has 14 shelters and 15 one-stop service centers (OSSCs) that provide attention, counseling services, and short-term safe accommodation to victims of domestic violence. All shelters and OSSCs have remained open during the COVID-19 crisis. However, these critical institutions lack all needed personal protective equipment (PPE) to attend to victims in a safe manner. Further, no protocols are in place to reduce exposure of current residents to COVID-19 when new victims are received.

The TA will boost the safety of first responders during the pandemic through the procurement of basic PPE, first aid kits, and disinfection items for shelters and one-stop service centers, as well as first responder police units across the country. Three mobile ultrasound units for examination of victims will also be purchased, as well as information technology hardware to enhance digital counseling operations.

The TA will also support the expansion of information technology and digital infrastructure of the National Legal Institute and the nongovernment organization National Center Against Violence (NCAV) to complement existing hotlines and counselling services, such as using chatbots. In light of the increased demand for psychosocial counseling during the COVID-19 crisis, an additional counselor under the NCAV will also be provided for the duration of the TA. Virtual training programs will also be conducted for first responders on emergency response in cases of sexual violence, for shelter operators on stress management and mental health, and training of trainers for police psychologists.

The TA is estimated to cost $440,000 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 further complements an ongoing grant project on Combating Domestic Violence Against Women and Children, financed by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction with $3 million.

Xi vows closer ties with Ghana, Mongolia www.chinadaily.com.cn

China will deepen cooperation with Ghana in various fields under the joint construction of the Belt and Road and within the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

China bubonic plague: Inner Mongolia takes precautions after case www.bbc.com

Authorities in China have stepped up precautions after a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region confirmed one case of bubonic plague.