Chinese thermal coal futures jumped to a new intraday record as heavy rains and flooding shuttered more mines in the country’s biggest coal producing region.

Floods have closed 60 of the 682 coal mines in Shanxi province, which has produced 30% of China’s supply of the fuel this year, adding to a worsening energy crunch that’s a threat to the nation’s economy.

Coal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange rose as much as 11.6% Monday to 1,408.20 yuan ($218.54) a ton, a new intraday record for the most-active contract.

(By Dan Murtaugh)

China's energy blackouts have put the country's coal-heavy national electricity grid back into the spotlight as the country plans to pivot away from coal as part of its emission reduction commitment.

The shortage shows the difficulty China faces in ensuring energy security for its enormous population and also reveals Beijing's dependence on seaborne coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), which China's leaders are keen to remedy.

One solution could be lying just across the Mongolian border. Elixir Energy, an Australian-listed gas exploration and development company, believes there could be a giant reserve of natural gas (in the form of coal-bed methane) underneath the South Gobi and is now one of several Australian companies looking in the area.

"We're solely focused on Mongolia," Elixir Energy’s CEO Neil Young said to Mongolia Weekly. "We began exploring in 2019 and made the first discovery of gas in Mongolia in early 2020, just as the pandemic was breaking, and have been successful in raising capital to do more exploration and appraisal work with a view to establishing a large resource on the border of the world's largest energy-importing nation – China."

Young first went to Mongolia in 2011 and has experience with coal-seam gas projects in Queensland, Australia that now supply east Asia, including China.

"My insight was that if you can take gas from Queensland coal seams, liquefy it, ship it to China and make money, hopefully, you can do the same in Mongolia without the high costs of the shipping and liquefaction process," he explains. "However it took years of working with the Mongolian government before we obtained the first contract. Now there are two other ASX listed companies looking at similar projects."

It might seem strange that a huge reserve of untapped natural gas could still be found so close to the world's largest energy market – but Mongolia's historical alignment with the Soviet Union, difficult local geology, and low demand from China in the late 20th century in effect prevented exploration and development.

"The USSR had almost endless oil and gas supplies of its own," Young says. "Mongolia was a tiny economy that didn't need its own gas, and in 1990 China was still exporting energy rather than importing it. That's obviously changed substantially."

Mongolia's petroleum law was updated in 2014 to create new fiscal regulations for resources like coal-bed methane, which after a delay has begun to see the beginnings of a rush for Mongolian gas.

"It's become easier for regulators to deal with further licenses of similar types," Young says. "It's always harder to be the first."

The attraction is clearly the potential competitiveness of Mongolian gas in the Chinese market given the proximity to major east coast Chinese cities and the country’s gas transmission infrastructure. As a gas explorer, Elixir Energy's strategy is to map and develop the South Gobi project (called Nomgon IX) to the point that a major energy company would step in with the huge capital resources necessary to construct pipelines into China.

"Location is important for gas compared to other commodities," Young says. "Gas costs a lot to move. In long-term pricing, gas coming by ship into east Asia will be far more expensive than piping gas from Mongolia. You'd make better margins.

"So our job is to spend five to ten years exploring and appraising the resource, but it's optimal for the resources industry for a larger and different party to develop the asset beyond that point."

Young is optimistic that a project like Nomgon will attract enough investment to see Mongolia export its own gas to China. This in turn could even subsidize a greater role for gas in Mongolia's own national electricity grid.

"An export project like that can easily attract enough capital," he says. "If I was the Mongolian government, I'd see that as the best way to get domestic demand subsidized."

 

Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- A silent protest of "stuffed bunnies" to demand better protection of girls from sexual violence was organized in Mongolia on Monday on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child.

Sexual violence against girls has sharply increased in Mongolia in recent years, Batnasan Oyungerel, head of the Mongolian Women's Federation, which organized the protest, told Xinhua.

In 2017, about 130 girls were sexually abused in the country, with the number rising to 330 in 2020, Oyungerel said, adding that the number only includes cases recorded by police.

During the silent protest, the women's federation deployed a total of 330 stuffed bunnies at the central square in Ulan Bator, representing the 330 girls who were sexually abused last year, Oyungerel said.

In 2012, the United Nations designated Oct. 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child to recognize girls' rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

New York (CNN Business)"No Time to Die," the latest entry in the James Bond franchise, notched an estimated $56 million at the North American box office this weekend, according to its studio, MGM.

That number met the studio's expectations for the film, which stood at $55 million to $60 million going into the weekend, but was nonetheless a somewhat muted performance for the Bond brand — one of the most lucrative franchises in Hollywood history.

In short, with "No Time to Die" as the final film of the Daniel Craig era and one of the most anticipated films of the year, the results are solid but a bit soft for 007. Keeping with the Bond theme, Hollywood, theater owners and MGM are likely neither shaken nor stirred by this result.

The film has already racked up $313 million at the worldwide box office since opening internationally last week.

The totals for "No Time to Die" are ultimately fine, but with all of the attention — and good reviews — there were some analysts who felt it could exceed expectations.

Why it didn't is likely due to several factors.

For starters, the pandemic is still ongoing which makes projecting box office returns week-to-week a bit of a gamble. The film is also fairly long, clocking in at two hours and 43 minutes. That type of duration could have stifled the number of screenings the film had, despite opening in 4,407 theaters.

And Bond fans skew older than, say, Marvel lovers, so audiences may wait until next week or longer to see the film.

In the end, this weekend gives Craig the second-lowest opening of his run as Bond. Only his first film, 2006's "Casino Royale," earned less in its debut, according to Comscore (SCOR).

"Expectations certainly ran high for 'No Time to Die,'" Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst at Comscore, told CNN Business. "While the long running time may have played a role in this weekend's performance, it also is reflective of the fact that the more mature moviegoer — who has an interest in the Bond franchise — generally take their time to get out to the movie theater."

He added that the film will "likely be taking its time to build its box office."

Now, theaters look to next week as another of cinema's most iconic names — Michael Myers — returns in Universal's "Halloween Kills." The horror film starring Jamie Lee Curtis hits theaters and the streaming service Peacock on Friday.

The General Election Commission (GEC) has announced today (11 October) re-polling at two electoral districts of the by-election for two parliament seats.

On Sunday (10 October), at 10.00 pm, the polls closed at two electoral districts of the by-election and turnouts were 37.04 percent in Khentii province and 39.61 percent in the capital city’s Songinokhairkhan district; failed to meet 50 percent. According to the GEC, the 50 percent turnout met the requirement in 17 polling stations out of 148 in two electoral districts.

The re-polling will be held on 16 October the two electoral districts of by election and turnout is not required to meet 50 percent.

Two by-elections were held to find replacements for D.Sumiyabazar, who was elected to parliament from Songinokhairkhan district before assuming position as Ulaanbaatar Mayor, and President U.Khurelsukh, was elected as lawmaker from Khentii province before becoming President.

The Ministry of Health reported that 1,348 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours. Specifically, 835 cases were confirmed in Ulaanbaatar city, with 513 cases in rural regions.

As of today, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mongolia stands at 326, 738. 6,477 patients have made recoveries in the past 24 hours.

Furthermore, 14 new COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, raising the country’s death toll to 1,377. Currently, 19,957 people are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 whilst 55,387 people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 are being isolated at home

Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has ramped up counter-desertification efforts days after launching a national campaign to plant a billion trees by 2030.

On Sunday, foreign ambassadors, diplomats and staff of international organizations in Mongolia, as well as representatives of various fields of Mongolia joined the campaign and planted trees in Nalaikh District of the Mongolian capital.

"This national tree-planting campaign concerns not only Mongolians but also the whole world. I believe that Mongolia and (the) Mongolian people are contributing to the well-being of mankind via the campaign," Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh told foreign representatives during the event.

The "Billion Trees" campaign was officially launched on Oct. 4. Khurelsukh earlier told United Nations General Assembly that the country aims to combat climate change and desertification through the campaign.

"Yellow dust storms originating from Mongolia reach other countries such as China, South Korea and Japan, causing damage to health, ecosystems and the economy. More than 70 percent of Mongolia's total territory has been struck by desertification," Khurelsukh said. "So today we must fight and act together against the desertification, and we must not waste time."

Planting trees is not only about planting seedlings, he said, as the most important thing is to care for the planted trees.

Hailing the Mongolian president's initiative, Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Chai Wenrui said it is a good initiative not only for the future generations of Mongolia, but also for the earth, adding that China is ready to work with Mongolia to combat desertification.

Major companies in Mongolia have committed to joining the national campaign to fulfill their social responsibilities, according to the president.

For example, Mongolian state-owned mining enterprises, Erdenet and Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, are expected to plant 100 million trees and 180 million trees, respectively.

Mongolia is expected to spend at least 1 percent of its GDP (gross domestic product) annually to reach the target in time.

With girls in Mongolia spending more time online and falling prey to cyber harassment, an ADB technical assistance is providing digital and crowdsourcing approaches to prevent new forms of gender-based violence, increase reporting, and hold predators accountable.

ADB technical assistance is providing digital and crowdsourcing approaches to prevent new forms of gender-based violence, such as cyber-bullying and online harassment.

During the coronavirus disease (COVID19) pandemic in Mongolia, most girls who had internet access spent hours online for school, socialization, and coping with the lockdown.

Sodnoi, like many adolescents, missed her friends and craved for companionship outside of family. She made her social media profile public, and gave her mobile phone number and email address freely online. She knew of the risks but all she wanted was to make new friends.

It didn’t take long for Sodnoi to receive attention. Much of it was unwanted and sexual in nature. Like the majority of teenage girls experiencing gender-based violence online and via their mobile phones, she blocked various accounts, and ignored the rest.

In Mongolia, similar to many areas in Asia and the Pacific where health protocols required children and adolescents to stay at home, schools used televised and internet-based classes to ensure continuity in education. The constant online exposure combined with risky online behavior and the need to reach out socially made adolescents more vulnerable to cyber bullying and sexual harassment.

With girls in Mongolia spending more time online during the COVID-19 pandemic, new forms of gender-based violence such as cyber-bullying are becoming prevalent, ADB is supporting in the identification of approaches to address these.

Anticipating this, ADB provided technical assistance to meet the girls where they are – in cyberspace – using the same technologies and platforms to help them protect themselves, and hold predators accountable.

“It was critical for young Mongolians themselves to pinpoint the online threats they face and the behaviors that make them vulnerable, and to co-design innovative digital approaches to counter new forms of gender-based violence such as cyber-bullying” said M. Teresa Kho, Director General at ADB’s East Asia Department.

Designing apps to protect girls

Over seventy local teams registered for a hackathon to co-create solutions to prevent and address online gender-based violence. The three apps that made it to the finals – Online SOS, eProtect, and MeToo – conducted their own baseline surveys that showed the breadth of the problem, zeroing in on victim and predator behaviors.

The surveys showed that teenage girls received more cyber sexual harassment when compared to any other demographic. This ranged from receiving nude images and sexual messages, being coerced to provide their own nude pictures, or asked for sexual favors. Believing that the harassments were too common anyway, adolescents simply ignored the messages, blocked the harassers, and when continuously harassed, deleted their social media accounts or changed mobile phone numbers. All were defensive strategies but the lack of accountability from harassers fueled more and increasingly overt predatory behavior.

Accountability for predators

"Predators must be made accountable for their actions because all too often, with victims simply blocking or ignoring them, they become bolder and repeat the violence with increasing audacity,” said Veronica Mendizabal Joffre, Social Development Specialist at ADB. The eProtect app developed during the hackathon allows those who were harassed to collect and upload evidence, and provides information on how deleted texts and data can be retrieved from social media accounts.

The eProtect app walks victims through the options and steps to trigger official complaints as these send strong signals to predators that their actions are criminal. One option is through the social media platform where the violence occurred to initiate the internal processes that most platforms are obligated to follow, including acting against the accounts used by predators. eProtect also helps victims to officially submit complaints, statements, and evidence to the government-run eMongolia platform to verify if complaints are genuine. eMongolia then assists in following up the cases with harassers and specific social media platforms. eMongolia is governed by privacy provisions which protect the identities of victims.

UN Day of the Girl Child, ADB is helping Mongolia to identify solutions to address cyber-bullying and online harassment.

Games and simulation

The team behind the app, MeToo, which maximized the global campaign against sexual harassment, reported that even while beta testing, the app already received 87 harassment stories within five days. This showed the growing prevalence of online sexual harassment and cyber bullying among girls, and the increasing willingness to talk and to act against online violence.

The MeToo app recognizes that because online gender based violence has become common and can take on subtle forms cloaked in friendship and unequal power relations, girls needed to be constantly made aware of the forms that sexual harassment takes. Using gaming as an education-entertainment approach, girls are led through simulations that show how to recognize online predatory behaviors and what to do in case they encounter harassers.

Maximizing technology

Mongolia has a landmark Law on Combating Domestic Violence (2017). ADB’s TA on Addressing and Preventing Domestic Violence in Mongolia During the COVID-19 Crisis, contributes to maximizing the use of technology to implement the Law. With its other components that include the use of artificial intelligence powered chatbots, the TA bridges the online efforts, and works with the Mongolian Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs (MOJHA) and CSOs to refer domestic violence survivors to more information and services such as rescue, shelter and legal advice. The TA costs $400,000 which is financed on a grant basis from ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund. The TA complements an ongoing grant project on Combating Domestic Violence Against Women and Children, financed by the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific with $4 million.

China has banned British beef imports of cattle under 30 months of age after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or "mad cow" disease, in the UK last month.

The ban took effect from 29 September, according to a statement from the General Administration of Customs.

China has yet to restart buying beef from the UK after agreeing in 2018 to lift previous restrictions.

Beijing imposed a ban in the 1990s during earlier outbreaks of BSE.

In September, the UK's Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) said a case of BSE had been confirmed on a farm in Somerset.

How BSE crisis shook our faith in food

In 2018, China ended a two-decades-long ban on imports of beef from the UK, which as first introduced after the outbreak of BSE in the 1990s.

At the time, the UK government said the lifting of the ban would be worth £250m to British producers over the next five years.

It came after years of site inspections and negotiations between officials in London and Beijing.

In September this year, it was announced that the US was lifting its decades-old ban on imports of British lamb.

The US had stopped British lamb imports since 1989, following the first outbreaks of BSE.

The previous year British beef exports to the US resumed for the first time in more than 20 years.

British beef was banned by Washington after the BSE outbreak in 1996.

The BBC has contacted the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for a response to China's announcement.

At 10.00 pm on October 10, the polls closed at two electoral districts of the by-election for two parliament seats.

Through their website, the General Election Commission (GEC) reported that voter turnout was at 37.04 percent in Khentii aimag and 39.61 percent in the capital city’s Songinokhairkhan district.

As voter turnout in the electoral districts was less than 50 percent of the total number of the voters, re-polling will be organized within seven days to involve those who did not cast their votes.

Despite the insufficient voter turnout, the GEC has reported the preliminary results. In Khentii aimag, the top three candidates that received the most votes were candidate from the ruling Mongolian People’s Party Ts.Iderbat (12,923 votes), candidate from the Democratic Party B.Garamgaibaatar (3,544 votes), and an independent candidate M.Chingiskhaan (545 votes).

As for the capital city’s Songinokhairkhan district, the candidates with the most votes were candidate from the Mongolian People’s Party E.Batshugar with 23,998 votes, candidate from the Right Person Electoral Coalition B.Naidalaa with 5,180 votes, and candidate from the Democratic Party E.Bat-Uul with 4,925 votes.