Hakuho, who has won a record 42 grand sumo tournaments, hopes to become a stable master and coach younger wrestlers after he retires.

But to do that, he must become a naturalized Japanese citizen. He submitted documents to the Mongolian authorities in April.

On Saturday, after dedicating a ring-entering ceremony at Atsuta Jingu Shrine in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, Hakuho told reporters that the Mongolian authorities had approved his denaturalization.

He said he has cleared the first step but the process has just begun, and that he will make an announcement when he obtains Japanese citizenship.

Former sumo wrestlers who have obtained Japanese citizenship to become stable masters include former Yokozuna grand champion Musashimaru from the United States and former Mongolian sekiwake Kyokutenho.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news

Asian demand for the heating fuel is expected to top out this year, as large consuming countries, including China, turn to cleaner energy such as hydropower, nuclear and renewables, Australia’s Department of Industry said in its Resources and Energy quarterly report.

Australia is the world’s second-biggest exporter of thermal coal, behind Indonesia, shipping out an estimated 209 million tonnes last financial year. Some 39% of its exports go to Japan, and roughly a quarter to China.

“The trend for world imports … is likely to be slightly downwards. Imports from most developed countries are forecast to decline, as governments phase out coal-fired power generation,” the report said.

It also pointed to signs that Japan would pivot away from thermal coal more quickly than expected, after the country shelved two coal-fired power projects in the past six months with a third also likely.

Australia’s exports were forecast to grow slightly in 2020/21, but the report forecast a fall in benchmark Newcastle spot prices from $105 a tonne in 2018 to $83 a tonne this year and $75 in 2020.

At the same time, exports from the world’s second-largest gold producer are set to climb 12% in the 2019/20 financial year from 329 tonnes in the year to end-June, while gold prices are expected to rise.

“Trade and geopolitical risks are likely to support gold prices,” it said. The report expected gold to average $1,440 an ounce in 2021, compared with $1,392 an ounce on Monday.

It forecast gold exports worth A$22.0 billion ($15.40 billion) in 2019/20, ahead of A$21.2 billion of thermal coal exports.

Total resource and energy commodity earnings for 2019/20 were expected to rise by 3.4% to $285 billion, partly due to a prolonged shortage in iron ore exports from Brazil and a weaker Australian dollar.

($1 = 1.4282 Australian dollars)

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin)

In December, the NPP will begin supplying energy to Pevek, which will allow the phasing out of two onshore power stations.

Chukotka is one of the most isolated regions in Russia, with most of its territory located beyond the Arctic Circle, where poor transport links and permafrost complicate large-scale construction.

The NPP is expected to become one of the key infrastructure elements in the development of Russia’s Northern Sea Route.

‘Akademic Lomonosov’ boasts two KLT-40S reactors, capable of producing up to 70 megawatts of electricity and 50 gigacalories an hour of heat energy. The reactors are a new modification of the KLT-40M units used by the Taymyr-class shallow-draft nuclear-powered icebreakers. A single unit can produce enough energy and heat to meet the demands of a city with a population of 100,000.

The power plant’s operational lifespan is 40 years, which can be extended to 50 years. Following the end of its life cycle, the unit can be taken away for reactor replacement and maintenance, without leaving any hazardous materials behind.

The NPP will become the first of a proposed fleet of floating nuclear power plants that can provide heat and energy to Russia’s remote regions, and assist in natural resource extraction. Russia also plans to lease the plants to other countries, where they will be used for electricity production and water desalination, as the facility could be converted into a desalination plant with production capacity of some 240,000 cubic meters of fresh water per day

As a result, Mongolia’s coal export to China dropped 8.9 percent to 3.68 million tons. Mongolia exported a total of 15 million tons of coal earning USD 1.2 billion in the first five months of 2019, which is only equal to 35 percent of 2019 export target of 42 million tons.

Australia’s coal export also slumped by 5.5 percent to 5.25 million tons, due to the relationship between the two countries. Australian coal exports have faced border crossing bans, after the country refused to use Huawei’s 5G service. Coking coal accounted for 26 percent or 1.38 million tons, which is the poorest performance since February 2019.

In the meantime, the coal export of Russia to China, the world's sixth largest coal producer ranked after China, the United States, India, Australia, and Indonesia, rose 64 percent to 3.93 million tons. 15 percent of it or 596,000 tons were coking coal. Indonesia also saw 46 percent of growth in its export selling 13.2 million tons of coal.

According to the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry (MMHI), the export of Gashuunsukhait port is in the range of previous years and coal export from Shiveekhuren port reached 50 percent of the estimated amount. As a result, Mongolia’s coal export remained 20-30 percent behind plan. In the second quarter of last year, the country lost its opportunity to export two million tons of coal, due to the C lisence at ports between China and Mongolia.

Experts predict China’s demand to stay at last year’s level. The second biggest economy of the world’s coal imports declined in the second half of the last two years, signalling concerns that Mongolia may fall short of its ambitious goal.

The main construction projects, including airline bases, air traffic control tower, highway, intercity railway, high-speed subway line and other supporting facilities, were completed on schedule and passed inspection by the Civil Aviation Administration, the airport said in a news release.

Guo Yanchi, chief engineer in charge of the construction work, said the planning and design for the new airport was guided by its positioning as an international hub airport and the traffic it is expected to handle.

The terminal was designed to shorten the walking distance for passengers and provide as many aprons for aircraft as possible at the same time, Guo said, adding that it is only 600 meters, or less than an 8-minute walk, from the center of the terminal to the farthest boarding gate in each wing.

"It's more efficient for the passengers than any other large airport terminal of the same size in the world," he said. "The airport is also the world's first to be designed with double-deck departure and double-deck arrival platforms."

The airport has also adopted green and energy-saving concepts to incorporate natural light and seamless steel structure in its terminal design, Guo added.

To offer a more refreshing travel experience, five ancient-Chinese-style outdoor courtyards - with the themes "Silk Garden", "Tea Garden", "Porcelain Garden", "Countryside Garden" and "Chinese Garden" - feature at the end of the five departure lounges for use by passengers waiting for their flights, he said.

The airport is now organizing six large-scale simulation exercises for all departments stationed there to test its facilities and equipment. The exercises, running over more than two months, will see over 500 flights and handle 51,000 passengers and 35,000 items of luggage, according to the news release.

"The airport will also have to conduct several more test flights - for example, flying in low-visibility conditions - before being put into operation," Guo said.

The airport, which is planned to open before Sept 30, will act as a second international airport for Beijing to relieve pressure from rising demand for air travel on Beijing's Capital International Airport.

By 2021, the new airport is expected to handle 45 million passengers a year. By 2025, that number is expected to grow to 72 million.

The Mongolian economy is now much stronger and there has been a significant improvement in the economy, said Geoff Gottlieb, who led an IMF team to the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator on June 19-28.

"Mongolia's growth rate recovered sharply since 2016. The turnaround in real GDP growth was boosted by strong external demand for Mongolia's mineral exports, the resumption of the second phase of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine and loosening monetary and credit conditions. In addition, the government's improving policy mix strengthened domestic confidence," Gottlieb said, noting that these factors have mainly contributed to the sharp economic recovery.

The Asian country's GDP expanded 8.6 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2019, amounting 3.5 trillion Mongolian tugriks (1.3 billion U.S. dollars).

The IMF predicted Mongolia's GDP will grow by at least 6.3 percent in 2019.

"Due to booming tax revenues and relatively contained expenditures, the fiscal balance has improved by 18 percentage points and public debt has fallen 13 percentage points to 75 percent of GDP. Externally, the Bank of Mongolia has used the strong turnaround in exports and FDI to increase net foreign exchange reserves by 3 billion U.S. dollars since end-2016," Gottlieb added.

However, the country's buffers are still insufficient to cope with the downside risks, the IMF team leader warned, urging the Mongolian authorities to continue advancing structural reforms necessary to extend the recent progress.

Back in 2016, the economy was in a desperate situation: GDP growth fell to below zero, foreign exchange reserves also decreased which were negative in net terms and below 1 billion U.S. dollars in gross terms, and public debt rose to almost 100 percent of GDP.

The IMF executive board approved a three-year bailout program for Mongolia in May 2017 to help the government's economic recovery plan that focuses on building foreign exchange reserves, driving debt onto a sustainable path, strengthening the banking sector, and securing stable and inclusive growth over the long run.

They have obtained asylum-seeker certificates that show that they are under UN protection until Dec. 31, 2019.

Yet they remain worried about their future as an alleged Turkish intelligence operation to take a school director back to Turkey in July 2018 was blocked by the Mongolian government at the last minute after it drew outrage from the public.

The group, consisting mainly of educators and their families, has been denied consular services; their passports have been cancelled; and their legal residence in Mongolia ends on June 30. They are not able to renew their residence permits as their passports were canceled.

İshak İlik, an English teacher who is part of the group, gave an interview to Medya Bold and talked about the difficulties they are faced with.

“Mongolia has a rule whereby one needs an ‘exit visa’ to leave the country. You cannot just buy a plane ticket and take off like elsewhere,” he said, adding that the cancelation of their passports also made them unable to apply for the exit visa.

He claimed that by denying them consular services and thus stranding them in the country with an unpredictable future, the Turkish government is trying to take revenge for last year’s thwarted attempt.

After a failed coup in July 2016, the Turkish government pinned the blame on the faith-based Gülen movement and launched an all-out crackdown targeting its real and alleged members in Turkey and abroad, including its network of schools.

Foreign-based educators and people from other walks of life were recently abducted by Turkish intelligence and taken to Turkey from countries like Malaysia, Kosovo and Kazakhstan.

Jointly signed by Macau’s Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, and Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs of Mongolia, Tsendiin Nyamdorj, the agreement furthers cooperation in regards to the transfer of judicial documents, investigation findings and evidence.

It will also allow the two jurisdictions to cooperate over the search for and seizure of objects and documents, as well as the confiscation of the tools and proceeds of crime.

A delegation from the local government paid a five-day visit to Mongolia, from June 24 to 28. Its members met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Mongolia, Xing Haiming, as well as with officials from the General Prosecutor’s Office of Mongolia.

While Macau officials were in Mongolia, the two sides held meetings to discuss further technical issues regarding an anticipated agreement on legal and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters. A draft version was signed following a consensus achieved as a result of the meetings.

Macau and Mongolia started to discuss mutual assistance in matters of criminal law in 2014, according to a statement issued yesterday by the SAR government. A draft agreement was signed in May 2017.

Under the Basic Law of Macau, with the assistance and authorization of the Central People’s Government in Beijing, the SAR may make appropriate arrangements with foreign states for reciprocal judicial assistance.

The project will be carried out by ‘Airport at Khushgyn Valley’ state-owned profit oriented enterprise from Mongolian side and ‘Consortium SPV’ or ‘Japan Airport Management’ LLC from Japanese side.

Concession term is 15 years and owners of the concession plan to commence works ensuring their preparations with their funds within 10 months since the agreement has entered into force.