Peabody’s mine site in Australia rehabilitated two years early www.mining.com

The Australian division of coal miner Peabody (NYSE: BTU) announced this week that its rehabilitation efforts to turn the Millennium mine site into grazing land will be completed two years ahead of schedule.

China blocks access to Australian Broadcasting Corp sites www.bbc.com

China has blocked access to the website of Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC).

South Korea's POSCO to invest $40bn over next five years www.asia.nikkei.com

SEOUL (Reuters) -- South Korean steelmaker POSCO said on Monday that it plans to more than double its investment spending over the next five years to 45 trillion won ($40.4 billion), as it looks to strengthen its competitiveness.

FRC approves IPOs for Ard Daatgal and Mandal Daatgal www.gogo.mn

The Financial Regulatory Commission registered 25 million shares of Ard Daatgal, valued at 200 MNT per share, and 6.2 million shares of Mandal Daatgal, valued at 1,000 MNT per share.

Alibaba vows more help for innovators www.chinadaily.com

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group vowed to enable more entrepreneurs in Africa who have ideas and practical knowledge gained from China's innovative businesses to accelerate the development of e-commerce platforms on the continent.

Empowering entrepreneurs from Africa is in line with the company's commitment to support entrepreneurs from Africa and help them to succeed in the digital world, said Song Juntao, vice-president of Alibaba Global Business Group.

The sharing of technologies and access to insights and experience will help cultivate more African talent and young entrepreneurs, which in turn will benefit the company's long-term development in African countries, he said.

Jessica Wang, North China business director of Hays, a global specialist recruitment agency, noted that e-commerce in China has grown rapidly, and Chinese companies are expanding continually with innovative and large-scale projects that can impact the industry.

Companies like Alibaba have become global names, Wang said.

The company has been holding intensive training sessions for African entrepreneurs on e-commerce innovations in recent years－for example, its Global E-commerce Talent program for university teachers, which was launched by the company's business school in Rwanda last month. It was the first time the program had been offered in Africa.

As part of the company's commitment to support education and e-commerce on the continent, the program aims to deepen the understanding of the e-commerce industry among Rwandan university teachers and to train individuals to compete in the digital economy. To date, 52 African entrepreneurs from 14 African countries have participated in the fellowship.

The company has also launched a new initiative－the Netpreneur Prize－for African entrepreneurs in South Africa. It aims to build a community of 100 young African entrepreneurs by 2030 who will receive grants totaling $10 million.

AliExpress is currently available to anyone with an internet connection in many African countries, while the company also facilitates African exports to China.

Since Alibaba entered the African market, more than 4.2 million African customers have purchased Chinese products through AliExpress.

In South Africa alone, some 100,000 residents purchased Chinese products through AliExpress in 2017, with the revenue witnessing year-on-year growth of 32 percent and order volume growing 48 percent.

Clothing, wigs, automobiles, motorbikes, sports products, computers, mobile phones, jewelry and health products are among the top purchases, it said.

Tmall, an online shopping platform of Alibaba, now sees orders from countries including Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Mauritius and South Africa, covering sectors including maternity and infant products, cosmetics, household items, hiking, home and textile products and healthcare products.

African drums, Moroccan hair conditioner, black tea soap, football jerseys from Algeria and stuffed elephant toys have been well received by Chinese customers.

Ulaanbaatar establishes agricultural zone www.news.mn

Ulaanbaatar city has established a dedicated agricultural zone after resettling families with livestock from rural districts and camps. Under the decree of UB Mayor S.Batbold, a total of 16,000 livestock from 619 families in five central districts were resettled since last year. Before the resettlement, there were 3000 livestock from 189 families in the Sukhbaatar District, 1160 livestock from 50 families in Chingeltei, 2400 livestock from 76 families in Khan-Uul, over 6000 livestock from 221 families and 3500 livestock from 83 families in Bayanzurkh District.

Education Minister’s attempt to fend off teachers’ strike fails www.zgm.mn

Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Sports Tsogzolmaa Tsedenbal and the officials from the ministry have met with the representatives of the Confederation of Mongolian Trade Unions and reached a deal to avert teachers’ strike; however, the strike is still on. Last month, the temporary committee for teachers’ pay raise announced to launch a strike following the Government's decision to increase the salary of teachers and health workers by 8-15 percent as the committee demanded 50 percent raise. At the meeting, the union submitted four demands:

JD.com head Liu briefly held in US for sexual misconduct www.bbc.com

The chief executive of China's JD.com, Liu Qiangdong, was briefly arrested in the US on accusations of criminal sexual conduct.

China Focus: Inner Mongolia eyes opportunities through Silk Road www.xinhuanet.com

HOHHOT, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- As Mellat Dilnar, a student from Kazakhstan who has been pursuing her studies in Beijing for three years, lets breeze gently move her hair in front of the ancient ruins of Ulanqab, she feels like she is back in the boundless steppe of her home country.

"The idea of the Silk Road has been with me since I was a child," said Dilnar, who is starting her thesis on the Silk Road for her doctorate study. "Caravans used to travel from here to my hometown of Almaty and beyond."

Literally meaning "red mountain ridges" in Mongolian, the city of Ulanqab in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region lies at the pass of Mount Yinshan.

It remained a key station of the Silk Road on the grasslands, a divergent branch to China's traditional land route to the West, until the city was destroyed amid rebellions in the mid-14th century.

"We always say that China is the ocean and port of Kazakhstan," said Dilnar. "The old route now has a new orientation."

The ancient trade depot sees an opportunity to relive the past grandeur since the Belt and Road Initiative -- the proposal for building of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road -- was put forward by China five years ago.

OLD ROUTE, NEW STYLE

"Among China Railway Express's 17 hubs on the way to Europe, Ulanqab is the only non-provincial capital," said Wang Xinyu, vice mayor of Ulanqab.

Since the first China-Europe freight train from Chongqing to Duisburg of Germany was launched in 2011, there have been more than 10,000 trips and the trains continue to serve as a crucial network of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Last year alone, there were 111 China-Europe freight trains sent from Ulanqab, accounting for 80 percent of the region's total.

"Opening-up and boosting trade are our top priorities," said Vice Mayor Wang. "The China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor is an opportunity for us."

The upgraded transport link with China's northern neighbors has opened international markets for Ulanqab's traditional businesses such as its leather industry. Leather making companies from Beijing and Shanghai have moved here to better serve Russian and European customers.

"Not only does local cargo converge in Ulanqab, but cargo from north China or even across the country also comes here for redistribution," Wang said.

The old trade center now has a new ambition. A logistical channel that connects Ulanqab with Mongolia's Ulan Bator and Russia's Ulan Ude is being planned. It will be 1,160 km shorter than the current China-Russia trade route.

INNER MONGOLIA AND ITS WORLD VISION

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is now more than ever involved in global connectivity.

The region's Erenhot and Manzhouli to the north of Ulanqab are the mainstays of border connections with Mongolia and Russia. Last year, 569 China-Europe freight trains passed through Erenhot, and more than 1,300 through Manzhouli.

In the first seven months of 2018, the trade volume between Inner Mongolia and countries participating in the Belt and Roald Initiative reached 5.73 billion U.S. dollars, up 6.4 percent year on year, or accounting for 67.8 percent of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region's foreign trade volume.

"Inner Mongolia has become a logistics hub for sending Chinese goods to Europe," said Xu Jun, senior vice president of Prologis, a logistics real estate company. "We expect to fit our role in the region's development with the company's business in Europe."

The complementarity between China and the rest of the world in the past centuries is taking a new form in the trade through Inner Mongolia.

Agricultural and mechanical commodities, steel, automobiles and hi-tech products are among the exports. Products such as coal, wood and copper, iron and lead ores are among the major imports.

In August 2018, China and Mongolia agreed that the bilateral trade should reach 10 billion U.S. dollars by 2020. Inner Mongolia's role as a passageway will be further underlined.

"We will be back in Inner Mongolia for further research later this year to seek opportunities to provide high-quality logistics infrastructure for the region," Xu said.

Apple expected to announce new iPhone and gadgets September 12 www.cnn.com

How will Apple follow up its biggest iPhone announcement since the original? Probably with the same device in more colors, but we'll find out for sure on September 12, according to an invite reporters received Thursday morning.
Most Apple watchers expect the company to unveil a number of new iPhone models and a release date for its next iOS operating system during the event, held at the company's slick Apple Park headquarters. It could expand the iPhone X design and naming across its entire phone lineup, with more sizes, colors and price points, according to Bloomberg. The Apple Watch and Air Pods could also get a refresh.