Mongolia targets to put the 15-20 km railways between Shiveehuren-Ceke and Bichigt- Zhuengadabuqi ports into operation in July 2023 and is expected to deliver 250,000-300,000 tonnes of cargoes through the new lines by the end of the year, Mongolian media reported.

Mongolian government has assigned the task of negotiating with the Chinese side to make a detailed agreement on the technical conditions and construction of the cross-border railway to Mongolian Railway.

The rail company is preparing for negotiations in February, media reported.

The construction work continues to intensifying. Chinese side needs to build 800 meters of railway to Shiveehuren port and 3 kilometers to Bichigt, while Mongolia has to construct 7 km to Bichigt and 13 km to Shiveehuren, P. Gankhyu, Executive Director of Mongolian Railway said in a press release.

P. Gankhyu also revealed the 416.1 km Tavantolgoi-Zunbayan railway, which has been put into operation since March 2022, had completed a total of 729,500 tonnes of cargoes.

The railway company targets to export 5 million tonnes of coal through Tavantolgoi-Zunbayan railway and 2.8 million tonnes through Tavantolgoi- Gashuunsukhait railway in 2023, P. Gankhyu said.

(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Tammy Yang)

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday that he expected to continue travelling despite his knee ailment, joking that "weeds never die" and adding that he hoped to go to Mongolia in September.

The trip would be the first ever by a pope to the Asian country.

During his customary conversation with reporters on his return from a foreign trip, this time from Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, the 86-year-old pope was asked about his health and travel plans.

For months, a chronic knee ailment has forced him to use a wheelchair and a cane. During recent trips, he has held the news conference on the plane while sitting, as he did on Sunday.

"On September 29 I will go to Marseille and from there I will fly to Mongolia but that is not yet certain, there is a possibility," he said.

The day trip to the southern French city of Marseille was known about but the mention of Mongolia was a complete surprise to reporters, so much so that some thought he might have said Angola.

Speaking of his health, Francis, who became pope nearly 10 years ago, said "You know that weeds never die. It (his health) is not like it was at the start of the pontificate, that is true. This knee is bothersome but it moves ahead slowly. Then we will see."

Last August Francis named Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, an Italian, the first cardinal to be based in Mongolia, where he is the Catholic Church's administrator.

The country has fewer than 1,500 Catholics but is strategically significant because it borders with China, where the Vatican is trying to improve the situation of Catholics in the communist country.

Francis, who was on his way home from his 40th foreign trip as pope, also said he would probably go to India next year. He is due to go to Portugal this August.

Reporting by Philip Pullella Editing by Frances Kerry

MBD's Mongolian (15) business delegation including 3 UB based British businessmen and a disabled/wheelchaired businessman from Selenge province successfully attended MBCC's "Doing business with Mongolia" seminar at Hogan Lovells and our business program in London, UK between Jan 29-Feb 03.2023 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between UK and Mongolia.

Mr.B.Enkhsukh the Ambassador of Mongolia to the UK welcomed the delegation at the Embassy and the group delegates visited to the House of Commons by special arrangement, and had a joint lunch with John Grogan Chairman of MBCC.

MBD's next business program in London will be hosted in Dec 2023.

Mongolia has the world's highest rate of cancer mortality per 100,000, the country's National Cancer Center said Saturday.

In 2022, 4,548 people died of cancer in Mongolia with a population of 3.4 million, while at least 6,885 people were diagnosed with the disease in the country, the center said in a statement on the occasion of the World Cancer Day that falls on Feb. 4 each year.

More than 70 percent of new cancer cases have been diagnosed too late, and 87 percent of cancer patients are those aged 45 years or older, it said, adding that liver, gastric, esophageal and cervical cancers accounted for the majority of all registered cases.

Mongolia launched nationwide health checkups from last May to detect serious diseases early so as to promote a healthy lifestyle and narrow the life expectancy gap between men and women.

Late diagnosis makes treatment less likely to succeed and reduces survival chances, the country's Ministry of Health said in a statement, urging the public to actively participate in the checkups free of charge.

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya will travel to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Tokyo, Japan February 5-10, 2023.

In Mongolia February 5-8, Under Secretary Zeya will meet with a range of government, civil society, and religious leaders to deepen robust U.S.-Mongolia partnership on democracy, human rights, law enforcement, and rule of law-related issues. She will also launch a child-friendly space supporting victims of child trafficking during investigations through the U.S.-Mongolia $5.5 million Child Protection Compact Partnership, ensuring trauma-informed and victim-centered practices. The Under Secretary will underscore the U.S. commitment to Mongolia’s role as a democratic partner in the region and globally.

In Tokyo February 8-10, Under Secretary Zeya will lead a U.S. delegation launching the inaugural U.S.-Japan Strategic Dialogue on Democratic Resilience with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Highlighting the strength of the U.S.-Japan relationship and our shared democratic values, the Dialogue will identify opportunities for further collaboration on strengthening democracy, human rights, and gender equality, including the human rights of marginalized persons, throughout the Indo-Pacific during Japan’s G7 presidency year. The delegation will also include Special Envoy for the Advancement of the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Jessica Stern and representatives from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Under Secretary Zeya will also meet with Government of Japan and civil society partners to discuss deepening collaboration and developing shared solutions to a range of human rights, humanitarian, and democracy-related challenges.

-------------------------------

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

In January 2023, the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) purchased 519.8 kg of precious metals.

BoM branches in Darkhan-Uul and Bayankhongor aimags bought 44.2 kg and 28.9 kg of precious metals, respectively in January.

The Bank of Mongolia sets the purchase price of precious metals based on the global market price. As of January, the highest purchase price of BoM was MNT 216,205 per 1 gram of gold, and the average purchase price was MNT 210,307.

Zagreb Open Ranking Series will take place in the capital city of Croatia until February 5. United World Wrestling is planning to hold a four-ranking series this year. The champions of the contest will be awarded CHF 1500, the following silver medalist CHF 750, and the bronze medalist CHF 500.

On the first day of the Zagreb Open, men’s 57, 61, 65, 70, 74, and 86 kg categories’ wrestles were run, and representing Mongolia, three wrestlers took part in men’s 61, 65, and 70 kg categories.

Specifically, in the men’s 65 kg category, Bronze Medalist of World Championships Tumur-Ochir Tulga continued to impress in the finals with his 4-1 win over Joseph Christopher MC KENNA (USA), proving T. Tulga will be a valiant world wrestler for Mongolia.

As expected, Bronze Medalist of the Under-23 and Adult World Championships Narmandakh Narankhuu (at 61 kg) impressively reached the finals and faced off against Reza Ahmadali ATRINAGHARCHI (IRI). Unfortunately, he lost his chance to bag the gold medal with a 3-11 loss over ATRINAGHARCHI and brought the silver medal to the Mongolian team.

International Master of Sport Enkhtuya Temuulen in the men’s 70 kg category contended against Georgy Elbakidze (Georgia) for the bronze medal but finished his wrestling path in this tournament with an 8-12 loss over Elbakidze.

On the second day of the Zagreb Open, Bronze Medalist of World Championships and International Master of Sports Ganbaatar Gankhuyag defeated Pruthviraj Babasaheb PATIL (IND) with his stunning 9-1 win in the men’s 92 kg.

The silver medalist of the World Championships, State Honored Athlete of Mongolia D. Otgonjargal dropped against the Mariya STADNIK (AZE) with a 2-6 loss. She is a four-time Olympic medalist and a European ten-time champion.

Mongolia fell six places in the corruption index where the country of 3.4 million placed in the 116th out of 180 countries, according to the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. The least corrupt countries in the region include New Zealand and Singapore.

In 2020, the organization aimed to show the transparency of political financing and the aggressive entry of private interests into politics with the Corruption Perceptions Index. In 2021, when there was a pandemic, the level of corruption and how to fight it was emphasized. For the 2022 corruption index, more armed conflict and peace and security are emphasized.

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks of countries around the world, based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived to be. The results are given on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.