Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google face claims of 'harmful' power www.bbc.com

The heads of some of the world's biggest tech companies have appeared before Washington lawmakers to defend their firms against claims they abuse their power to quash competitors.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said the world "needs large" firms, while the heads of Facebook, Apple and Google argued their companies had spurred innovation.

The appearance comes as lawmakers consider tougher regulation and competition probes are under way.

Some critics want the firms broken up.

Democrats pressed the tech titans on competition issues, while Republicans were more concerned about how they managed information and whether they were marginalising conservative views.

Congressman David Cicilline, the Democrat leading the congressional committee holding the hearing, said a year-long investigation by lawmakers had showed the online platforms had "wielded their power in destructive, harmful ways in order to expand".

He said he was convinced the firms were monopolies and called for action.

"Some need to be broken up and all need to be properly regulated," he said at the end of more than five hours of testimony.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Tim Cook of Apple insisted they had done nothing illegal and stressed the American roots and values of their firms.

What are the main concerns about the tech giants?
At the hearing, lawmakers accused Google of having stolen content created by smaller firms, like Yelp, in order to keep users on their own web pages.

Amazon's treatment of sellers on its site, Facebook's acquisition of competitors such as Instagram, and Apple's App store also drew attention.

In response to claims Google had stolen content, Google boss Sundar Pichai said the firm held itself to the "highest standard"
Mr Cicilline said Amazon had an inherent conflict of interest, since it both hosts sellers and competes against them by offering similar products. Such practice has also come under scrutiny from European regulators.

"Amazon's dual role... is fundamentally anti-competitive and Congress must take action," he said.

However, some Republicans signalled they were not prepared to split up the firms or significantly overhaul US competition laws, with one committee member saying "big is not inherently bad".

Republican concerns focused on perceived political bias at the firms, which they accused of suppressing conservative views.

"I'll just cut to the chase - big tech is out to get conservatives," said Congressman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio.

Tech giants face feeding frenzy
Four of the world's top technology company executives may have been testifying before the Judiciary Committee from a distance, but they were still caught in the middle of a political storm on Wednesday afternoon.

The stated purpose of the hearing was to address whether existing anti-trust laws provide sufficient regulation of transnational tech Goliaths. The reality, however, was that the proceedings - with each member of the committee receiving five minutes to speak - were more akin to a feeding frenzy, as corporate chiefs faced criticism from every direction

Democrats expressed concern that the companies were abusing their power by disadvantaging competitors or buying them out entirely. Republicans accused the witnesses of insufficient patriotism and being too cosy with the Chinese.

Both sides expressed outrage over how the companies managed speech and expression on their platforms. They didn't go far enough in removing hateful rhetoric and false information, Democrats said. They singled out conservatives for censorship, the Republicans countered.

Through it all, the witnesses thanked the questioners and took their lumps, perhaps confident that they could soon log off and get back to their work. While all the politicians seemed to agree that the big tech companies were a problem, their chances of arriving at any kind of solution seems unlikely.

What did the companies say?
Appearing by remote video, the executives defended their companies, saying their products helped smaller businesses and they remained vulnerable to competition from newcomers.

Apple boss Tim Cook said the business climate was "so competitive I would describe it as a street fight for market share in the smartphone business".

Mr Bezos, in his first appearance before Congress, denied that Amazon's multiple roles were a conflict of interest, but he admitted the firm was reviewing its handling of sales data from sellers on the site.

The company has been accused of using such information to launch its own version of hot-selling products.

Mr Bezos said Amazon rules forbid staff from looking at sales data from individual companies, but he conceded it was possible that employees had violated the policy.

"We are investigating that," he said.

In his prepared remarks, Mr Bezos said Amazon faced significant competition from firms such as Walmartand noted that the company lost money for years as it branched out into new areas.

"I love garage entrepreneurs - I was one. But, just like the world needs small companies, it also needs large ones. There are things small companies simply can't do," he said.

US President Donald Trump is a long-time critic of Amazon and threatened his own action on Twitter, writing: "If Congress doesn't bring fairness to Big Tech, which they should have done years ago, I will do it myself with Executive Orders."

He also told reporters that White House officials would be watching the hearing closely.

"There's no question that what the big tech companies are doing is very bad," he said.

Tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities said "storm clouds" were building in Washington but he thought it was unlikely that Congress would come together on new legislation that would force tech companies to change.

"We think a legislative fix is the only one that creates a potential for limitations on these companies' ability to conduct business, whether that takes the form of higher taxes or new rules regarding market concentration," he wrote.

"Absent a legislative fix, we don't see meaningful change in regulation, although future acquisitions will most certainly be scrutinized and more difficult to close."

Energy Minister checks winter preparations of coal mines www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Minister of Energy N.Tavinbekh checked on site the winter preparations of Baganuur and Shivee-Ovoo JSCs.

Central Bank of Mongolia sells USD 615 million www.news.mn

As of today (29 July), one US dollar is being sold for MNT 2844.58 at commercial banks,while one Euro for MNT 3331.29, and one Russian Rbl for MNT 39.51. The Mongolian Tugrik continues to fall against the US dollar, theChinese Yuan (CHY) and the Euro, however, is rising against the Russian Rbl.

Czech Government provides charter plane for evacuating Mongolians www.news.mn

Mongolia has planned 14 charter flights in August for repatriating its nationals from pandemic-hit countries. According to L.Munkhtushig, Director General of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, some 100 Mongolians stranded in Czech Republic have applied to return home through the International Migration Agency. In other words, not via the Mongolian MFA.

Rio Tinto raises dividend, sees ‘V-shaped’ China recovery www.mining.com

Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) said on Wednesday it saw a sharp V-shaped recovery in China as stimulus spurred industrial activity, helping its first-half profit handily beat market expectations.

Mongolia confirms two more COVID-19 cases www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia confirmed two more COVID-19 cases after 630 tests had been carried out in the last 24 hours, a local health official said on Wednesday.

Where reindeer roam: Life among Mongolia’s nomadic herders www.nationalgeographic.com

I needed out of Ulaanbaatar. Mongolia’s capital city, the coldest national capital on Earth, is choked with coal dust in winter and construction debris in every other season. It was the summer of 2016, and I’d just spent a year there teaching English and chasing stories as a freelance writer. When my fellow teacher Anudari suggested a trip to the taiga, I jumped in her car, no questions asked.

The taiga refers to a vast Siberian forest that spills over the Russian border into Mongolia. The most famous part lies beyond Lake Hövsgöl at the country’s northernmost point. This is where the Tsaatan live. A remote minority group of nomadic reindeer herders, they are often problematically characterized as “mystical,” “untouched,” and even a “lost tribe.” Not to mention “highly photogenic.”

Anudari steered us expertly through Ulaanbaatar’s motionless traffic and onto a rare paved highway. The sky unfurled as we turned west, the landscape falling open in all directions. Anudari chatted excitedly. A Mongolian American, she frequently traveled into the countryside with her family, but she’d always wanted to visit the Tsaatan. This would be a magical experience. The trip of a lifetime.

I was the cynic in the car. The Tsaatan are among Mongolia’s staple travel stories (along with the Altai eagle hunters) because, frankly, herding reindeer through a starry wilderness sounds irresistibly romantic. Plus, the landscape they roam is so inaccessible that any visitor is automatically upgraded to an adventurer. I was uncomfortable with the whole narrative package—the aggrandizement, the paternalism, the implied exploitation. Worst of all, I was secretly thrilled to be going.

Into the taiga
The Tsaatan have herded reindeer through the taiga for centuries, first in their native Tuva—a Russian republic—and then, when borders were redrawn under Soviet influence in 1944, in Mongolia. Only a few hundred still follow the traditional lifestyle, and with search engines opening up the hidden corners of our world, they have become an attraction. Tour companies offer adventure packages to the taiga, where visitors can experience Tsaatan daily life: milking reindeer, making cheese, harvesting pine nuts, and sleeping in traditional teepee-shaped tents, called ortz.

That’s not to say it’s an easy trip. The taiga is remote, even by Mongolian standards. The country is largely roadless and overland travel is time-consuming. The forest itself can be navigated only on horseback. This is one trip where the journey really does outweigh the destination—we would spend eight days, traveling for two days, with the Tsaatan.

A few days of driving brought us to the dust-and-plywood town of Mörön, where we secured a driver, a guide, and provisions and arranged for horses to meet us at the forest’s edge, all for $150 per person. We were not asked if we knew how to ride. Most questions concerned weight—our own and our overpacked bags. Mongolian horses are small and can carry only around 200 pounds. They’re half wild from fending for themselves on the steppe. They respond to one command: tchoo. It means “go faster.”

I had another two days to ponder my minimal riding experience as we drove north from Mörön. It was pouring rain, and our battered van sloshed over waves of mud while I huddled in the back, pretending not to be seasick.

The sky cleared to blue as we lurched up to the taiga. The forest began abruptly, a wall of pine and larch. Our Tsaatan host, Delgermagnai Enkhbaatar, was waiting with the horses.

Although there was snow on the nearby mountains, our route was mostly swamp. The horses staggered through the bog like drunks. After hours negotiating mud slicks and churning rivers, we arrived at camp in darkness.

A lake mirrored the rising moon. Reindeer stood spindly-legged around the family’s ortz. The sky was streaked with shooting stars.

Rats, I thought. This just might be a little bit magical.

“The Tsaatan are not an ‘undiscovered tribe,’” admonished the herding community’s website. Yes, they know of websites (though theirs is currently off-line). And Tsaatan means “people with reindeer” in Mongolian—not their native language. The herders call themselves Dukha.

“You will not be the first or last person they have hosted,” the website continued. “They are a modern people who have welcomed visitors from all over the world.”

We had passed a few of these visitors on our ride to Enkhbaatar’s camp, their nylon jackets vivid against the darkening forest. Our guides greeted each other warmly. The foreigners exchanged tight little nods, each regarding the other as interlopers. Then we rode on, pretending the encounter hadn’t happened.

Once at camp, it became apparent that the only lost tribe in the taiga was us tourists. We had armed ourselves against physical remoteness with maps and GPS, but there was no app for cultural dislocation.

This wasn’t just embarrassing but potentially dangerous. The taiga is not a forgiving landscape. Hypothermia was a real possibility, even in August. Enkhbaatar had bear and wolf teeth among his carved trinkets, and the Russian border police stopped by looking for escaped convicts. The sheer scale of the wilderness felt threatening; the only way in or out was on horseback through trackless marsh. I became uncomfortably aware that, for all my travel knowledge, I brought nothing useful to the experience besides a can-do attitude.

Meanwhile Enkhbaatar’s family was clearly at home with both their ways and ours. The kids knew how to swipe through smartphone apps and shake a Polaroid until the image emerged. They were delighted with the toy cars we brought and made vroom vroom noises while pushing them up the poles of the family ortz. Most of their play, however, mimicked the adults’ work—making fires, fetching water, tending the animals.

On the second day, Enkhbaatar offered to take us riding into the eastern Sayan Mountains. He prepped the reindeer while his toddler attempted to saddle up the family dog with an old blanket.

I hoisted myself clumsily onto my mount, and Enkhbaatar demonstrated how to steer with the single guide rope. We were interrupted by a strange sound: a “Für Elise” ring tone. Without a word, Enkhbaatar handed the rope to his child and disappeared into the ortz.

“Baina uu?” I heard him answer the phone. My own cell hadn’t picked up a signal for days.

Abruptly I realized I had no clue how to ride this reindeer. If it bolted, I’d be halfway to Siberia before Enkhbaatar returned. I looked down at the 18-month-old holding my reins.

Storytelling is reflective. The words we choose to describe the Tsaatan—mystical, lost, exploited, endangered—imply our own roles in the story as well. Are we bold adventurers, self-righteous skeptics, or maybe just the comic relief? I returned from the taiga with this conundrum on my mind. Several years on, I still think about it every time I write a story.

Lately, though, I’ve been remembering that trip for other reasons—reasons related to claustrophobia. The coronavirus pandemic has compressed life to fit inside walls and screens, and I’m longing for the boundless space of the Mongolian countryside. Right now that’s an impossible dream: In an effort to keep out the virus, Mongolia has been closed to international travel since March. I’m glad. Roughly a third of Mongolians are nomadic herders like Enkhbaatar. They’re a long ride from medical care.

I admit my memories of the trip are romantic, maybe even magical. I remember the taste of reindeer-milk tea, and the pale, chilled mornings when camel-wool long johns weren’t enough to keep me from shivering. The slidey-wobbly feel of riding a saddled reindeer. The night sky shimmering yellow as a full moon rose. I remember Enkhbaatar’s wife laughing at my knife skills as we cooked and the kids dogpiling me for piggyback rides. Enkhbaatar’s smile as we parted, telling us to come back again sometime.

That toddler at the end of my rope must be nearly old enough to start school now. She won’t remember me or any of the travelers who visited her family that summer. Yet I wonder how she would have described us, the mysterious here-and-gone strangers so out of touch that we didn’t know how the bathroom worked. Possibly she would choose some of the same words we used, ahead of our trip, for her family. I’m reasonably sure one of them would be “lost.”

Erin Craig is a freelance writer based in Asia.

Mongolia extends heightened state of readiness until end of August www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia on Tuesday decided to extend the country's heightened state of readiness until Aug. 31 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

SEC suggests to reopen schools, kindergartens on September 1, cabinet to make final decision www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. At its meeting held on July 28, the State Emergency Commission (SEC) discussed the issues regarding the extension of the period of the heightened state of readiness for disaster protection amid COVID-19 pandemic and re-opening of all levels of educational institutions.

Mongolia, South Korea to pay more attention on workforce-related issues www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On July 28, Minister of Labor and Social Protection A.Ariunzaya held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to Mongolia Lee Yeo-hong to discuss measures being taken by the Government of Mongolia with aims of getting through the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, partnership opportunities within the framework of countermeasures during the pandemic, and the matter of social protection and employment of Mongolian citizens living in the South Korea.