China's first domestically produced passenger jet has taken off on its maiden commercial flight.

State TV showed the C919 rising into the skies above Shanghai, heading to the capital Beijing early on Sunday.

It was built by the Commercial Aviation Corporation of China (Comac) in the hope of breaking the dominance of Airbus and Boeing's single-aisle jets.

But the 164-seater still relies heavily on Western components, including engines and avionics.

Its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing, with more than 130 passengers, was completed in just under three hours.

The aircraft is scheduled to fly back to the coastal city.

State-backed China Eastern Airline has ordered five planes.

Comac - which plans to produce 150 planes annually in five years' time - says it has already secured more than 1,200 orders for the C919.

Some experts, however, say that most of these orders are believed to be letters of intent from domestic customers.

President Xi Jinping, who sat in the cockpit of a mock-up C919 a few years ago, has described the project as one of China's most innovative achievements.

Sole yokozuna Terunofuji wrapped up the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with a 14-1 record Sunday by beating ozeki Takakeisho in the final bout of the 15-day meet.

The 31-year-old grand champion had clinched his eighth Emperor's Cup by beating sekiwake Kiribayama a day earlier at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan after coming into the tournament under an injury cloud.

Terunofuji underwent surgery on both knees last October and had missed all or part of the last four tournaments, but he dispelled concerns about his health with a dominant performance in his return to the raised ring.

His only blemish was a surprise loss to No. 6 maegashira Meisei (8-7) on Day 9.

"After the tournament started, I promised myself that I would do my best for all 15 days," said Terunofuji, who won his previous championship here a year ago. "Results aside, I wanted to make sure I stayed determined all the way until the end."

"I had the surgery because I wanted to start a new page. I wanted to come back as soon as possible and show everyone my sumo on the dohyo. So that was going through my mind every day."

The sport's only current ozeki, Takakeisho (8-7) did just enough to shake off demotion-threatened "kadoban" status at the tournament while coming off an injury-affected 3-4-8 record in March.

He made little headway with his opening charging against the Mongolian-born yokozuna, who seized on Takakeisho's subsequent pulling attempt to grab the ozeki and push him out.

The nephew of retired Mongolian great Asashoryu won the battle of grappling technicians with an underarm throw, taking a 7-6 edge in their head-to-head rivalry.

Kiribayama's ascent to sumo's second-highest rank is set to be formalized after he surpassed the standard ozeki promotion benchmark of 33 wins over the course of three tournaments as a komusubi or sekiwake.

"I really treated every individual bout as important," Kiribayama said. "I was more nervous this tournament than usual. I told myself I just needed to stick to my brand of sumo."

Daieisho (10-5) reached the 10-win threshold by overwhelming fellow sekiwake Wakamotoharu.

The winner of a single Emperor's Cup flew out of the blocks to execute a frontal thrust down against Wakamotoharu, who took home his first Technique Prize after finishing 10-5 in his debut at the third-highest rank.

Former ozeki Asanoyama, returning to the top flight following his lengthy suspension for breaking coronavirus safety rules, finished 12-3.

Fighting as a No. 14, he had been in contention for the title until the penultimate day.

The International Living Donor Liver Transplantation Society, the State First Central Clinic, and the National Cancer Center are co-organizing an international scientific theoretical conference "iLDLT Colloquium 2023 in Ulaanbaatar."

World leaders in liver transplantation from the USA, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, India, and Belgium are participating in the conference. High technologies for kidney, liver, and bone stem cell transplantation have been fully introduced in the health sector of Mongolia, while teams for pancreas and heart transplantation have been formed and making preparatory works.

Mongolia is registered internationally as the 45th country to have introduced liver transplantation. Previously, our citizens had to go abroad for this type of surgery and treatment at a high price, but from 2011 they started to carry out these surgeries in the country, and since 2021 the Mongolian Government and the Ministry of Health have implemented a comprehensive policy and organ transplant treatment is now covered by health insurance 100 percent free of charge.

The National Liver Transplantation Team has successfully performed 200 surgeries. The State Great Khural approved the Law on Donors and is working to resolve the issue of nonliving donors. Construction of the Organ Transplantation Center is currently under discussion.

The European Parliament hosted a roundtable event on The Constitutional Reform Processes in Kazakhstan and Mongolia: Lessons and Perspectives, dedicated to current trends in the democratisation of political life in the region, Kazinform refers to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Members and staff of the European Parliament, national parliaments of member states, representatives of other key EU institutions, diplomatic corps, academic community, international NGOs and mass media participated in the event held on the initiative of MEP Wlodziemerz Cimoszewicz.

Among others, Chairwoman of the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan Elvira Azimova, Chairwoman of the Committee on Legislation, Judicial and Legal Reform of the Mazhilis Snezhanna Imasheva and Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Brussels Margulan Baimukhan addressed the round table.

In his welcoming remarks, Cimoszewicz underlined Kazakhstan and Mongolia were important partners for the European Union which encourages consolidation of democratic institutions in both countries to support their stable and successful development, noted usefulness of the comparative analysis and experience exchange between the countries of the region taking into account specifics in the development of each of them.

«What is, now I believe, exceptionally important in these countries is to popularise the knowledge about these very important reforms, which are a chance to build stable, working democratic systems,» Cimoszewicz said.

Azimova thanked the organizers of the round table for highlighting the topic relevant for the development of our region and its cooperation with the EU. She informed the participants about the launching of the work and the mandate of the Constitutional Court of Kazakhstan, which was established within the amendments to the country’s Constitution, following the nationwide referendum of 2022 and «ultimately must be the main foundation of the human rights protection system».

«Distinctive characteristic of all constitutional control bodies is the combination of theoretical and scientific approaches with a profound understanding of practical aspects and realities. The Constitutional Court rejects the mere pursuit of justice without considering other crucial factors. It strives to establish a rule of law that addresses contemporary needs of individuals, society and the state, while remaining connected to actual circumstances,» she stressed.

At the same time, «the broadened jurisdiction of the court, which includes the review of normative legal acts based on citizens’ appeals, as well as those submitted by the Commissioner for Human Rights and the Prosecutor General, signifies the humanistic and human rights-focused approach of the constitutional reform in Kazakhstan,» emphasised Azimova.

Eamon Gilmore, Special Representative of the European Union for Human Rights, in his statement stressed the importance of constructive interaction between the state and civil society in the implementation of constitutional reforms. «At the heart of the European Union’s partnerships with Mongolia and Kazakhstan are the fundamental principles of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. This means we … support each other in their practical manifestation in legislative changes and in their implementation,» he stressed. In this connection, according to him, in Brussels, they «look forward to the effective implementation of the recent constitutional reforms in Kazakhstan.»

According to Ambassador Baimukhan, «this year, Kazakhstan has completed the initial stage of large-scale political reforms and a systemic transformation of the political system has been carried out, creating a new, more democratic model of government.» In the context of relations with the EU, he stressed that «while our economic and political cooperation is significant, we also believe it is important to continue our strong dialogue with the European Parliament, crucial for us in terms of exchanging best law-making practices.»

Salvatore De Meo, Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament, shared his views about the relevance of the topic of the round table. According to him, «Kazakhstan is facing an important democratic development and search» and therefore «the EU is watching very closely the constitutional reforms undertaken.» To this end, he noted the European institutions were open to substantive cooperation to consolidate democratic institutions through further improvement of the legislation in partner countries.

During the discussions at the round table, among important innovations mentioned were the easing the requirements to the registration of political parties in Kazakhstan, which led to the increase in their number, and the holding of the parliamentary elections on March 19, 2023, which resulted in the noticeable strengthening of political pluralism in the national legislature.

In this context, MP Imasheva presented a review of the key areas of the constitutional reform, implemented with the participation of the Parliament, including the transition from the super-presidential model to the presidential republic with greatly increased powers of the legislative branch, the expansion of citizen participation in the governance of the country and the improvement of mechanisms for the protection of citizens’ rights.

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In general, the round table participants noted important positive changes in the dynamics of the institutional development in Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as the need to continue substantive and constructive dialogue with the EU on the further implementation of reforms aimed at strengthening the democratic foundations of the development of states and societies in the region.

On May 25, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, B. Battsetseg, held a meeting with Her Highness Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al-Saud, the Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, Minister B. Battsetseg expressed the intention to support the development of the tourism industry between Mongolia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following the declaration of "Years to Visit Mongolia" by the Mongolian Government for the period 2023-2025.

The parties agreed to establish joint communication and promotional efforts between enterprises in the tourism industry of both countries.

Additionally, Minister B. Battsetseg proposed the establishment of direct flights to enhance tourism activities between the two countries, as well as air transport connections between Mongolia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, discussions were held on activating trade and economic investment activities between the two nations, specifically focusing on the supply of halal meat and meat products from Mongolia to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Her Highness Princess Haifa bint Muhammad Al-Saud, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, expressed her commitment to improving and expanding activities related to tourism and cultural development with Mongolia.

Furthermore, members of the Saudi Arabian Motorsport Association expressed their interest in visiting Mongolia during the upcoming summer.

Global thermal coal prices are stabilising this year in a range near $200 a tonne that is less than half of 2022’s record highs, analysts and industry officials say, with rising supplies providing respite to consumers roiled by last year’s volatility.

Analysts expect the benchmark Newcastle coal index to average $175-$212 a tonne this year, a steep premium to the $86 average for the ten years preceding Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but down more than 50% from September’s highs at $440.

Last year, punitive Western sanctions on Russia pushed European buyers to pay top dollar for fuel to fire power plants, pushing up global prices. Russia was Europe’s biggest supplier of coal and natural gas before the war.

Coal prices in the tighter range expected this year, though, will help utilities and other users better plan fuel purchases, easing pressure on economies battling high inflation. Fuel prices typically account for more than half the total cost of generating electricity.

Alexandre Claude, chief executive of London-based analytics firm DBX Commodities, said he expects lower volatility in 2023 compared with 2022 because trade flows had stabilized after the “energy shock” that followed the invasion of Ukraine.

Argus Consulting expects global coal exports to rise 4.4% this year, with imports set to increase 5%. China is seen ramping up imports by 11%, with Australian exports rising 9.4% after declining for three straight years.

July Ndlovu, chairman of the World Coal Association (WCA) and chief executive of South Africa’s Thungela Resources, said Europe’s “disproportionate” role in deciding coal prices was over.

“Going forward … what happens with China and India is what would drive the fundamentals for energy, because that’s where growth and energy demand is,” Ndlovu told Reuters.

Australia’s Westpac said this month it expects the Newcastle benchmark to average $193 per tonne over the nine months ending December 2023, while Citi said in April it expected the index to average $175 over 9-12 months. Australia’s chief economist expects Newcastle benchmark prices to average $212 this year.

As of Monday, Newcastle coal was just over $159 a tonne on a free-on-board basis, at the low end of a $159-$179 range it has held during the current quarter and a long way from the $180-$403 band of the first quarter.

“We expect coal prices including the Newcastle benchmark to remain supported mostly due to higher cash (production) costs for the coal miners,” said DBX’s Claude, explaining why prices likely aren’t headed back to pre-invasion, pre-pandemic levels.

Demand and supply

Top exporters Indonesia and Australia are expected to ramp up shipments to meet higher demand from India and parts of Southeast Asia, making up for small declines in supply from elsewhere including Russia, according to estimates by Australia’s chief economist and Argus.

The Australian chief economist’s office expects supplies from Australia to jump 7.8% and Indonesian exports to rise 2.4%, while imports by Asia rise 2.3% to 852 million tonnes and shipments to Europe fall more than 15%.

Global coal demand and supply Global coal demand and supply

Exports from Russia are expected to be lower, Argus and Australia’s estimates show, with the narrowing spread between Russia’s discounted coal and other benchmarks reducing the competitiveness of Russian coal.

Steep discounts to benchmark prices helped Russia lure Asian buyers after the Western sanctions prevented sales to Europe, but that advantage is disappearing.

The forecast for an El Nino weather pattern, typically associated with drier conditions, could also reduce rain-related disruptions to supply and support higher coal output from key regions and ease prices back from the highs of the past year.

A plunge in natural gas prices is expected to aid Europe’s shift away from coal this year as well and that will have a similar effect.

Any indication of a slower-than-expected economic recovery in China, however, could have a larger impact on prices despite this year’s growth in imports and rising domestic coal output.

“Price stability will probably be driven by how the Chinese central government decides in terms of their energy policies,” said WCA chairman Ndlovu.

(By Sudarshan Varadhan and Carman Chew; Editing by Tom Hogue)

Mongolia is keen to tap India as a probable partner for supply of coking coal and has reportedly approached the Steel Ministry to explore probable tie-ups, those familiar with the developments told businessline.

Coking coal is a key steel-making raw material and India — the world’s second largest crude steel producer — is amongst the largest importer of the feedstock. Most of the imports are met from Australia, followed by the US, Indonesia and Mozambique.

However, in view of increasing volatility of coking coal prices in recent times, India’s steel mills have been keen to tap into alternate markets like Russia. US and Indonesian shipments nearly doubled in FY23. In FY23, coking coal imports were 54.3 million tonnes (mt).

“Mongolia is keen to supply coking coal to Indian mills and has approached the Ministry with proposals. In fact, some company level discussions were also held. But the decision has to be taken by steel makers,” the official aware of the discussions said.

It is being said, Mongolia is building a washing station for coking coal — with a 2024 deadline — and it could help export coking coal here. Joint venture tie-ups could also be explored.

Major concerns

According to officials in the Ministry, one of the major concerns raised by Indian mills is the “land-locked nature of Mongolia” and the possibility of transporting coal “over long distances” leading to an increase in costs. Then there are other concerns on whether the quality of Mongolian coking coal will suit or blend with that of the blast furnaces of Indian mills.

Reportedly, Mongolia has rail connectivity to Russia and China and the ports of these countries. The push is towards leveraging these lines for exporting coal. Three major rail projects have been commissioned in 2022 and four new railroad checkpoints will be opened, primarily with a focus on mineral transportation.

Mongolian coal on exchanges

Mongolia, incidentally, is exporting its coal at prices set via auctions on the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE), beginning February, and has reportedly stopped signing direct sales contracts with overseas buyers.

The government there approved a regulation requiring parties involved in coal exports to make their trades through open electronic trading via the MSE.

Under the previous trading mechanism, buyers only paid mine-mouth prices to miners and sorted out the logistics by themselves. The new so-called “border prices” will factor in the transportation fees and aim to simplify the coal export process, it is being said.

Mongolia will host the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 2026, the country’s Ministry of Environment and Tourism on Monday announced on Monday.

The Convention entered into force in 1996, becoming the first, and so far only legally binding international framework to address desertification, a priority in the fight against climate change.

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the UNCCD’s supreme decision-making body; in addition to overseeing the implementation of the Convention, it is also a platform for information exchange and sharing.

Hosting COP17 will provide Mongolia with an opportunity to raise awareness in the international community about the relationship between desertification and the supply of raw materials necessary for the energy transition.

Desertification is already one of Mongolia’s biggest challenges. Since 2021 it has also been one of the priorities of the Mongolian government under Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.

According to the Atlas of Desertification published by the National Agency of Meteorology and Environment, more than 76 per cent of the country’s territory has been affected by desertification.

The level of land degradation varies according to the area, but the Atlas shows that more than 20 per cent of the territory is either strongly or very strongly affected by the problem.

This degradation threatens about 90 per cent of Mongolia’s agricultural land, dedicate to farming and pastoral activities, which are important economically and culturally.

Many factors are behind this development, such as the natural expansion of the Gobi Desert, as well as human activities like farming and mining.

The latter is particularly relevant today since the country is rich in coal, copper, gold, as well as rare minerals, which are key to the energy transition.

Mining continues to be Mongolia's main industry, representing about 22 per cent of its GDP in 2021 and more than 80 per cent of exports, this according World Bank data.

In 2020, the government announced Vision 2050, a long-term development plan centred on economic diversification; however, the growing demand for copper and rare minerals is set to slow it down.

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene wants Mongolia to play a key role in providing the raw materials needed for the energy transition.

Tourism, which accounted for more than 7 per cent of the country's GDP in 2019, was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, not to mention the war in Ukraine which led to sanctions on Russian flight routes.

The mining sector’s growing importance combined with desertification will require considerable efforts to mitigate land degradation.

One of the measures adopted by the government is a massive forestation project to plant “One Billion Trees” in non-forested areas for at least 50 years. As part of this, Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene announced plans to plant more than 40 million trees this year.

Yet, without a commitment to greater sustainability in the mining sector, the fight against desertification is unlikely to be effective.

More than 290,000 livestock have been killed in the Mongolian provinces of Sukhbaatar and Khentii due to the recent dust and snow storms, local media reported on Thursday.

The overall number of fatalities is however, expected to increase since many livestock still remain still unaccounted for, Xinhua news agency quoted authorities as saying.

Heavy blizzards and intense dust storms swept through Sukhbaatar and Khentii provinces late last week, causing severe damage.

A total of 127 people, primarily nomadic herders, went missing in the provinces due to the storms.

Among them, 125 were found alive, while two were killed.

Mongolia has a harsh continental climate as strong winds, dust and snow storms are common.