Feb 19

- Chinese mainland reported 1,749 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, bringing the total to 74,185.

- Chinese mainland reported 136 new deaths, bringing the total to 2,004.

- Hubei province reported 1,693 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 132 new fatalities.

- Shanghai reported no new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections for the 24 hours ending Tuesday midnight.

Feb 18

- Chinese mainland reported 1,886 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, bringing the total to 72,436.

- Hubei province reported 1,807 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 93 new fatalities. 1,223 were released from hospitals.

Feb 17

- Chinese mainland reported 2,048 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, bringing the total to 70,548.

- Hubei province reported 1,933 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection and 100 new fatalities.

- The number of new confirmed cases outside Hubei province has been dropping for 13 consecutive days.

Feb 16

- Chinese mainland reported 2,009 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, 142 new deaths.

- Hubei province reported 1,843 new coronavirus infections in one day on Feb 15, including 888 clinical cases.

- New cases outside Hubei decline for 12 straight days.

Feb 15

- Chinese mainland reported 2,641 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection, 143 new deaths. More

- A total of 217 medical teams with 25,633 medics have arrived in Hubei to help.

- The use of cabin hospitals won't result in cross infection while it has achieved good performance, said a senior health official.

- Daily new confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease outside Hubei, the epicenter province in the outbreak, have been dropping for 11 consecutive days.

- France confirms first novel coronavirus death in Europe.

Leaked documents expose how mining companies Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources, alongside the US embassy, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank manoeuvred the Mongolian government into offering generous corporate incentives that have left the country with debt, environmental damage and a loss of democratic control over their natural resources.

“Just as the economy was beginning to stabilise and grow, the World Bank decided to push the Mongolian economy towards growth based on mineral extraction. This made Mongolia fully dependent on a single industry and a single market” says Sukhgerel Dugersuren Executive Director of OTWatch, a Mongolian non-profit organisation.

Members of parliament and civil society organizations have questioned the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement since negotiations began in 2003. In November 2019, the Mongolian Parliament unanimously passed a resolution instructing the Mongolian Government to review and take measures to ensure that all the agreements relating to the Oyu Tolgoi Project should comply with the country’s legislation for the benefit of the Mongolian people.

The new report ‘Undermining Mongolia’ analyses how the choreography of political, corporate and financial actors around a mining agreement have shaped Mongolia’s politics and legislation. SOMO and OTWatch argue that this is not a unique case but it reflects the development trajectory of mineral rich countries, which are often hijacked by the corporate interests of the global extractives industry.

Rhodante Ahlers of SOMO says: “Globally legitimized looting by multinationals must stop. ‘Good governance’ and ‘rule of law’ need to be stripped from corporate interest and profit seeking and redefined towards a healthy planet for the benefit of all.”

This report is a sequel to the 2018 report Mining taxes which revealed Rio Tinto’s tax schemes that lead to nearly $700 million in tax revenue losses for Canada and Mongolia.

The flu-like virus has already killed more than 2,000 people in its southern neighbor, China.

Though Mongolia has yet to report any cases, it has sealed off the border and refused entry to anyone traveling through China. It still has 336 citizens in China seeking to return home, it said on Tuesday.

With the outbreak still not slowing down, Mongolia's educational institutes, from its kindergartens to its universities, will remain shut until the end of next month, the government said.

(Reporting by Anand Tumurtogoo, Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Mr. Alexey Miller informed that Russia set up a working group to explore the possibilities of having the pipeline, with which Russia is to supply natural gas to China, pass through Mongolia and carry out the pipeline project’s feasibility study in connection with the Memorandum of Understanding established between the Government of Mongolia and Gazprom PJST on December 5, 2019, during Mongolian Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh’s official visit to Russia. He also noted that first of all the company is looking into the possibilities of opening its subsidiary in Mongolia in order to carry out the works agreed at presidential and prime ministerial level.

Emphasizing that the signing of the Mongolia-Russia Treaty on Friendly Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that took place on September 3, 2019, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Mongolia, indicates the advancement of bilateral relations and cooperation to a whole new level, Ambassador D.Davaa said having the pipeline run through Mongolia would be of great importance in the expansion of bilateral trade and economic cooperation.

The sides also agreed to ensure that the product is delivered safely and stably to the central region of China by the shortest path if it is decided to pass the pipeline through Mongolia and that the construction could become a great instance of economic cooperation representing the friendly relations of Mongolia, Russia, and China.

The performance video of the single, Sugaan Essena, was released on Youtube yesterday, on February 18, and has so far earned around 60 thousand views. The song, which can be heard in the opening moments of the game, is also now available on iTunes and Spotify.

The band wrote the lyrics in Mongolian first under the title ‘Black Thunder’ and performed the song during its European and U.S. tours. Then, the lyrics were rewritten in a language authentic to Star Wars with the guidance of the makers of the video game.

Moody's has now completed the periodic review of a group of issuers that includes Mongolia and may include related ratings.

The credit profile of Mongolia (issuer rating B3) incorporates its "ba3" economic strength, supported by strong growth potential balanced by a small and narrowly diversified economy; its "b2" institutions and governance strength, which balances weak executive institutions and policy effectiveness against ongoing structural reforms; "b3" fiscal strength, reflecting a high, albeit improving, debt burden, weak debt affordability, and a reliance on foreign currency denominated debt; and a "b" susceptibility to event risk, driven by external vulnerability risk and banking system risk. A fractious political environment is a common feature, with a high rate of change among ruling parties. This has some repercussions for policy decisions.

source: moodys.com

Today, February 18, a press briefing was organized to announce the launch of the campaign “Emotional Support to Eternal Neighbor”.

In the scope of the campaign, a donation account at the State Bank was established by the Ministries of Environment and Tourism, Foreign Affairs and Finance.

Details of the donations account:

Bank Name: State Bank

Account number: 341303432597

Beneficiary account holder: Humanitarian campaign

“Despite the ongoing donations and assistance given by Mongolian government and private organizations to the Chinese Embassy in Ulaanbaatar since January, we should give greater donations, involving more people. That is why we have opened the donations account” said Minister N.Tserenbat at the press conference.

Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar mentioned that a large number of Mongolians have been taking the initiatives to provide emotional and material support to China. Therefore, the campaign organizers stepped in to compile those cash assistance into one account.

“Apart from the government’s assistance to China, Ulaanbaatar City Governor’s Office, Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, China Alumni organization in Mongolia and the Democratic Party have already delivered their donations to China.” noted Minister D.Tsogtbaatar

The donations collected to the account will be reported to the public and delivered to the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia weekly.