Guiding her younger brother from their yurt on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, 15-year-old Urangoo Basandorj could barely contain her excitement for Wednesday's return to school, as Mongolia's children mark the end of grinding months of exile from education.

The country of three million has taken some of the world's toughest and most enduring measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, shutting schools and kindergartens since January 2020 and plunging children into a purgatory of remote learning with patchy access to technology.

Nearly two-thirds of the population has been fully vaccinated yet Mongolia reported 3,726 new virus cases on Wednesday -- the highest daily increase since the pandemic hit the country, the health ministry said.

Still, masked students in blazers filed into a primary school in the capital Ulanbaatar, where classrooms were kitted out with temperature monitors, hand sanitiser and social distancing stickers.

"I heard the news about reopening schools and I was super excited... I was so happy and I dreamt (of) my classmates all night," Urangoo Basandorj told AFP.

"It was so difficult not (being) able to meet my friends... the online class wasn’t nice."

Parents across Mongolia -- a landlocked country where nearly a third of people live below the poverty line -- have complained of varying access to education since the pandemic first emerged in neighbouring China, with televised classes condemned as limited and online learning restricted to those with internet access.

For the urban poor and remote herding communities, education has been patchy at best, conducted inside small, congested homes where some families lack televisions or a reliable power supply.

Complaints snowballed around social media but authorities stuck to movement restrictions and home learning, apart from a short respite late last year when schools were briefly reopened.

- 'It's time to adapt' -

Wednesday's reopening saw parents living in yurt districts near the capital -- city dwellers from Mongolia's nomadic culture -- express delight that their children were returning to school.

"When they are watching TV lessons (in the yurt), there are so many interruptions ... cooking, little siblings crying, fire in the stove, and water boiling," said Urangoo's mother, Dolgorsuren Tumurbaatar.

Students said they were happy to be back in school after more than a year of online learning or televised classes

"Schools were closed too long. It's time to adapt and live with Covid."

During the schools closures, public-school students relied on "TV lessons" -- lecture videos without any interaction -- or online classes with limited outcomes.

"Usually, teachers speak on their own and some students even go to sleep while they turn off camera and mic," Urangoo Baasansuren added.

For the lucky few, expensive vastly-oversubscribed private schools provided applications such as "Google Classroom" and even on-to-one tutoring to ensure nearly two years of education were not lost to their pupils.

But for many others, in schools which routinely have 50 to 70 pupils per class, those years have gone.

At a school in the capital, father-of-three Munch Purevdorj said it is now the right time to reopen schools.

"We have such a high rate of first and second-dose vaccination," he told AFP.

"It's time to think about (the children's) future."

On August 31, Mongolia’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation D. Davaa had a meeting with First Deputy Managing Director of the Russian Railways S.A.Pavlov at the Embassy of Mongolia.

At the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the activities of the Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC. Ambassador D. Davaa pledged to convey suggestions and requests put forth by the Russian side regarding the current issues and future planning of the company to the relevant ministries and agencies of Mongolia, while expressing his commitment to provide all round support to the deepening of cooperation in the railway sector.

On August 31, President of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh received Ambassador of the Republic of India to Mongolia M.P.Singh.

Ambassador M.P.Singh congratulated the President for being elected, and expressed satisfaction in the recovery of political stability in Mongolia.

Mentioning that he used to give special attention to the bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries during his term as the Prime Minister, President U.Khurelsukh expressed his full support for strengthening the Strategic Parntership between Mongolia and India, and successfully implementing joint large-scale projects.

The sides highlighted the active cooperation and mutual support provided despite the pandemic situation. They then noted how the delivery of 100 thousand doses of Remdesivir that was received from the Republic of India on August 30 will make significant contributions in the protection of public health against COVID-19.

They also agreed that it would be right to continue to actively put in efforts in order to successfully implement the oil refinery project on schedule.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on increasing the trade turnover between the two countries, and accelerating the works being carried out to conduct a trial transport of coking coal to India.

In the framework of the soft loan being provided from the Government of India, both sides expressed satisfaction in the launch of joint projects such as the establishment of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Center for Excellence in IT, Communication and Outsourcing, and a Mongolian-Indian joint school.

Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia recorded the highest daily count of 3,805 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing its national tally to 221,351, the country's health ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said that 7,549 samples were tested across the country in the past day.

The viral disease has so far claimed 948 lives after four more people aged over 40 died in the past day.

The resurgence of COVID-19 has continued with the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus spreading fast across the country.

Delta has been detected in the capital Ulan Bator and most of the country's 21 provinces.

Since a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign was launched in February, 64.5 percent of the country's total population have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

In late August, the Asian country began offering a booster or third dose of COVID-19 vaccines to frontline workers, employees of all levels of educational institutions, people aged over 55, and those suffering chronic diseases.

Mongolia has entered the race to attract big-budget global productions.

The central Asian nation unveiled in late August a range of competitive incentives for both domestic and international studios that use Mongolia for their film and television production projects. The generous nature of the program is certain to make Mongolia a competitive territory in the global race to attract high-profile Hollywood shoots.

Mongolia’s new incentives include a 30 percent cash rebate for qualifying film and TV productions that take place in the country; an additional 10 percent cultural rebate for projects that showcase Mongolian culture and heritage; a 5 percent foreign crew and talent incentive; a 30 percent postproduction incentive for approved projects that use a substantial number of personnel during postproduction; and a 20 percent incentive for Mongolian productions or co-productions that promote the country and its culture. Altogether, the incentives can be taken separately or together for a total 45 percent cumulative incentive.

The generous nature of the program seems likely to lure more large-budget projects to make use of Mongolia’s striking natural landscapes.

Nomin Chinbat, Mongolia’s minister of culture who spearheaded the effort to draft the legislation and build the support in the Mongolian Parliament to get it approved, notes: “I’m so pleased Parliament took action and approved this new law. We must now work to ensure this initiative is launched in a way that demonstrates we are serious about developing a world-class production sector in Mongolia.”

The Mongolian Film Council and its various incentive programs will be launched and operational in January.

This story first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter’s Sept. 1 daily issue at the Venice International Film Festival.

The working group in charge of implementing the parliamentary resolution No.92 dated November 21, 2019, titled ‘Ensuring the interests of Mongolia in the exploitation of the Oyu Tolgoi gold-copper mine’ held a press conference on August 9. During the press conference, the Head of the working group, Mr. Nyambaatar Khishigee, stated that the recently completed independent review into Oyu Tolgoi’s underground development challenges, specifically the USD 1.4 billion in cost overruns and 22 month schedule delays, concluded that the issues were triggered by Rio Tinto’s mismanagement and not the geotechnical conditions that Rio Tinto claimed.

To look more into the details of the situation, we met with member of the Board of Directors of Oyu Tolgoi LLC, Ms. Bayasgalan Enkhbaatar.

“The independent review on the cost overruns and schedule delays of Oyu Tolgoi underground development was submitted to the Government of Mongolia on August 9. The 157-page report rejected Rio Tinto’s claim of the abovementioned issues being caused by geotechnical conditions and concluded that it was triggered by the company’s mismanagement. The findings of the independent experts have been studied by the relevant authorities and will play an important role in the negotiations with Rio Tinto” she said.

“Discussions were held on the report and recommendations were given to us by the independent experts during a meeting of Oyu Tolgoi’s Board on August 25. At the third quarter board meeting which is scheduled to be held early this month, we will discuss ways to implement the recommendations we received from the experts in the future, how Rio Tinto should be held accountable for management errors, how to prevent such issues from recurring, and whether the current management should remain unchanged. One of the recommendations we received from the expert team was to have a detailed cost audit on the cost overruns of the underground expansion. In this regard, we may set up a special committee again, if necessary, and appoint independent financial experts to further audit the estimated costs of the underground mine development.”

“Bold Baatar, Copper Chief Executive of Rio Tinto, did not attend the August 25 Board meeting, unfortunately. It is rather disappointing that Rio Tinto did not make available its key representative to attend this important meeting and give the Board the opportunity to openly discuss the findings of the independent review and ask questions from the Rio Tinto’s executive team in charge of the management and development of Oyu Tolgoi. We are still waiting for Rio Tinto’s offical response on the independent review report. I believe that the official response will play a key role in the government’s negotations with Rio Tinto. For example, if they admit that they have made a management mistake, we can talk openly about further steps to be taken and changes to the contract.”

“To put it simply, the cost overrun of USD 1.5 billion should not be taken lightly, especially considering the initial budget of USD 5.3 billion included around USD 500 million of contingencies. Therefore, the issue of being held accountable for the mismanagement and consequences thereof, such as cost overrun, must be raised. That way, we can find a way forward” she added.

What exactly do you think Rio Tinto should be responsible for?

-Any organization that charges for services must ensure adequate performance of their services. But if the work they have done is not as you agreed, they continue to charge additional costs, and most importantly, if they are misleading you and being dishonest about their performance shortcomings, then you cannot continue to work with them on that basis. You will need to raise the issue of accountability before moving forward. I believe our government has the same view.

Rio Tinto invoices large sums of money as management fees annually. If you get that amount of money and do not do your job well enough, we need to reconsider the amount.

The government expressed its willingness to start the underground undercut process in September. Rio Tinto has confirmed it was technically feasible to initiate the undercut. However, as we all know, the work has not yet begun.

In addition, the net present value of the project is declining as construction of the underground mine is delayed. The 22-month delay has already devalued the project. The more time passes, the lower the value of the project. Ultimately, a quick start to underground mining is mutually beneficial.

Oyu Tolgoi’s reserve report and feasibility study are separate issues and must go through proper administrative due processes in order to ensure the appointed expert team is able to conduct their thorough review, to get responses to their questions and to raise issues and recommendations. Only at the completion of such procedural requirements, those reports should be received by the appropriate agencies. However, Rio Tinto continues to push the Mongolian government at the top to approve those reports, without allowing our mining and technical experts to do their work, which is an issue. As you know, the same problem arose in the Dubai Agreement and there is a clause forcing the government to accept the 2015 feasibility study.

What recommendations did the independent experts give?

-According to our independent external experts, it is certain that the cost was exceeded due to management errors. However, it was recommended that financial analysts be hired to dig deeper into cost overruns.

A letter from Rio Tinto to the Prime Minister of Mongolia stated that Mongolia’s share of 34 percent could be renegotiated. What is your position on this?

-It is better not to make a hasty decision on the offers of Rio Tinto. Each of these offers needs to be carefully reviewed and followed by a decision made in the best interests of Mongolia. We can also make offers. In my opinion, Rio Tinto has not responded to the report of independent experts. Therefore, I think it is inappropriate to make offers prior to openly discussing and resolving the issue of mismanagement and ways to mitigate such risks going forward.

How will the current negotiation affect the start of underground development?

-It will not affect it at all. It is not necessary to conclude negotations between the government and Rio Tinto, prior to the start of the underground mine. There is no reason for the development of the underground mine has to freeze because of the negotiation. Further delaying the schedule itself is economically unprofitable for all the stakeholders. The decision on when to start underground mining is in Rio Tinto's full control after all.

3,726 new cases of COVID-19 were detected nationwide in the past 24 hours. This is the highest number of coronavirus infections recorded in Mongolia in one day.

In specific, 916 of the new cases were recorded in Ulaanbaatar city and 2,810 in rural areas. Seven patients died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, which brings the COVID-19 death toll to 944.

Currently, 14,829 people are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 whilst 18,239 people with mild symptoms of COVID-19 are being isolated at home.

Today, a new school year has started in Mongolia amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Ministry of Education and Science, this year more than 700 thousand children nationwide will receive in-school and classroom education.

This academic year begins with hybrid schedules that include a mix of online and in-school learning. According to the plan, children will go to school in person for a week and attend online learning for another week. To maintain the infection control regime, no more than 25 children are admitted to each classroom, with a child per desk.

As for the kindergarten, children aged 4 and 5 are admitted in September. However, the Ministry of Education and Science reported that an issue of admitting children aged 3 will be resolved next month depending on the pandemic situation.

For universities and colleges, students will start attending in-person classes from September 13. Currently, over 94 percent of teachers and educational staff have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The Ministry also informed that a three-year plan will be implemented from this academic year to eliminate the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan has put a batch of Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine on hold after a foreign substance was found in a vial.

A pharmacist saw several black particles in one vial of the vaccine in Kanagawa Prefecture, according to authorities.

Some 3,790 people had already received shots from the batch. The rest of the batch has now been put on hold.

It comes less than a week after Japan suspended the use of about 1.63 million Moderna doses due to contamination.

The pharmacist found the black particles while checking for foreign substances before the vaccine's use.

The jab's domestic distributor has collected the vial suspected to be contaminated.

Local media reports say there is no evidence so far of any health hazards caused by the potentially contaminated vaccine.

Takeda Pharmaceutical, which sells and distributes the vaccine in Japan, had just last week put three batches of the vaccine on hold after "foreign materials" were found in some doses of a batch of roughly 560,000 vials.

Spanish pharmaceutical firm Rovi, which bottles the vaccine, said in a statement that a manufacturing line in Spain could be the cause of the issue.

It added that it was conducting an investigation.

On Tuesday, Japan's health minister said foreign matter found in jabs in the southern prefecture of Okinawa were due to needles being incorrectly inserted into vials.

Japan is battling a spike in Covid cases while it hosts the Paralympic Games.

Its vaccination roll-out has been relatively slow, with just over 40% of Japanese people fully vaccinated and around 50% having received one dose.

B.Solongo, Deputy Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat informed about the progress of discussions being held between the Cabinet and the Rio Tinto Group as well as the current situation.

During the press conference that took place following the cabinet meeting, the Deputy Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat said, “Oyu Tolgoi has had cost overruns two times. We acknowledged the reasons behind the first cost overrun that occurred at the open-pit section of the mine. However, the underground mining costs increased by USD 1.45 billion. Following an independent review on this matter, we were given a detailed report of 157 pages. In addition, a financial audit was recommended in the report. In the future, we have to monitor the operations Oyu Tolgoi. Furthermore, as the information provided by Oyu Tolgoi to Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi is very general, we have requested the company to provide more detailed information."

“The dispute over the two tax acts will also continue at the London Court of International Arbitration. As the dispute was initiated by Oyu Tolgoi, it will not be resolved even if Rio Tinto pays USD 350 million. Alongside the current pandemic circumstance, the schedule delays of the underground mine exploitation negatively affected the state budget. Rio Tinto, therefore, has offered to pay dividends to be paid to our side in advance. We did not hold any talks on suspending the development of the underground mine because the exploitation of the underground mine is mutually beneficial. Rio Tinto Group has sent us a report stating that the government owes USD 22 billion. As the report was quite concerning, we suggested discussing the matter with the group in order to resolve misunderstandings. We have not yet decided what to do with the share of 34 percent owned by Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC on behalf of the Government of Mongolia,” she said.