Brexit day: United Kingdom casts off from the European Union www.reuters.com

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom leaves the European Union on Friday for an uncertain Brexit future, its most significant geopolitical move since the loss of empire and a blow to 70 years of efforts to forge European unity from the ruins of two world wars.

Anti-Brexit protesters holding a banner and flags demonstrate outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic
The country will slip away an hour before midnight from the club it joined in 1973, moving into the no man’s land of a transition period that preserves membership in all but name until the end of this year.

At a stroke, the EU will be deprived of 15% of its economy, its biggest military spender and the world’s international financial capital of London. The divorce will shape the fate of the United Kingdom — and determine its wealth — for generations to come.

“This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson will say in a television address, though he has given few clues about his post-Brexit plans beyond inspirational words.

“This is the dawn of a new era,” Johnson, one of the main leaders of the “Leave” campaign in the 2016, will say.

Beyond the symbolism of turning its back on 47 years of membership, little will actually change until the end of 2020, by which time Johnson has promised to strike a broad free trade agreement with the EU, the world’s biggest trading bloc.

For proponents, Brexit is a dream “independence day” for a United Kingdom escaping what they cast as a doomed German-dominated project that is failing its 500 million population.

DIS-UNITED KINGDOM

The June 2016 Brexit referendum showed a nation divided about more than Europe and triggered soul-searching about everything from secession and immigration to capitalism, empire and modern Britishness.

Such was the severity of the meltdown over Brexit that allies and investors were left astonished by a country that was for decades touted as a confident pillar of Western economic and political stability.

At home, Brexit has tested the bonds that bind together the United Kingdom: England and Wales voted to leave the bloc but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to stay.

So on “Brexit Day”, some will celebrate and some will weep — but many Britons will do neither.

Johnson will chair a cabinet meeting in Sunderland, the first city to declare support for leaving the EU in the June 2016 referendum. Brexiteers will celebrate on Parliament Square while some opponents of Brexit are also due to gather.

A Union Jack in the building of the European Council in Brussels will be lowered at 7 p.m. time (1800 GMT) on Friday, and put away with the flags of non-EU countries.

The European Parliament plans to place one of its British flags in the House of European History, a nearby museum of the continent’s history since the French Revolution of 1789.

After the repeated failure of “Remainers” to unite, organise or win elections, the main hope of europhiles is that the economic impact of leaving will convince a new generation to plot a way back into the fold.

With sorrow, some support for Brexit and even hope of a return, Europeans from across the EU’s 27 remaining members bade farewell.

“I am very sorry that the United Kingdom is exiting. I think it is a very, very bad thing for Europe, for the United Kingdom, for everything,” said Sara Invitto, from Milan. “Goodbye!”

Cold snap on the way for most parts of the country www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Snow and blizzards are expected in the northern parts of western aimags tonight, and in the eastern parts of western aimags, and in some parts of central aimags tomorrow on January 31, with a cold snap on the way for most parts of the country.

Mongolia suspends traditional wrestling for Tsagaan Sar for first time www.news.mn

Yesterday afternoon, Mongolia’s National Emergency Commission took the difficult decision of suspending the traditional wrestling competition for Tsagaan Sar (Lunar New Year). This is the first time in generations that the much-loved wrestling competition has not taken place. In addition, the commission advised people to celebrate the Tsagaan Sar privately and avoid travelling. Just as with Chinese New Year, which this year has just taken place, Tsagaan Sar – or the Festival of the White Moon, it the most important family celebration of the year, when families are re-united and it is the custom to pay visits on relatives and friends.

Coronavirus: Cement mixers become celebrities in China lockdown www.bbc.com

Unlikely heroes have arisen in China's coronavirus crisis - a group of construction vehicles building two new hospitals in the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak emerged.

With all regions in the country affected by the virus, people have been told to stay indoors - except where absolutely necessary.

Perhaps understandably, they are struggling to keep themselves entertained.

So they're turning to livestreams of two hospitals being built - and have created characters and heroes on the building site.

The 25,000 square metre Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan will be ready by 2 February. The Leishenshan Hospital will be in use by 5 February.

China's official CCTV broadcaster has been hosting livestreams so people can watch the hospitals being built in real-time - and they have proved an unlikely hit.

Coronavirus declared global health emergency
The Global Times newspaper says more than 40 million people have been watching the livestreams in China..

And they've also proven popular overseas. Both YouTube and Periscope have been running livestreams for viewers outside the country, which are consistently bringing in hundreds of thousands of views.

The popularity of this footage has led to the construction vehicles at the Huoshenshan Hospital earning unusual fame.

Cement mixers have found themselves with nicknames like "The Cement King", "Big White Rabbit" and "The White Roller".

A large flat-bed truck carrying construction supplies has affectionately been termed: "Brother Red Bull".

Some of the diggers are given affectionate names based on their colour, such as "Little Yellow" and "Little Blue".

Others have coined more imaginative names for the vehicles, with one cement mixer being named Song Huizong, after an ancient emperor.

The official CCTV has set up an "epidemic 24/7" page built into mobile messenger WeChat, where users can vote for their favourite vehicle.

The undipsuted stars of the show are the small, yellow forklift trucks, which are collectively known as "folkchan".

Searches of "folkchan" on the popular Sina Weibo microblog bring up fan art and tributes to the little vehicles.

Users call them "the cutest and most hard working little forklifts" and call them, "the loveliest little world guardians".

The fans themselves have formed online fan groups, and collectively call themselves the "online overseers".

The little forklifts are China's most beloved construction stars
With much of the country in lockdown, it's perhaps not surprising that "alternative" entertainment has popped up.

Transportation links have been suspended in a number of major cities, and companies throughout the country are suspending their opening hours.

Arenas and cinemas have closed. On Tuesday, China's top regulator announced that it would be reducing entertainment TV programming "to strengthen publicity on epidemic prevention".

High engagement in the government's activities has obviously been a win for the Chinese Communist Party.

But as Shi Wenxue, a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy told Global Times, the livestreams are helping people feel more involved in what is going on.

"The 'overseers' participation shows young Chinese people's concern over the epidemic," Shi said, adding that it helps people feel they have "warriors in any battle situation".

Mongolia and Belarus to cooperate in transport sector www.ubchamber.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Minister of Road and Transport Development B.Enkh-Amgalan is paying an official visit to the Republic of Belarus on January 27-30 at the invitation of Minister of Transport and Communications of Belarus Aleksey Nikolaevich Avramenko.

Waiting in Wuhan for evacuation approval www.news.mn

Mongolia and 56 other countries are awaiting approval from the Chinese government to evacuate their citizens from Wuhan where the killer coronavirus outbreak began.

China says has full confidence, capability to control epidemic www.xinhuanet.com

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- China has full confidence and capability to win the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Service sector growth may hinder 2020 economic outlook www.zgm.mn

International and domestic freight, one of the key drivers for economic growth, totaled 69 million tons in 2019. During the same period, Mongolia received 577,200 tourists, up 10.2 percent from a year earlier. However, the inflow of visitors and service sector revenue might decline in the first quarter of this year as the deadly virus (2019-nCoV) spreads around the world. Growth in the service sector is expected to grow along with the mining industry, according to the official at the central bank. Specifically, freight and retail sector growth have been dominating in the service sector. As of the third quarter of 2019, Mongolia’s economic growth reached 6.3 percent, mainly contributed by the mining, service, and construction sectors. The risk of an expected decrease in the service sector might have a negative effect on the economic outlook of 2020. The Asian Development Bank predicted the country’s economic growth at 6.3 percent this year.

Coronavirus: Whole world 'must take action', warns WHO www.bbc.com

The "whole world needs to be on alert" to fight the coronavirus, the head of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme has said.

Dr Mike Ryan praised China's response to the deadly outbreak, saying: "The challenge is great but the response has been massive."

The WHO will meet on Thursday to discuss whether the virus constitutes a global health emergency.

The Chinese city of Wuhan is the epicentre of the outbreak.

But the virus has spread across China and to at least 16 countries globally, including Thailand, France, the US and Australia.

More than 130 people have died in China and close to 6,000 have been infected.

There is no specific cure or vaccine. A number of people have recovered after treatment, however.

The WHO's Dr Ryan said an international team of experts was being assembled to go to China and work with experts there to learn more about how the disease is transmitted.

"We are at an important juncture in this event. We believe these chains of transmission can still be interrupted," he said.

Scientists in Australia have managed to recreate the new coronavirus outside of China, raising hope that it could be used to develop an early-diagnosis test.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who visited China this week, said most people who contracted the virus were suffering only "milder symptoms", but about 20% had severe effects such as pneumonia and respiratory failure.

He said that China "needs the world's solidarity and support," and that "the world is pulling together to end the outbreak, building on lessons learned from past outbreaks."

The director-general added that the WHO "deeply regrets" referring to the worldwide risk from the virus as "moderate" in three reports last week instead of "high".

He described the person-to-person spread of the illness in Germany, Vietnam and Japan as worrying, and said experts would consider it on Thursday when deciding whether to declare a global emergency.

What's happening in Wuhan?
The city's residents are enduring an isolated, frightening time. Most forms of traffic have been banned, and 11 million people are shut up in their homes, trying to minimise the spread of the virus.

Wuhan people cry out 'stay strong' from windows
Videos have emerged online of neighbours shouting "Wuhan jiayou!" out of their windows - roughly translated to "Stay strong Wuhan!" or "Keep on going Wuhan".

The phrase has been trending on Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media site, with people from around the country posting supportive messages.

"We will get through this. Wuhan jiayou, the whole country is supporting you," read one comment on Weibo.

"This is the first day since the lockdown that I've had to go out," a man in his 50s told the AFP news agency on Wednesday, on a mostly-deserted street.

"I have no choice because I need to buy food."

Analysis - Why don't we know the death rate?
By James Gallagher, BBC health and science correspondent

How deadly is this virus? It is a basic question, but the answer is elusive.

It is far too simplistic to take the 130 deaths and the 6,000 cases and come up with a death rate of 2%.

We're in the middle of the outbreak and thousands of those patients are still being treated.

We don't know if they will live or die, so they can't be used in these calculations.

We also don't know how many mild and undetected cases are out there.

"It is very early to make any statements on what the overall mortality rate may be," the WHO's Maria Van Kerkhove has warned.

Also, the deadliness of the new virus is only one component of its threat.

Flu kills hundreds of thousands of people each year not because it is super-deadly, but because it is able to infect so many people.

Who is being evacuated from Wuhan?
Hundreds of foreign nationals are being evacuated from Wuhan, where the virus first emerged, with Japan, the US and the EU among those repatriating their citizens.

Some 200 Japanese nationals have landed at Tokyo's Haneda airport, and 240 Americans - including workers from the local US consulate - left Wuhan on Wednesday.

The US flight landed at a California military base and was met on the tarmac by emergency vehicles. The defense department said those on board would be monitored and sent to local hospitals if they fell ill.

Wuhan: The London-sized city where the virus began
Britons will not fly home from Wuhan on Thursday
Island quarantine plan as foreigners leave China
Australia plans to quarantine its evacuees on Christmas island, 2,000km (1,200 miles) from the mainland.

Two aircraft to fly EU citizens home have been scheduled, with 250 French nationals leaving on the first flight.

South Korea said some 700 of its citizens would leave on four flights this week. Both Malaysia and the Philippines have also pledged to evacuate their citizens in and around Wuhan.

Canada has chartered a plane to bring home around 160 of its nationals, but said it could take several days to get permission to land near Wuhan.

What's the travel situation?
On Tuesday, Hong Kong announced plans to slash cross-border travel between the city and mainland China.

British Airways has suspended all flights to and from the Chinese mainland, and the UK's Foreign Office warned against "all but essential travel" there.

Several other airlines have taken similar measures. United Airlines and Cathay Pacific are restricting flights, while Lion Air - one of Asia's biggest airlines - is stopping flights to China from Saturday.

Cathay Pacific has also suspended in-flight trolley services, changed some aspects of its meal offer, and stopped giving out hot towels, pillows, blankets and magazines in an effort to prevent the virus spreading.

What every mining CEO needs to know about climate change www.mining.com

A new report by global consultancy McKinsey & Co. looks at three key questions the mining sector needs to address in light of climate change. Entitled Climate risk and decarbonization: What every mining CEO needs to know, the report details the potential physical risk to mining assets, outlines how a low-carbon economy will shift demand for minerals, and looks at how mining companies can reduce emissions at their own operations.