The Great Wall of China has long overshadowed the Mongolian Arc, a less imposing medieval wall system that snakes across 250 miles of Asiatic grassland.

But now, the arc is finally getting its day in the sun as the first-ever comprehensive study of its structure has been completed.

The study, published on Dec. 27 in the Journal of Field Archaeology, examines the formation and function of the “monumental” Mongolian wall.

Consisting of an earthen wall, dozens of structures and a trench, the arc stretches across a sparsely populated region in eastern Mongolia. It is believed to have been built between the 11th and 13th centuries.

After using remote sensing data and conducting archaeological field surveys, researchers determined the wall is significantly crumbled with gaps interrupting its path.

“We found that the walls are preserved to a maximum height of 1–1.5 (meters) but are usually much more eroded and are barely visible above the ground level,” researchers said. “It should be stressed that these walls are not as impressive as the popular imagery of the ‘Great Wall of China’ may have us assume.”

Twenty-one gaps were identified in the wall — from only a quarter-mile wide to over 10 miles wide — making up about 25% of its entire length.

“One possible explanation for the gaps, which were points of vulnerability in the system, is that the Mongolian Arc was hastily built during the final years of the Jin dynasty as a defense against the expected invading Mongol armies,” researchers said.

However, evidence gathered by researchers casts doubt on a purely military function of the wall.

Buildings found throughout the wall system provided limited visibility to each other, making visual communication impossible.

The wall, instead, may have been used to control the travel of people and herds across the steppe — perhaps allowing for taxes to be collected.

“Nonetheless, if the function was to defend against the Mongolian invasions (or even against smaller scale raids), perhaps the positioning of the wall and its structures was affected by consideration of convenience and cost,” researchers said.

The study did not unravel all of the wall’s mysteries, though it may spur future investigation, researchers said.

It also “prompts crucial questions about the motives, functionality, and broader implications of such colossal constructions,” according to a news release from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, whose researchers were involved in the study.

‘Unusual’ 1,400-year-old gravesite — with remains of feast — found near castle in Wales

‘Mysterious’ inscription on ancient sphinx is deciphered, revealing ‘unusual’ message

A photovoltaic hydrogen demonstration project in Juungar Banner, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was recently connected to the grid in a step to stabilize power generation.

It is the first hydrogen-producing integrated project for wind-solar hydrogen production in Inner Mongolia and the world's first 100,000-ton green hydrogen demonstration project.

It utilizes green electricity from solar power to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen through water electrolysis devices. By exploring a new mode of pollution-free and zero-emission hydrogen production using renewable energy, the project aims to address power absorption for high-proportion grid integration of renewable energy sources.

"About 80 percent of the generated solar electricity is used for water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, while the remaining 20 percent is fed into the grid. The annual hydrogen production reaches 10,000 tons, with an additional byproduct of 85,000 tons of oxygen. The hydrogen production facility consists of 15 electrolyzers with a maximum load of 90,000 kilowatts, which satisfies 10,000 tons of annual hydrogen production target," said Ji Mengbo, the technical director of the Narisong photovoltaic hydrogen project.

Ji added that it achieves overall profitability through equal substitution and power settlement with the grid.

Photovoltaic power generation is stochastic, fluctuating and intermittent, while hydrogen production requires a stable power supply. To ensure the power demand of China's first 10,000-ton new energy hydrogen production, Xuejiawan power supply company of Inner Mongolia Electric Power CO Ltd has invested 233 million yuan ($32 million) into the construction of the Andinghao 220 kV substation project.

At the plenary session of the State Great Khural on January 04, 2023, Chairman of the State Great Khural Zandanshatar Gombojav concerning incidents in other countries stated how AI-generated deepfake videos might influence voters. The Speaker instructed relevant organizations to take necessary measures to prevent the risk of fake content during the forthcoming parliamentary elections process.

Also, the MPs asked the officials about possible solutions and plans to prevent the negative effects of social media on the electoral process. Chairman of the National Police Agency of Mongolia (NPA) T. Sukhbold stated that Mongolia's social media usage is the highest among Asian countries.

"The police regularly track fake addresses in the social media. The number of personnel of the Cyber Crime Division of NPA Mongolia has been increased from 40 to 80 employees and much has been done to improve their knowledge and skills and update equipment. However, as new technology is emerging every day, the equipment needs to be updated constantly to keep up with technological advancement. Detection of cybercrimes such as causing others financial harm under fake addresses, and spreading false information increased by 50.3 percent last year," stated T. Sukhbold.

T. Sukhbold highlighted the possibility of monitoring and preventive measures in digital space within the framework of laws and noted that special devices legally recognizable internationally and in Mongolia can be installed in the Internet network.

He noted that though the police identify fake addresses, under current legislation it is impossible to directly block or limit their activities. Therefore, the list of detected fake addresses is submitted to the Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia (CRCM) and a response to a request, sent to the parent organization of the network from the CRCM, can be received within 2-3 days, or in some cases there is no response in 3 months. However, appropriate solutions will make it possible to block or restrict a fake address within 1-3 hours. T. Sukhbold emphasized the importance of creating a legal framework for an effective solution to the problem domestically.

An unexpectedly sharp decline in coal use led to a reduction in Germany’s CO₂ emissions in 2023, reaching their lowest level in 70 years, according to a recent report by Agora Energiewende.

In detail, Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions fell to 673 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, which refers to all greenhouse gas emissions, including substances such as methane and nitrous oxide, that are converted into their CO2 equivalent and added to the emissions balance.

Emissions, thus, fell by 46% compared to the reference year 1990 – their lowest level since the 1950s. At the same time, CO₂ emissions were about 49 million tonnes of CO₂ below the annual target of 722 million tonnes of CO₂ derived from the Climate Protection Act.

Agora Energiewende’s analysis shows that two main developments were responsible for the decrease of 73 million tonnes of CO₂ compared to 2022.

First, coal-fired power generation fell to its lowest level since the 1960s, saving 44 million tonnes of CO₂ alone. The reasons for this were a significant drop in electricity demand, increased electricity imports from neighbouring countries – around half of which came from renewable sources of energy – as well as a commensurate decrease in electricity exports and a slight increase in domestic green electricity generation.

Second, emissions from industry fell significantly. This was largely due to the decline in production by energy-intensive companies as a result of the economic situation and international crises.

“While overall economic output shrank by 0.3% according to preliminary figures, energy-intensive production fell by 11% in 2023,” the paper reads.

Coal-fired power plant in Lünen, Germany

Conventional electricity generation fell by 24% in 2023 in Germany compared to the previous year. Kernkraft is nuclear power; braunkohle is brown coal; steinkohle is hard coal; erdgas is natural gas; mineralöl is mineral oil; sonstige is other.

The think tank’s calculations, however, show that only about 15% of the CO₂ saved constitutes permanent emissions reductions resulting from additional renewable energy capacity, efficiency gains and the switch to fuels that produce less CO₂ or other climate-friendly alternatives.

About half of the emissions cuts are due to short-term effects, such as lower electricity prices. Therefore, Agora notes that most of the emissions cuts in 2023 are not sustainable from an industrial or climate policy perspective as emissions may rise again as the economy picks up or if a share of Germany’s industrial production is permanently moved abroad.

The study found that CO₂ emissions from buildings and transportation remained almost unchanged in 2023, resulting in these sectors missing their climate goals for the fourth and third successive time, respectively.

“2023 was a two-speed year as far as climate protection in Germany is concerned: the energy sector notched up a climate policy success with its record level of new renewable power, taking us closer to the 2030 target,” Simon Müller, director of Agora Energiewende Germany, writes in the report. “However, we don’t consider the emissions reductions seen in the industrial sector to be sustainable. The drop in production due to the energy crisis weakens Germany’s industrial base. If emissions are simply shifted abroad as a result, this won’t benefit the climate. The buildings and transport sectors are also lagging as far as structural climate protection measures are concerned.”

In Müller’s view, to permanently replace CO₂-intensive forms of electricity production in the electricity mix, the deployment of renewables needs to grow in the coming year.

“Industry needs adequate conditions to be able to invest in Germany – such as in the production of climate-neutral steel and the transition from gas to electricity for process heat,” the document points out. “In the building sector, the measures agreed need to be resolutely implemented in 2024. And transportation requires a fundamental political course correction to achieve a breakthrough for climate-friendly mobility.”

Coal’s performance

Looking specifically at coal, the report shows that emissions from electricity generation fell by 46 million tonnes of CO₂ to 177 million tonnes of CO₂ – less than half the level recorded in 1990. The 21% drop in emissions compared to 2022 is mainly due to the sharp decline in coal-fired power generation: lower electricity production from lignite saved 29 million tonnes of CO₂, while hard coal-fired power generation saved 15 million tonnes of CO₂.

The main reasons behind the decline were, first, a 3.9% drop in electricity consumption compared to 2022 as a result of the fossil fuel crisis.

Second, the strong renewable electricity generation across Europe meant that Germany imported more electricity instead of producing it in domestic coal-fired power plants. Over the year, Germany sold around 58 terawatt hours of domestically generated electricity abroad and imported 69 terawatt hours. About 49% of electricity imports came from renewable sources – primarily hydro and wind power – and 24% from nuclear power.

Third, renewable energy production increased by 5%. Total emissions from the energy industry, including refineries and district heating in addition to the electricity sector, amounted to 210 million tonnes of CO2 and were therefore 46 million tonnes of CO₂, or 18%, below the previous year’s levels.

The report notes that, overall, the supply situation in the energy market eased in 2023, and both electricity and natural gas prices fell compared to the previous year.

“The price of electricity is more strongly affected by levies and surcharges than the prices of fossil fuels such as oil and gas. This is slowing the switch by households to climate-friendly technologies such as electric cars or heat pumps,” Müller said. “A reform of the levy and surcharge system is necessary to correct the imbalance. The changes should make it possible for low electricity prices to reach consumers in times of high wind and solar power generation.”

Renewables’ performance

The executive also emphasized that record levels of newly installed solar capacity contributed to the drop in electricity prices: Germany added 14.4 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity last year, an increase of 6.2 gigawatts compared to the previous record in 2012. Although there were fewer hours of sun in 2023, solar power facilities produced 61 terawatt hours of electricity – one terawatt hour more than the previous year. Photovoltaic expansion was therefore well above the target pathway for 2030. Wind energy generation had a record year. This was due to favourable weather conditions and a slight increase in the number of wind turbines.

“At 138 terawatt hours, wind remained the largest source of electricity, producing more than all of Germany’s coal-fired power plants (132 terawatt hours),” the dossier points out. “However, the expansion of onshore wind power was much too low at 2.9 gigawatts. To achieve the country’s binding expansion targets for 2030, annual average wind capacity additions need to rise to 7.7 gigawatts from 2024. Permits, meanwhile, increased: at 7.7 gigawatts, the output of approved wind projects rose 74% compared with 2022.”

Overall, renewable energy managed to supply more than 50% of the total gross electricity demand in Germany for the first time in 2023.

The incident that befell Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 on Friday would have been terrifying for passengers, but ultimately no-one was seriously hurt and the aircraft landed safely.

However, the picture could have been very different if the failure had happened further into the flight.

The incident happened minutes after take-off from Portland International Airport while the aircraft - a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane - was still climbing.

An unused emergency exit door blew out, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the fuselage.

The plane suffered a rapid loss of cabin pressure, as air rushed out and the atmosphere within the plane equalised with the thinner air outside.

The impact of this was reduced by two key factors. First of all, the passengers would all have been wearing seatbelts at this stage in the flight, keeping them in their seats.

Secondly, data from aircraft monitoring sites show that the plane reached a maximum height of around 16,300ft before descending quickly.

The cruising height of a 737 Max is around 38,000ft. At this level, the difference between the pressure inside the aircraft and the atmosphere outside is much greater. Had the door blown out here, the sudden rush of air would have been much more violent, and potentially lethal, especially if passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

"Passengers in the seats immediately adjacent, or in other seats around it who weren't wearing a seatbelt could have been sucked out of the aircraft", explained Tim Atkinson, an aviation consultant and former aircraft accident investigator.

"I guess the worst case could be you lose a row full of people and a couple of others standing nearby as well."

The temperature in the aircraft would also have dropped dramatically. Air at such altitudes is typically very cold, around -57C (-71F).

Passengers and crew would have been reliant on emergency oxygen. Without it they would have quickly lost consciousness.

In 2018, exactly such an incident occurred to an older model of Boeing 737 being operated by Southwest Airlines. Debris from an engine failure broke one of the cabin windows while the plane was travelling at 32,000ft.

The aircraft suffered a sudden decompression, and one passenger was partially sucked out of the window. She died as a result of her injuries.

The immediate concern in this case is whether what happened to Flight 1282 could happen to other aircraft. The door in question is meant to be securely bolted to the fuselage using four bolts. The aircraft was only two months old, meaning simple wear and tear is unlikely to have been a factor.

That is why Alaska Airlines initially chose to ground its fleet of 737 Max 9s.

The US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) followed suit, temporarily grounding 171 aircraft for inspections.

"It could be design, it could be a manufacturing defect, or a combination of the two. Or it could be something else, something unknown", said Mr Atkinson.

For Boeing, there is an additional problem.

The aircraft involved in the incident was a variant of the 737 Max, the latest generation of Boeing's 737 workhorse. The plane, designed to be much more fuel efficient than previous models, has been a hit with airlines. But its safety record has been badly tarnished.

In late 2018 and early 2019, two aircraft were lost in near identical accidents, off the coast of Indonesia and outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

A total of 346 people were killed. Both crashes were caused by flawed flight control software, which ultimately forced the planes into catastrophic dives, despite the best efforts of the pilots.

Those incidents led to the grounding of the global 737 Max fleet for more than 18 months while the problem was rectified and further safety checks were carried out. The head of the FAA subsequently described the design as "the most scrutinised transport aircraft in history".

However, since the 737 Max came back into service, there have been a number of high profile problems with the programme, including electrical faults and quality control issues.

Safety campaigners have also expressed concern about the number of reported malfunctions aboard aircraft that have gone into service.

In December, Boeing called on airlines to inspect rudders on their aeroplanes, after a bolt was found to be missing on one aircraft. It said it was acting "out of an abundance of caution".

In the wake of the accidents, Boeing faced widespread accusations of putting profit above the safety of passengers.

Whistleblowers claimed the company was putting undue pressure on its employees to build too many aircraft too quickly, leading to chaotic conditions in its factories, and corners being cut on production lines.

Boeing insists it is a different company today. Its chief executive, David Calhoun, has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to the highest standards of safety, quality and integrity.

However, some critics remain unconvinced.

'Gigantic wake-up call'

Ed Pierson is a former senior Boeing manager who warned about problems on the 737 Max production line before the two crashes. He now heads an organisation called the Foundation for Aviation Safety, which has been scrutinising the aircraft's record.

He insisted that conditions inside Boeing's factories have not improved, and that the US regulator has been ineffective in holding the company to account.

"This is just a gigantic wake-up call", he said.

"This might just be a major blessing to have such a highly visible incident occur that will cause them to have to admit they have some serious problems."

Boeing has consistently denied such problems exist.

In a statement issued after the FAA ordered the most recent groundings, the company said: "Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers. We agree with and fully support the FAA's decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane."

Boeing is in the process of ramping up production of the 737 Max to cut waiting times for customers and reduce its backlog of orders.

Arguably, the timing of this latest incident involving its flagship aircraft could not have been worse.

Whatever the cause, it is likely to create further anxiety around the already-damaged 737 Max brand, particularly among passengers.

Mongolia imported the maximum volume of oil and petroleum products from abroad in December 2023, the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia reported on Friday.

"150,000 tons of gasoline were imported from abroad. Fuel consumption is rising sharply due to increased mining exports and Mongolia's economic growth," the official statement said.

Imports of diesel fuel increased by 36% and of AI-92 gasoline by 10% during this period compared to last year.

The average life expectancy of the population of Mongolia was calculated in 1992 for the first time and amounted to 62.77 years. The average life expectancy in the country has increased by 8.53 years in 30 years until 2022.

The life expectancy reached 69.9 years in 2015. It became 71.3 years in 2022, an increase of 1.4 years.

According to the study, the average life expectancy of men has increased from 60.7 to 67.3 years over the past 30 years, and the average life expectancy of women has increased from 64.9 to 76.7 years.

The difference between the average life expectancy of men and women as of 2022 is 9.4 years, the National Statistics Office of Mongolia notes.

ROME – Religion, like politics, is basically local. Faith isn’t forged in the HQs of spiritual bureaucracies and their political battles, however riveting those conflicts may be for journalists, bloggers and posters on social media.

Belief instead is won or lost in the trenches, one person, one heart and mind, at a time.

In that spirit, I’d like to suggest that my wife, Elise, and I experienced the Christmas season this year in an ideal setting to taste the local nature of the faith, almost entirely untainted by ecclesiastical politics – literally on the other side of the world, in the tiny mission church of Mongolia, with a total Catholic flock of roughly 1,450 souls.

On Christmas Eve, we witnessed the baptisms of three new Mongolian converts to the faith, all women. There is simply no place else on earth where the addition of a mere three members would actually represent a statistically significant 0.2 percent jump in the national Catholic population, but there it was.

Ironically, we ended up in Ulaanbaatar, the world’s coldest capital city, despite my stated aim of spending the holidays somewhere warm.

As it happens, however, the frigid temperatures of the Mongolian capital stood in stark contrast to the warmth of the emerging Catholic culture there, under the leadership of Italian Cardinal Giorgio Marengo and an improbable band of missionaries from across the Catholic spectrum, from Cameroon to India and points beyond.

Herewith, four random musings on this remarkable missionary church – which, taken together, perhaps drive home the point that while Rome may be great theater, the real drama of Catholic life is unfolding almost everywhere else.

Missionary Zeal

While Mongolia may be about as far away from Rome as a Catholic can get in existential terms, there’s a curious way in which the two places do share something in common: They are both remarkably priest-rich.

Globally speaking, there’s roughly one priest for every 3,373 Catholics in the world, although that ratio masks serious regional discrepancies. In the United States, for example, there’s one priest for every 1,300 Catholics, whereas in Africa it’s 1-5,500 and in Latin America it’s closer to 1-7,000.

One would never know there’s a priest shortage in Rome, however, and ironically, the same is true of Mongolia.

While there may be only 1,450 believers in the country, there are 25 priests plus the cardinal, which works out to a ratio of one cleric for every 56 ordinary Catholics. In addition, there are also six seminarians, 30 women religious, five religious brothers and 35 catechists hailing from 30 different countries.

All in, therefore, there are 102 ecclesiastical personnel in Mongolia, representing a ratio of one pastoral worker for every 14 believers – a stunning figure likely unmatched anywhere else on the planet. At the New Years Eve Mass this year, Marengo was joined by a robust total of 15 concelebrants, making the altar area in the cathedral almost as crowded as downtown Ulaanbaatar traffic.

Here’s the basic difference, however, between the saturation of priests in Rome and in Mongolia.

In the Eternal City, the draw often is being close to the flame. In other words, priests gravitate to Rome to make a career, because it’s the best possible place to get noticed. Pretty much the opposite is true of Mongolia – on its vast steppes, you could be the Curé d’Ars and probably only about 14 people would ever know it, none of whom run Vatican dicasteries or post influential blogs.

In other words, the preponderance of personnel in such a remote setting is a reflection of basic missionary zeal, a desire to serve a young church without fanfare or reward. It’s proof that Catholicism is still capable of generating remarkable numbers of people eager to bring the Gospel to the most remote corners of the earth … which, arguably, suggests there’s some gas left in the church’s tanks after all.

Preaching without Words

One of the striking things about a missionary church is that almost everything about it is a form of catechesis, since people there haven’t grown up in Christian culture and everything is a journey into the unknown. As a result, people pay very careful attention, not just to what’s said but also to what’s done.

A classic example came during Sunday Mass on Dec. 31 at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, during the distribution of communion. At one point someone accidentally dropped a host to the floor, at which point Marengo fell to his knees and began carefully picking up the crumbs from the consecrated host and putting them to his lips.

This went on a few moments, with great seriousness, until one of the missionary nuns arrived to take over so that Marengo could resume distributing communion. (Actually, it was mildly amusing to watch this elderly nun essentially muscle the 49-year-old cardinal aside, pointing brusquely for him to get back to work while she dealt with the remains of the host, whereupon Marengo immediately obeyed.)

Eventually an altar server arrived with a purifier, and, under the nun’s direction and Marengo’s watchful eye, the last remains of the host were retrieved and the area cleaned.

The whole episode probably took about 10 minutes, and, from my own observation, I can report that virtually every set of eyes in the cathedral was riveted on the scene. In the end, Marengo, the sister and the server delivered a powerful lesson on Catholic reverence for the Eucharist, and they did it without uttering a single word.

As the saying often erroneously attributed to St. Francis of Assisi goes, “Preach the Gospel always, and, when necessary, use words.” The line may be apocryphal, but as the Mongolian example proves, the sentiment definitely isn’t.

Controversy and Context

We arrived in Ulaanbaatar on Dec. 24, meaning on Christmas Eve, and returned to Rome Jan. 2, right after the New Year’s Holiday. As a result, we were in town just as the furor over Fiducia Supplicans, the Vatican’s Dec. 18 declaration regarding the non-liturgical blessing of same-sex unions, was reaching a crescendo.

On Dec. 30, Elise and I sat down with Marengo over coffee at the small pastor center in Ulaanbaatar, which gave me the opportunity to confirm a hunch: To wit, according to Marengo, Fiducia Supplicans had been in circulation for 12 days by that point, making headlines all over the world, but not a single person in Mongolia had asked him about it or, for that matter, even seemed aware of its existence.

That’s not to say there aren’t tensions over LGBTQ+ issues in Mongolian society, just like everyplace else. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1993 and the country adopted a law covering hate crimes in 2015, with protected groups including sexual orientation and gender identity, although Mongolian law does not recognize same-sex relationships and activists claim discrimination remains widespread.

However, the tiny Catholic community here simply doesn’t have the bandwidth yet to engage such issues, since its challenges tend to be more existential.

When you’re still trying to explain the difference between a blessing with an image of the Holy Family and the magic practiced by indigenous shamans, for example, debating the fine points of who can get such blessings just doesn’t seem a towering priority.

In other words, a missionary church returns the faith to the essentials, offering a reminder that much of what we argue about back home, however important it may seem in the moment, actually is terribly secondary.

Curiosity, not Contempt

Another refreshing thing about a missionary church is that locals tend to approach the faith not with the world-weary contempt of, say, Europe and Latin America, weighed down by centuries of experience of Catholic culture.

Instead, people tend to react with genuine curiosity and even enthusiasm, charmed by the idea that somebody finds them important enough to reach out. In that context, pretty much anyone who represents this beguiling “other” becomes a de facto missionary.

For example, Elise and I spent some time in the company of a young Mongolian man named Dorjsuren, who cheerfully informed us we should call him “Doogie.” (He was, by the way, a big, hulking guy one could easily imagine as part of Gengis Khan’s conquering hordes, not at all reminiscent of the TV character “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” but he embraced the name anyway.)

Doogie works for the car rental company we used, and, as it turns out, in Mongolia you don’t just go the rental counter at the airport and pick up your vehicle. Instead, an employee meets your flight and drives you into town, concluding the contract only at your hotel, and then drives you back to the airport when you’re done.

As a result, we had two pretty good chunks of time in the car with Doogie, and, when he found out we were connected to the Vatican, it was off to the races. Especially in light of the papal visit to Mongolia in September, which had aroused his curiosity, he was full of questions, which we did our best to answer.

My favorite query came when he asked about who actually lives in the Vatican: Are they, he wanted to know, politicians or holy men? After choking back as much laughter as I possibly could, I tried to explain that the best answer is “both,” with the ratio between political ambition and sanctity of life depending on the individual.

Once we explained what a cardinal is in the Catholic system, Doogie was alternately amazed to learn Mongolia has one, not so surprised that he turned out to be an Italian, and utterly stunned to discover that this Italian actually speaks fluent Mongolian.

Honestly, I make it even money that within a year or so, Doogie will be in an RCIA program and we may actually see him baptized on our next visit.

By the way, Doogie was not an isolated case.

One highlight of our trip was the opportunity to interview members of the Mongolian folk metal band The HU, whose pulsating music and epic videos are just about the coolest thing I’ve experienced in a long time, and they too seemed genuinely intrigued by the pope and the Church. For them, Catholicism is not a system of power and wealth, because they’ve never experienced the institutional dimension of it all. Instead, Catholicism comes off as a cluster of convictions about the spiritual nature and destiny of the human family which they find genuinely inspiring, despite the fact that they’re ardent devotees of Mongolia’s indigenous worship of the eternal blue sky.

That, too, is part of the joy of a missionary church: You get to watch people encounter the faith for the first time, without preconceptions or prejudices, and their general fascination is a reminder of why, over the centuries, Christianity has struck such a wide swath of the human population as good news – however much the experience of individual Christians, alas, can sometimes be more of a mixed bag.

BY John L. Allen Jr.

First Deputy Governor of the Capital City in charge of Economy and Infrastructure, P.Sainzorig met with the representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs, the General Police Department, the Transportation Police Service, the Financial Regulation Committee and the Mongolian Insurance Association. The parties exchanged opinions on the participation of the insurance industry and solutions to reduce traffic jams within the framework of public-private partnership.

Of all the accidents, 71 percent occur between 08:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the capital city. It is estimated that a traffic accident causes traffic delays of 38 minutes on average. In other words, the average speed of the city's traffic slows down as the car involved in an accident stays on the road. The CEO of the Mongolian Insurance Association, J.Batjargal said "The insurance sector is developing certain solutions to reduce the traffic congestion which is one of the most pressing problems of the capital city. In order to reduce the call time of an insurance company when a traffic accident occurs, a technological solution called "Zuragu system" has been developed which can make the evaluation on the spot with the help of artificial intelligence. Also, the blockchain technology is implemented to determine where and what risks are occurring in Ulaanbaatar City through risk information mapping which is an integrated information system implemented in the insurance industry. Furthermore, the solution is being developed to introduce an insurance database that summarizes that information. By introducing these, it is possible to reduce the number of traffic accidents to a certain extent, quickly solve the causes of traffic accidents and be informed about the roads with risks of accidents."