This number indicates an increase of three percent compared to production in 2016, but the country imported 9,733 tons of produce in 2017, twice the number of domestically harvested crops.

To compete with imported products and reduce import-dependence, Green City Garden harvests 40 to 50 tons of crops annually from its greenhouses and plans to triple its harvest area in 2018. CEO J. Erkhembayar highlighted that electricity and heating costs pose the greatest challenges for greenhouse farmers.

Nearly 21 thousand people planted 55 thousand trees and 17 thousand bushes at the National Park, the Mongol Naadam Complex and near the somewhat less picturesque Ulaanbaatar Central Wastewater Treatment Plant. They also watered and cared for the trees which had been planted previously.

Ulaanbaatar city administration announced 2018 as the year for improving the environment in which the population lives with the cooperation of the public.

A hectare of forest can refresh 18 cubic meters of air, absorb 25 percent of all noise, moisten 76 percent of air-borne dust and soak up 30-35 percent of air-pollution.

Executives at Japan's Fujifilm Holdings said in January that they had reached an agreement with Xerox to merge the US firm with a subsidiary.

But Carl Icahn and another major Xerox shareholder opposed the transaction, claiming Fujifilm had undervalued the American company.

Xerox now says it has reached a settlement with the shareholders and is terminating the merger.

It says CEO Jeff Jacobson and several other executives will be replaced.

Xerox plans to appoint a new leadership and discuss alternative strategies.

Icahn said in a statement he's extremely pleased that Xerox ended the deal. He called it a new beginning.

This was underlined by Enkh-Amgalan Luvsantseren, deputy speaker of the Mongolian Parliament, in a recent meeting with a Turkish delegation led by Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Halil Adiguzel in Ulan Bator, it said.

Over the past four years, more than 90 Mongolian prosecutors have participated in short-term training in Turkey, the deputy speaker said.

Adiguzel, for his part, said Turkey is ready to work with Mongolia and share its experiences in fighting against corruption, economic crimes and transnational organized crimes.

Cooperation between Mongolia and Turkey has been expanding in all sectors in recent years. The two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2019.

Mongolia economic growth forecast is eight percent in 2018 and six percent in 2020.

The project will be completed by 2022, according to D.Sumiyabazar, Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry.

The project is being financed by a loan from India, which was announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country in 2015.

The refinery will have a processing capacity of 1.5 million metric tons of oil per year and will annually produce 560,000 tons of gasoline and 670,000 tons of diesel fuel, as well as 107,000 tons of liquefied gas. The refinery would boost Mongolia's gross domestic product by 10 percent.

Mongolia currently exports crude oil to China while importing practically all its petroleum products from Russia.

The firm has suspended operations after the commerce department last month banned US companies from selling it components for seven years.

ZTE pleaded guilty to making illegal shipments to Iran and North Korea.

Mr Trump tweeted that he was working with President Xi to ensure ZTE would get back into business fast, saying too many jobs in China were at risk.

The commentators say the tone of the tweet is a dramatic shift for Mr Trump, who has consistently accused China of stealing US jobs.

The concession to Beijing comes ahead of high-level trade talks later this week in Washington aimed at resolving an escalating trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

Beijing has made resolving the situation with ZTE, which employs about 80,000 people, one of its demands for striking a broader trade agreement with with US.

In March 2017 ZTE admitted to violating US sanctions by illegally shipping American technology to Iran and Korea and was fined $1.1bn (£800m).

The current export ban was imposed last month after the company allegedly failed to comply with its agreement, lying about the punishment of employees involved in skirting the sanctions.

ZTE spent more than $2.3bn on imports from about 200 US companies last year.

Douglas Jacobson, a lawyer in Washington DC who represents some of ZTE's suppliers, said: "This is a fascinating development in a highly unusual case that has gone from a sanctions and export control case to a geopolitical one.

"There's no legal mechanism for this. How this will play out remains to be seen. They are not simply going to be able to resume business as usual."

The funding will help the Mongolian capital invest in a landfill that complies with EU standards, purchase new waste-collection equipment and introduce a construction- and demolition-waste plant. The investment is supported by €4.9 million in funding from the European Union (EU).

Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar has expanded rapidly in recent years from an estimated 800,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 1.4 million in 2018. This increase in population has put a strain on municipal services, including solid waste management. It has also led to an increase in construction activities and related waste, which is currently being disposed of in the existing landfills or other locations without being crushed or recycled.

With the additional landfill, the city will be in a position to dispose of a significant part of its waste in line with EU standards, while new equipment will help to improve waste collection, transportation, recycling and disposal services and lead to higher environmental and hygiene standards. Furthermore, a new specialised waste facility will help to recycle construction and demolition waste.

These improvements are an important step towards making Mongolia’s capital a greener city. Ulaanbaatar faces various urban challenges. These include a high level of pollution, which stems from the vast expansion of the ger districts where many inhabitants live in traditional yurts and burn coal or wood to heat their homes during the long, cold winter.

The investment is part of a comprehensive Green City Action Plan, which will be developed by the municipality to identify the key environmental challenges and related green investments. It is part of the EBRD’s work with various cities across its regions to help them tackle these challenges in a cost-efficient manner, improve municipal services and build green economies.

The project is also supported by technical cooperation funds from the Republic of Korea and Japan.

The EBRD works in Mongolia to build a diverse economy by developing the private sector and supporting infrastructure improvements. The Bank has invested more than €1.4 billion in almost 100 projects in the country, since it started operations there in 2006.