Mongolia's child jockeys risk injury and death to race, but is it tradition or just child labour? www.abc.net.au

The smell of wool grease and smouldering logs hangs in the air as seven-year-old Namuun carries a saddle — weighing as much as she does — to a line of horses tied to a post.

On the edge of the Gobi desert, traditional Mongolian tents, known as "ger", mark the silent landscape. They provide shelter for entire families who eat, sleep and live in one small space together.

But you're unlikely to find Namuun there — she prefers to spend her time on horseback.

She is proud to be one of the only female child jockeys in Mongolia.

With the help of her father, she is swung up onto the saddle and slips her pink cowgirl boots into the stirrups.

She begins to circle the campsite and as the wind whips up sand from the nearby dunes. Namuun squints her eyes and breaks into song — a "gingoo" tune that she says is a tribute to their horses to make them feel calm.

She gathers the reins in close to the saddle and leans forward. With just one kick, her horse launches forward, rocketing into the distance behind a motorbike.

They break into a gallop and race 25 kilometres across the desert back home.

This is Namuun's daily training for the Naadam festival — Mongolia's most famous nomad-style games, where competitors try their hand at horse racing, wrestling and archery.

The festival has been around in some form since the Genghis Khan era and continues to be treasured by nomadic families like Namuun's.

Retired horse trainer Tsegmid Sainbayar explains that parents have thrown their children into the saddle for races since Naadam's beginnings, because "children are the lightest, not as heavy for the horses".

When asked what she thinks of the sport, Namuun smiles and says she loves horses.

"My father trains the horses and I am the jockey to race them," Namuun says as she points to her blue ribbons tied to the inside of the ger.

"I feel so good when I am on the horse's back, my family are so glad when I race, when I become a winner my brother is so proud of me."

But other young jockeys don't feel the same way. They see it as a job that they must do.

Casualties won't change tradition
More than 10,000 children participate in 395 horses races across the country.

Many parents rent out their kids to ride as jockeys over the summer so they can earn a wage to send home to their families.

On race day, some can compete in up to eight races a day, starting at 9am and finishing at 9pm.

But the sport is inherently dangerous.

Last year, about 600 child jockeys were thrown from their horses and 169 were killed, according to Mongolia's National Traumatology and Orthopaedics Research Centre.

The number of casualties, however, isn't enough to cause widespread change in this Mongolian tradition.

Despite rules mandating that children must wear a helmet in races, in rural Naadam festivals, many child jockeys go without, or only wear helmets on race day.

While Namuun's mother, Gaanchimeg, says the sport is "good for their health" and "a national tradition", she concedes she holds some concerns for her daughter.

"Namuun didn't have any accidents so far but when she races I always worry," she says.

Children as young as five entered into races
Child rights groups want better safety standards to be enforced and for the minimum age of jockeys to be raised to 18.

Currently, children only need to be aged seven to compete.

But some as young as five still are entered into races in rural areas.

UNICEF child protection specialist Amaraa Dorjsambuu does not believe tighter regulations alone are the solution.

Rather, she says there needs to be a change in mindset among parents to put a child's right to education ahead of making money as a jockey.

"At present, the national legal system on the protection of the rights of child jockeys is not fully developed," Ms Dorjsambuu says.

"When child jockeys get injured, horse trainers and parents tend not to take it seriously and tend to only agree on medical costs, as there are no legal regulations to determine and punish perpetrators.

"One of the biggest concerns is the unofficial races — now ever more expanding — to hold horse races for private celebrations [that] happen without any supervision from the authorities and any injuries or violations to child rights can go unreported."

Traditional festival now 'just about the prize money'
As the festival slowly turns into a business, it is also facing more scrutiny.

Many fear Naadam is losing its spirit as a celebration of the Mongolian horse. The horse is one of the most treasured animals in Mongolia. Not only did they transport the travelling caravan of Genghis Khan's sprawling empire as they conquered new lands in the 13th century, but they also fed them.

But on two recent Naadam race days, horse trainers were seen openly giving their horses performance enhancing drugs.

Some trainers used doses of the diuretic furosemide, sodium bicarbonate to counteract lactic acid build-up or lactated ringers for hydration.

Others were seen heavily handling horses and driving nails into the bridles either side of the horse's bit.

Former horse trainers, including Tsegmid Sainbayar, believe the traditional festival is being spoiled by corrupt practices.

"I've trained racing horses since 1970s. We used to start early with preparation and give them extra feed to make them strong," says Mr Sainbayar.

"Now the rules aren't strict and everything is becoming easier and just about the prize money."

The future of Naadam
In the capital Ulaanbaatar, coffee shops are springing up on street corners.

Young Mongolian men stroll by not the traditional "del" Mongolian coat with the high collar, clinched waist and buttons to one side — but rather, jeans and a printed T-shirt.

With more young people moving to the city and leaving the nomadic lifestyle, many worry that Naadam won't exist in the future.

But on Naadam festival day in Saikhan Ovoo village, the mood is hopeful.

Families unload their horse trucks around a Buddhist shrine and arch that marks the finish line for the horse races.

Wrestlers in red underwear and a loose blue jacket enter the arena with their hands in the air soaring like eagles.

Horse trainers sprinkle mare's milk on the horse's rump for good luck.

Sitting in the shadow of the horse truck, Namuun speaks matter-of-factly.

"I will probably only be racing until I am 12 or 13 then I will be out of the game," she says.

When asked what she wants to do she wants to do in the future, she replies with a big smile: "I want to finish secondary school and then I would love to be a singer".

Young Nigerian Footballer Tricked And Left Stranded In Mongolia By Fraudulent Agent Returns Home Through Stranger’s Help www.saharareporters.com

Moshood Afolabi, a Nigerian footballer, has arrived back home from Mongolia following an ordeal that saw him scammed by a shady agent, who promised him a glittering sports career that never materialised.

Mongolia welcomes nearly 480,000 foreign tourists in first three quarters www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia welcomed nearly 480,000 foreign tourists in the first nine months this year, up 10.7 percent year-on-year, official data showed Monday.

Mongolia, Kazakhstan to build gold and silver refining plant www.akipress.com

Mongolia and Kazakhstan established an agreement on building and commissioning a gold and silver refining plant during a Mongolia-Kazakhstan Business Forum held on October 11 in Nur-Sultan, Montsame reported.

Nationwide harvesting reported www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. During the spring sowing 2019, 512.0 thousand hectares were cultivated for crop, including 364.8 thousand hectares for grain of which 340.0 thousand hectares were for wheat; 14.8 thousand hectares for potatoes, 8.0 thousand hectares for vegetables, 82.4 thousand hectares for oil plants and 42.0 thousand hectares for fodder plants.

Singapore overtakes US as world's most competitive economy www.cnn.com

Hong Kong (CNN Business)Singapore has knocked the United States out of the top spot in the World Economic Forum's annual competitiveness report.

Facebook's digital currency dealt another blow www.bbc.com

Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency must not go ahead until the company proves it is safe and secure, according to a report by the world biggest economies.

In a blow to the social media giant, the report by the G7 group of nations warns cryptocurrencies like Libra pose a risk to the global financial system.

The draft report outlines nine major risks posed by such digital currencies.

It warns that even if Libra's backers address concerns, the project may not get approval from regulators.

The warning comes just days after payments giants Mastercard and Visa pulled out of the Libra project, citing regulatory uncertainty.

The G7 taskforce that produced the report includes senior officials from central banks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board, which coordinates rules for the G20 economies.

It says backers of digital currencies like Libra must be legally sound, protect consumers and ensure coins are not used to launder money or fund terrorism.

While the report, which will be presented to finance ministers at the IMF annual meetings this week, does not single out Libra, it says "global stablecoins" with the potential to "scale rapidly" pose a range of potential problems.

Stablecoins like Libra are different to other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, because they are pegged to established currencies such as the dollar and euro.

Stifle competition
While this is designed to limit big swings in their value, the report says global cryptocurrencies like Libra can pose problems, including for policymakers setting interest rates.

The report also warns that Libra could stifle competition among other providers and even threaten financial stability if users suddenly suffer a "loss of confidence" in the digital currency.

The draft report says: "The G7 believe that no stablecoin project should begin operation until the legal, regulatory and oversight challenges and risks are adequately addressed".

It also cast doubt over the viability of the project even if Libra's backers satisfy concerns raised by governments and central banks.

"Addressing such risks is not necessarily a guarantee of regulatory approval for a stablecoin arrangement," the report says.

Facebook is facing intensifying international scrutiny of its cryptocurrency project.

A separate FSB report, published on Sunday, warned that the introduction of "global stablecoins" poses a host of regulatory challenges.

Launch delay
In a letter to G20 finance ministers, Randal Quarles, FSB chairman, warns that these challenges "should be assessed and addressed as a matter of priority".

The FSB is working with officials around the world to identify potential regulatory gaps, and will publish a report next summer.

Facebook has already warned that regulatory scrutiny may delay or even impede the launch of Libra.

Libra is not the only digital currency that faces scrutiny.

JP Morgan's JPM Coin, which is backed by US dollars, is a stablecoin that is also likely to be examined.

'Pressure builds'
The Libra Association, including Facebook, will hold its first board meeting in Geneva on Monday.

As well as Mastercard and Visa, Stripe, eBay and Paypal have also withdrawn from the scheme, which is also backed by ride hailing companies Uber and Lyft.

The G7 report acknowledges that cryptocurrencies potentially provide a faster and cheaper way to move money and make payments and says the current system is often "slow, expensive and opaque".

There are currently 1.7 billion unbanked and underserved consumers who could benefit from wider access to financial services, it adds.

Facebook and the Libra Association declined to comment. A G7 spokesman could not be reached for comment.

However, Facebook's executive in charge of the Libra project said earlier this month that losing the backing of major firms was "liberating". David Marcus added: "You know you're on to something when so much pressure builds up."

Mongolian parliament backs new embassies in Abu Dhabi and Minsk www.news.mn

At its plenary session on Friday, (October 11) the Parliament discussed and approved proposals for the establishment two new embassies in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates and Minsk, the capital of Belarus as well as opening a General Consulate in Manzhouli, a city in the eastern part of China’s Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. The proposals were presented by D.Tsogtbaatar, Minister of Foreign Affairs to parliament.

Mongolia ranks 102nd in Global Competitiveness Report www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The Global Competitiveness Report series released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) introduced this year’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), in which Mongolia scored 52.6 point and stood at 102nd out of 141 countries. It means that the country showed a 0.1-point decline or dropped by 3.

Big shareholder backs Rio Tinto to fix Mongolia www.afr.com

One of Rio Tinto's biggest Australian shareholders backed chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques to find a way through the company's troubles in Mongolia, saying it was "always going to be a tricky place to invest" and the Australian Foundation Investment Company has confidence issues delaying its copper mine there will be resolved.