"This closes out the entire gold storage plan – around three years ahead of the time we were aiming for," said Carl-Ludwig Thiele, a member of the Bundesbank’s Executive Board.

The bank has already repatriated 940 tons of gold from London to save on storage fees.

In 2013 Germany said it planned to transfer at least half of the country’s gold to Frankfurt by 2020. The move was in response to public concerns about having so much of the nation’s wealth kept abroad.

Over 50 percent of Germany's gold reserves are now in Frankfurt. The remainder is stored in London and New York, where it can be quickly exchanged for British pounds or US dollars in an economic emergency.
Germany is the world’s second biggest holder of gold with 3,374 tons. The US Federal Reserve holds the most bullion, its gold reserves amount to 8,134 tons, according to the World Gold Council. The UK holds 310 tons, and the European Central Bank 505 tons.

The Bundesbank has been criticized at home for keeping a major part of Germany’s gold reserves abroad. Critics demand the complete return of the gold to the country. They regard the gold as insurance in case of a crisis, and the immediate physical availability would be the decisive criterion.

Trying to move gold from New York in 2014, the Bundesbank met obstacles from US authorities when German officials wanted to inspect the gold kept in US vaults.

Some even doubted the German gold was still physically there. The Bundesbank dismissed all the doubts, saying it received annual updates from foreign central banks where the gold was being stored. It said that the "integrity, reputation and security of these foreign depositories are beyond reproach."

But opposition Senator Randolfe Rodrigues denounced the move as "the biggest attack on the Amazon of the last 50 years", O Globo newspaper reported (in Portuguese).
Maurício Voivodic, head of the conservation body WWF in Brazil, warned last month that mining in the area would lead to "demographic explosion, deforestation, the destruction of water resources, the loss of biodiversity and the creation of land conflict".

According to the WWF report, the main area of interest for copper and gold exploration is in one of the protected areas, the Biological Reserve of Maicuru.
There is also said to be gold in the Para State forest, which lies within the area.
The WWF says there is potential for conflict too in two indigenous reserves that are home to various ethnic communities living in relative isolation.
WWF's report said that a "gold rush in the region could create irreversible damage to these cultures".
"If the government insisted on opening up these areas for mining without discussing environmental safeguards it will have to deal with an international outcry."

Taking this opportunity, the head of the state once again warmly and cordially congratulated the Mongol leader on convincing victory in the elections and the assumption of the office of the President of Mongolia, wishing him good health and achieving all his goals at the highest state post.

President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, in turn, thanked President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for congratulations and good wishes, stressing that Mongolia is especially interested in strengthening and expanding relations with friendly Turkmenistan.

During the talk, the interlocutors stressed the traditionally friendly nature of the relationship, built on the equal, constructive basis and with great potential. The heads of the two states marked the trade and economic sphere among the priority areas of cooperation and spoke in favor of establishing productive ties in various sectors, as well as in the business sector.

Highly assessing the prospects of Turkmen-Mongolian ties in the political, economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres, it was emphasized that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and Mongolia. Confirming the readiness of the sides to continue steadily developing friendly relations and fruitful cooperation, Presidents Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and Khaltmaagiin Battulga agreed on approaches to further strengthening the traditional interstate relations.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov invited President Khaltmaagiin Battulga to visit Ashgabat for the Opening Ceremony of the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, stressing that the Mongol leader will always be a welcome guest of our country.

The telephone call was on the initiative of the Mongolian side.

At the meeting co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary of the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and I.V.Morgulov, Vice FM of Russia, the parties shared specific views on the bilateral political and economic relations and cooperation. They considered preparation works for the President’s participation in the Eastern Economic Forum scheduled on September 4-8 in Vladivostok, a realization of a middle-term program on the Mongolia-Russia strategic partnership ties and outcomes of the 20th meeting of the intergovernmental commission.

The sides expressed the satisfaction with an increase of the bilateral trade turnover which saw a decline in last two years, and then emphasized the countries are able to widen the commercial and economic ties.

Regional cooperation plays a vital role in the Mongolia-Russia relations, the countries noted, and considered as necessity to facilitating a border accessing process and broadening the inter-boundary and economic collaboration. The parties also said the countries have to renovate the Ulaanbaatar Railway Joint Venture, to upgrade its operation and to maximize the transit transport.

While many picture Mongolia as a remote and rural country, most Mongolians actually live in urban areas, and its capital, Ulaanbaatar, abounds with coworking spaces, hackathons, and startup accelerators. However, beyond the cities, modern-day nomads still raise goats, sheep, cattle yaks and horses the same way that their ancestors did.

Horse racing is one of the most popular pastimes for both groups, however when it comes to breeding and selling race horses, a lack of proper records often becomes problematic during sales transactions.

That’s where Уяач comes in. The app helps horse owners document their animals by allowing them to upload photos of each horse, as well as data on their lineage, racing history, age, sex, and health conditions. Best of all, it can be used even when there’s no cell service, which is a common issue for herders working in remote areas.

It also provides an online community for Mongolia’s estimated 50,000 die-hard horse racing fans, allowing them to follow their favorite horses.

In an interview with Motherboard, Artur Byambadorj, one of the app’s creators, said:

“We see the app as an important tool for herders, and also a news source for racing fans … We want it to become the Facebook for herders that they will use daily.”

During its regular meeting on August 23, Wednesday, the Cabinet issued five-year permissions to ‘Darkhan Industrial and Technology Park’ LLC to build an industrial & technology park in Darkhan-Uul aimag, and to ‘Erdenet Technopark’ LLC in Orkhon aimag.

The projects will help develop competitive and innovative technology-based industry, create jobs for the unemployed, supply eco-friendly final products to domestic and foreign markets, develop export-oriented production, and support local development, the Cabinet sees.

Located 460 km south-east of Ulaanbaatar in the Gobi Desert, Sainshand Salkhin Park LLC is sponsored by French energy leader ENGIE, German project developer Ferrostaal, Danish Climate Investment Fund (DCIF) and Mongolian entrepreneur, Radnaabazar Davaanyam, with long-term financing provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The lenders have agreed to provide a total project financing of US$ 78.5 million, which comprises EIB funding of US$ 47 million, of which the first tranche will be guaranteed by EKF, Denmark’s Export Credit Agency, with NORD/LB acting as agent; and EBRD funding of US$ 31.5 million.

Once operational, the new Sainshand wind farm will make a significant contribution to reducing Mongolia’s carbon emissions and cater for an expected increase in power demand in the country. The scheme will significantly enlarge Mongolia’s renewable energy capacity and help the government to achieve the goal of renewable energy accounting for 20 per cent of all power by 2020, and 30 per cent by 2030.

The Sainshand wind farm will be built by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, and will use 25 Vestas V110 2.2 MW turbines to deliver up to 55 MW of clean energy that will save an estimated 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Construction at the site is expected to start later this summer and be completed before the end of 2018. It follows three years of wind surveys to measure the high-yield winds in the area. The average wind speeds per second at the site are ideal for onshore wind energy.

The project has been developed in consultation with the local communities and a detailed environmental impact assessment has been approved by the relevant national authority. Financing has been agreed following preparation of a comprehensive environmental and social management system compliant with international standards such as those of the EBRD, EIB, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Equator Principles.