China is trading more with North Korea but buying much less coal www.cnn.com

China has slashed imports of coal from North Korea even as overall trade between the countries continues to rise.
A Chinese government official said Thursday that China-North Korea trade was worth $2.6 billion in the first half of 2017, up about 10% over the same period last year.
But coal imports slumped by 75%, suggesting Beijing is gradually choking off North Korea's biggest source of foreign currency.

Cosco leading China's 'Belt and Road' drive www.asia.nikkei.com

DALIAN, China -- China Cosco Shipping is poised to go on a fresh overseas investment spree to secure ports and logistics hubs as part of China's efforts to create its huge "Belt and Road" economic zone aimed at increasing that country's influence over distribution from Asia to Europe.

The state-owned shipping titan specifically plans to acquire a Spanish port operator for 200 million euros ($228 million) and spend $38 million to secure an inland logistics hub in Khorgos, Kazakhstan.

China Cosco Shipping, which was formally established in February 2016 through the merger of China Ocean Shipping (Group) and China Shipping (Group), is now at the vanguard of the Belt and Road initiative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has advocated the scheme, as has the Chinese government, which hosted an international conference on it for the first time, in Beijing in May.

Riding the economic zone drive, Cosco has already moved to secure overseas business footholds, acquiring the Piraeus port in Greece and obtaining the rights to use container terminals in the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands.

Cosco is again accelerating its drive to expand overseas operations as part of its growth strategy while playing the role of trailblazer in the Belt and Road scheme.

Recently in Hong Kong, Cosco Shipping Holdings, a major container transportation company of the Cosco group, announced that it had offered to buy the major shipping company Orient Overseas International, together with Shanghai International Port Group, for HK$49.2 billion ($6.3 billion).

The takeover will create the world's third-largest shipping line by capacity as Beijing pushes to raise China's profile in global shipping.

Cosco Shipping Ports, a Cosco group company, signed an agreement in June to acquire a 51% stake in Spanish port operator Noatum Ports, securing its biggest foothold at a port in the Mediterranean.

Noatum Ports operates terminals at ports such as the Valencia port, and railroad terminals in Madrid and elsewhere.

Chinese shipping giant aggressively investing in ports, logistics hubs

DAISUKE HARASHIMA, Nikkei staff writer
According to Cosco, the Port of Valencia is one of the three biggest container ports in the Mediterranean, and Noatum Ports owns the biggest terminal there.

Cosco in Kazakhstan

Cosco Shipping Holdings and Lianyungang Port Group, a Chinese port operator based in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, will buy into KTZE-Khorgos Gateway.

The two Chinese companies will each hold a 24.5% stake in the container transportation company affiliated with the Kazakhstan government.

While the two Chinese companies will together hold a 49% stake, a Kazakhstan government-affiliated company will remain KTZE-Khorgos Gateway's top shareholder.

Khorgos is located about 15km from the border with China. It is an important transportation hub connecting China to Europe by rail.

Chinese and Kazakhstan railroad tracks have different widths. This makes it necessary for rail cargoes transported from China to be transferred to another train at Khorgos.

By investing in KTZE-Khorgos Gateway, the Cosco group intends to utilize Khorgos as a logistics hub for transporting Chinese and foreign cargoes arriving at Lianyungang by sea to Europe.

Shipping industry woes

The global shipping industry is struggling amid weak demand, which is partly due to a slowdown in the Chinese economy. A container vessel supply glut has also triggered price competition among shipping companies, further hitting their bottom lines.

Cosco is also struggling amid weak demand and vessel oversupply.

For example, Cosco Shipping Holdings, a listed Cosco group company, posted a net loss of 9.9 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2016, compared with a net profit of 470 million yuan in the previous year.

The Cosco group is now under pressure to make further restructuring efforts, including reducing its fleet of vessels. Under such circumstances, large-scale investments could further hurt the group's financial health.

Arconic faces investor lawsuit over deadly Grenfell Tower fire www.cnn.com

The American manufacturer of cladding panels installed at London's destroyed Grenfell Tower has been accused of defrauding investors in a new lawsuit.
The proposed class action filed Thursday by Arconic shareholder Michael Brave alleges that the company failed to properly disclose the sale of "highly flammable" building materials that were used to refurbish the doomed tower.
At least 80 people were killed when the building burned on June 14.
The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Arconic made false and misleading statements about its "business, operational and compliance policies."
Arconic (ARNCPR) declined to comment on the lawsuit on Friday, but said that the material was certified for use in the U.K.
It said it sells its products "with the expectation that they are used in a system that complies with local building codes and regulations."
Arconic, which was spun out of Alcoa (AA) last year, supplied its Reynobond PE panels to a distributor for instillation at Grenfell Tower in 2015.

Mongolian judges to learn about rule of law and U.S. jurisprudence www.ptonline.net

PRINCETON AND BLUEFIELD — Five judges from Mongolia will participate in the U.S. Congress–sponsored Open World Program on Rule of Law, July 22—29, in Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.

The Mongolian judges’ delegation includes Luvsandorj Odonchimeg, judge; first-instance Intersoum Criminal Court of Dundgobi Province; Mishigdorj Batzorig, judge, first-instance Civil Court of Khan-Uul District; Nandintsetseg Zorigoo, judge, first-instance Criminal Court of Zavkhan Province; Tungalag Lkhagvajargal, chief judge, first instance Administrative Court in Zavkhan Province; Ariuntsetseg Lkhagvasuren, civil judge, first instance Inter-Soum Civil Court of Orkhon Province; English Facilitator Khorolsuren Magvan, political specialist, U.S. Embassy, Ulan Batur, Mongolia. Bulgan Khorloo will serve as interpreter during the group’s study tour.

The Mongolian judges will learn about rule of law, U.S. jurisprudence, and the different levels of courts (city, county, state, and federal levels). Specifically, they will learn about the U.S. Federal District Courts from the Program Mentor, the Honorable U.Ss Federal Magistrate Omar Aboulhosn; the role and functions of Bluefield City Court from Bluefield City Judge David Kersey; the role of Mercer County Circuit Court from Circuit Court Judges Derek Swope, William Sadler, and Mark Wills; the role of Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office from Prosecuting Attorney George Sitler and his colleagues; the role of Mercer County Family Court from Family Court Judge Mary Ellen Griffith; the role of Mercer County Magistrates’ Courts from County Magistrate Michael Flanigan; the types of cases heard in the U.S. Federal District Courts from the Honorable Senior U.S. Federal District Judge David Faber; how Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and independent attorneys support victims of physical, neglect, and emotional abuse and sexual abuse, children/human rights, and restoration of violated rights from Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor and Holly Flanigan, attorney at law; the role of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from West Virginia Supreme Court Chief Justice Allen Loughry III and about the administrative aspects of the court from Gary Johnson, director, Administrative Office of the West Virginia Courts; the role of the ACLU-WV; and the Mongolian judges will learn about how children’s and human rights and the indigent are safeguarded and provided legal support from Shiloh Woodard of Child Protect, Cathy Wallace of ChildLaw Services, Tracy Burks of the Public Defender’s Office, and Devin True of Legal Aid of West Virginia.

West Virginia field staff of Senators Capito and Manchin and Congressman Evan Jenkins will brief the visitors about the role of the federal government in promoting rule of law. A brief visit with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has been requested.

Cultural activities in Appalachia will include a picnic at Rodger Woodrum’s farm in Rocky Gap, Va., and bowling at Carl Mariotti Jr.’s Mountaineer Bowling Lanes.

The Mongolian judges’ delegation will enjoy home stays with Pete Sternloff, Doris Sue and Norris Kantor, Kitt and Gary McCarthy, and Lou Freeman in Bluefield, and Carol and David Bard and Elizabeth Muldoon and Joe Parker in Athens, West Virginia. Host families, a significant ingredient of US-sponsored exchange programs, afford international professionals a unique perspective of American life and culture. More importantly, home stays foster friendships, a key element in people to people diplomacy.

Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center for the US Congress, OPEN WORLD enables leaders of emerging democracies’ political and civic leaders to work with their American counterparts and to experience American-style democracy at the local level. Open World aims to build mutual understanding between the United States and the Russian Federation and newly independent post-Soviet Republics and to work with their leaders as they implement democratic and economic reforms. The Washington, D.C., office of FHI 360 Development administers the program.

Locally, the Mongolian judges’ visitors program will be implemented by the Center for International Understanding, Inc. 110 Lovell Ave., Princeton. For information about how to participate in similar exchanges as citizen diplomats and ambassadors, call 304-425-4593 or email ciu1988@yahoo.com.

Japanese House of Representatives’ Speaker T.Oshima to visit Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar / MONTSAME /. Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan Tadamori Oshima will pay official visit to Mongolia on 17-19 July at the invitation of Parliamentary Speaker M. Enkhbold.
Speaker T.Oshima will meet with the President of Mongolia, the Speaker and Prime Minister of Mongolia. At these meetings, the sides are expected to discuss close cooperation of the parliaments to develop strategic partnership between Mongolia and Japan at bilateral, multilateral and regional levels.
It is the first visit at the level of Japanese legislative body head to Mongolia and the visit is being organized within the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan.
B.Ooluun

North Korea ban lifts coking coal price www.mining.com

The price of coking coal jumped on Friday with the industry benchmark price tracked by the Steel Index up 2.8% to $167.60 a tonne. Premium hard coking coal prices (FOB Australia) are now at the highest level since mid-May.

Coal mine crackdown dims prospects for Mongolia's fortune seekers www.mining.com

Working 50 metres (164 feet) under ground with minimal air supply, Uuganbaatar is one of thousands of Mongolians trying to make a living digging for coal.

Although the mining season does not begin until autumn, when the ground freezes and work is safer, the 31-year-old and his colleagues are seeking to gain a head start by digging a shaft in Nalaikh, one of the nine districts of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar, in late June.

But their mine could soon be shut by the government, which has launched an unprecedented crackdown on sites that don't meet safety standards.

That would mean even fewer opportunities for Mongolia's individual prospectors, who have already been hit hard by the privatisation of mines previously open to all.

Miners such as Uuganbaatar dig for coal under loose arrangements with local unions and private companies.

"Things seem really tough for private miners now," said Uuganbaatar, who, like many Mongolians, goes by one name.

"All the licences have been bought up by influential big shots. Whenever you start to dig somewhere, someone shows up and chases us away. It's impossible to find a place or mine to dig in."

A weak economy and particularly harsh winters drove herdsman from across Mongolia to Nalaikh's private mines in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The district, with a population of nearly 30,000, was home to Mongolia's first state mining company, which collapsed in the 1990s in the midst of a post-communist economic crisis. The firm's dilapidated buildings dot the landscape.

With the economy slowing again after a commodities boom earlier in the decade, authorities fear more people could be tempted down the mines.

"More mines will probably be shut down," said Byambadorj, a woman who ran two private mine shafts with her husband for 13 years until the government closed them in June.

"In Nalaikh, life revolves around mining, and mining is the main means to support our lives," she says, insisting that her mines were operating according to the safety standards.

The government had tried to get companies to improve safety by issuing licenses. An official said nine companies had been granted licenses, but not all had met the standards.

"People were working in shafts with no air supply," said S. Battulga, an official whose department is responsible for reviewing mining licenses across the country.

"Therefore it was requested that the private mining licences in Nalaikh be cancelled," on health and safety grounds, he added.

Nalaikh authorities would like people to switch from mining to work in brick factories but no one seems keen to switch despite the danger.

In the past 25 years, the government has recorded 234 fatalities in Nalaikh's coal mines, although residents say the real number is hundreds higher. (Reporting by Joseph Campbell; Writing by Tom Daly; Editing by Robert Birsel)

By Joseph Campbell

Russia-China trade surges 26% in first half of 2017 www.rt.com

Trade between Moscow and Beijing has increased significantly in the first six months of the year, according to the Chinese customs administration.

Philip Morris: Tobacco giant ordered to compensate Australia www.bbc.com

Tobacco giant Philip Morris has been ordered to pay the Australian government millions of dollars after unsuccessfully suing the nation over its world-first plain-packaging laws.
In 2012, Australia legislated that cigarettes must be sold in unappealing packets with graphic health warnings.
Philip Morris had tried to force the laws to be overturned, but a court dismissed its claim in 2015.
The tobacco giant has now been ordered to pay the government's legal costs.
The exact sum was redacted from the international Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) decision, but the Sydney Morning Herald reported it was as high as A$50m (£30m; $38m).
In May, Bloomberg reported that the World Trade Organization (WTO) had decided Australia's laws were a legitimate public health measure - making them more likely to be adopted overseas.
Big tobacco's protest
After plain packaging was introduced, Philip Morris, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco launched a constitutional challenge in Australia's highest court.
When that bid failed, Philip Morris went to the PCA to claim the legislation breached Australia's Bilateral Investment Treaty with Hong Kong.

Qatar wants monetary compensation for Arab embargo www.cnn.com

Qatar plans to help citizens and companies claim compensation for their losses from what the country calls a "blockade" by its neighbors.
The small Gulf nation on Sunday announced the formation of a special committee with which individuals and firms can file claims for damages. The committee will help legally pursue the claims, according to Qatar's justice ministry.
"We are confident that Qatari lawyers can defend Qatar and its symbols through proper legal procedures," the ministry said on Twitter, adding that it will take "appropriate legal measures to go after the abusers of Qatar."