Ulaanbaatar city-owned Ulaanbaatar Investment and Management company has previously reported that the ‘Morning Ulaanbaatar’ project will launch within July 2021.

Within the framework of the project, morning streets will be built at three different locations of Ulaanbaatar city and will remain open to public in certain schedules. The open-air public streets will have a public service facility, and will be dedicated to economic, cultural and social activities, leisure strolling, shopping and eating, etc. The streets’ neighborhood will also offer free Wi-Fi to the public to use for gain access to public services.

The streets will be established at the Juulchin Street, Jamiyan-Gun Street and Prime Minister A.Amar’s Street in the capital city. As of today, the Juulchin Street or publicly known as ‘Gutliin - 22’ went under landscaping and a car-free morning street at the location has opened.

At the three locations, the morning streets will be open in a limited time, in particular, the Juulchin Street – the morning street will stay open to public between 6 AM and 9 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Jamiyan-Gun Street during the weekends, and the Prime Minister A.Amar’s Street – a public leisure street will open at 8 AM-12 AM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

July 26 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 cases in Mongolia rose by 1,249 over the past 24 hours to 157,974, the country's health ministry said on Monday.

A total of 6,151 samples were tested in the past day, and the latest confirmed cases were local infections, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, eight more deaths were recorded in the past day, pushing the total deaths to 809, said the ministry.

The Asian country began a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to cover at least 60 percent of its population.

So far, 59.3 percent of the country's population have been vaccinated, according to the ministry. Enditem

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met Speaker of the Mongolian Parliament Zandanshatar, Foreign Minister Battsetseg, and Deputy Foreign Minister Munkhjin during her visit to Ulaanbaatar from July 23 to July 25. During her meetings, the Deputy Secretary highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Mongolia Strategic Partnership and discussed ways to strengthen Mongolia’s democratic institutions, enhance its sovereignty, and diversify its economy. The Deputy Secretary met with members of the Mongolian Armed Forces to express appreciation for Mongolia’s sustained commitment to peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan. The Deputy Secretary also visited the Choijin Lama Temple Museum and learned about the preservation of Mongolian culture, from religious sites to traditional Mongolian script. She also met with staff at Mongolia’s LGBT Center to learn about their work in promoting human rights for all people.

On July 24, Mongolian judoka M.Urantsetseg faced off against Portuguese judoka Catarina Costa in the bronze medal match for the women’s 48 kg weight class, coming out victorious with 10-0 by applying the kansetsu-waza (joint lock) technique.

With this, State Honored Athlete M.Urantsetseg has won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, winning the first medal for the National Olympic Team. In 2020, she achieved the Guinness World Record for the most medals won on the IJF World Tour.

The gold medal match took place between Funa Tonaki of Japan and Distria Krasniqi of Kosovo, with the Kosovar judoka defeating her opponent by scoring a wazari.

Dalian iron ore was set on Friday for its steepest weekly drop in 17 months, as China’s intensified drive to lower steel output prompts mills to start cutting production to avoid sanctions.

The most active September contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange has fallen roughly 10% from last week, its biggest weekly drop since February 2020, and is now off 17% from a record peak touched in May.

SIGN UP FOR THE IRON ORE DIGEST

Iron ore’s most-traded August contract on the Singapore Exchange dipped 0.2% to $197.25 a tonne.

According to Fastmarkets MB, benchmark 62% Fe fines imported into Northern China were changing hands for $201.33 a tonne on Friday, down 0.5% from Thursday’s closing.

China has stepped up efforts to reduce output of the construction and manufacturing material in line with its carbon emission reduction goal.

Authorities have asked steel mills to ensure their output this year will be no more than 2020 volumes, after first-half production rose roughly 12% from the same period last year.

In China’s top steelmaking city of Tangshan, “authorities have vowed to punish violations of production restrictions”, ANZ commodity strategists said in a note.

“Some independent rolled steel firms halted production in early July, with more closures expected in coming months,” they said.

Benchmark 62%-grade iron ore’s spot price in China hit a six-week low of $209.50 a tonne on Thursday, SteelHome consultancy data showed.

Global production

Global steel production gained 11.6% year-on-year in June, and crude steel output rose to 167.9 million tonnes during the month, World Steel Association data showed on Friday

Compared to the previous month, average daily steel production worldwide fell by 0.5% in June, while Chinese production declined by 2.5%, Kieran Clancy, assistant commodities economist at Capital Economics said in a note.

“Government-imposed environmental controls in China weighed heavily on steel production there, and renewed efforts to clamp down on excess steelmaking capacity in recent weeks suggest it will fall further in the months ahead,” Clancy said.

Enterprises accounting for 61% of China’s steel output have completed or are implementing ultra-low emission reforms, an industry group said earlier this month.

Outside China, however, steel production was stronger in June, probably because of robust regional steel prices, Clancy added.

Year on year, Indian steel output surged by 21%, while production in both Japan and the United States jumped by 44%, data showed.

(With files from Reuters)

Prime Minister of Mongolia L.Oyun-Erdene is paying a working visit to Japan between July 21 and 25. During the visit, the Mongolian PM held official talks with Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga on July 22.

The event marks the first meeting between the two countries to be held at Prime Minister-level in the past two years. The meeting took place in a friendly atmosphere and touched on the current state and future of Mongolia-Japan relations and a broad range of issues at international and regional levels.

At the meeting, the PM Oyun-Erdene confirmed Mongolia’s willingness to develop the strategic partnership and cooperation with Japan, a third neighbor of Mongolia, in every possible area. Congratulating the government of Japan for successfully hosting the Olympic Games amid the challenging circumstances posed by the pandemic, PM Oyun-Erdene noted that the Olympics 2021 would serve as a historical symbol of the world overcoming the coronavirus pandemic.

He further thanked for the government of Japan for its consistent support for Mongolia’s democracy, reform and sustainable development even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Japan’s assistance in vaccinating Mongolia’s youth against the coronavirus was highlighted at the meeting.

For his part, the Japanese PM expressed gratitude for the Mongolian Premier for arriving in Japan during the time when the country is facing historic challenges of organizing the Games and for kicking off his foreign travels with Japan.

The sides agreed on the necessity to elevate the economic, trade and investment cooperation to the next level on the basis of a solid foundation of bilateral political relations of Mongolia and Japan and to strengthen the public private partnership.

The meeting covered issues concerning ongoing or proposed economic cooperation projects, including Mongolia’s new International Ulaanbaatar Airport recently opened at the Khushigt valley near Ulaanbaatar city, development of the region as a complex economic, information technology and tourism region, a highway development surrounding the capital city aimed at reducing traffic congestion of the city, Bogdkhan railway development, intensifying the public-private partnership in information technology, training of engineers and cooperation in development of a feasibility study for a hydropower plant at coal deposits.

The two Premiers agreed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Japan, which is to be marked in 2022. Japanese Emperor Naruhito was invited to visit Mongolia for the upcoming historic event of bilateral relations. The Mongolian side also accepted with gratitude the Japanese PM’s proposal to declare 2022 as ‘The year of friendship and exchanges between Mongolian and Japanese children and youth’.

Two sides remarked the successful completion of the Mongolia-Japan Mid-term Action Plan for a Strategic Partnership 2017-2021 and set to agree on the contents of the next mid term action plan for 2021-2025. The sides also mentioned about Mongolia-Japan successful cooperation on international and regional fora and pledged for active cooperation further within the framework of the United Nations and other multilateral organizations.

At the end of the meeting, Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga congratulated for a Mongolian sumo wrestler becoming Japanese sumo’s new Yokozuna, the sport’s highest rank.

The Mongolian PM’s visit to Japan will continue with him paying a courtesy call on the Japanese Emperor and meeting with Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and members of Japan-Mongolia parliamentarian friendship group.

TOKYO — Khulan Onolbaatar started playing basketball just four years ago in her native Mongolia, teaching herself how to dribble and shoot after watching countless YouTube videos of her favorite NBA stars.

Get the latest news and results from the Tokyo Olympics

“I’d try to mimic the motions on my school court, all by myself, imagining the opponent,” she said.

On Saturday night, Onolbaatar no longer had to imagine. She was playing the United States in the debut of three-on-three basketball competition at the Olympics. It mattered less that the top-seeded Americans had rolled to a 21-9 win because, four years after she taught herself the game, the 21-year-old and her teammates became the first athletes from their country to compete in a team event at the Olympics.

That’s a reflection of just how popular three-on-three basketball has become in the central Asian country of 3 million, which has a long record of producing Olympians in individual sports such as wrestling, boxing and judo. Onolbaatar represents progress for women in Mongolia who want to thrive in team sports — she was the first female flag bearer in her country’s Olympic history during Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies — and hopes that playing in Tokyo will empower more girls there to play.

“I’m just trying to be a role model for them. Representing the female athletes and the women of Mongolia in general on the biggest stage possible is just mind-blowing,” she said in an interview earlier in the week. “Basketball has exploded in the last five years. . . . Nowadays, three-on-three in our country is just like a national sport. Everyone is playing it. Everyone is watching it on TV. It’s a really big deal for us in Mongolia.”

Making its debut Saturday, three-on-three basketball offered something the Olympics had never seen: a pickup brand of the sport with hip-hop beats thumping in the background. The court is smaller. The play is more physical than five-on-five, with fewer fouls called. That style of play attracts Onolbaatar and so many other Mongolian kids to play the sport, she said.

“We are just naturally made to be more resilient,” she said. “Being physically tough. Because our culture is nomadic, we would be ready to adapt to any situation possible. I think that helps us really well.”

The three-on-three basketball craze in Mongolia can be traced to the early 2000s, when kids began playing in organized events there, according to Myagmarjav Luvsandash, the president of the country’s three-on-three basketball association. The continued interest over the past decade underscores FIBA’s push to popularize the sport in far-flung places. Other coaches have taken notice, including Kara Lawson, who took a U.S. national team to compete in three-on-three competition in Mongolia in 2019.

“We played right in the heart of Genghis Khan Square [in the capital, Ulaanbaatar]. It was sold out every game. It was very loud,” Lawson said. “They are really, really throwing a lot into three-on-three in their country.”

These Olympics didn’t get any less strange when the first medal was won

That push over the past decade helped establish a popular men’s national team, which did not qualify for Tokyo but is considered one of the best in Asia. Roughly 20,000 kids are playing organized three-on-three in Mongolia, according to Luvsandash, who estimated half were girls.

“In the last 30 years, since we’ve become a democratic country, there are not so many sports for the girls to practice and learn and play but, of course, on the street, basketball,” Luvsandash said. “If you go to Mongolia and you’re walking the street, you see hoops everywhere. Kids are playing.”

Onolbaatar took up the sport when she was 18 after being inspired by her brother, men’s national team member Enkhbaatar Onolbaatar, but she had little idea where to start.

She watched YouTube tutorials and tried to pattern her game after her favorite NBA player, Stephen Curry. She joined the three-on-three team at her university and later the national team. She moved in with her teammates. They ran stairs at their apartment building and practiced on outdoor courts in the brutal winter cold. They sometimes trained in the rugged mountains surrounding Ulaanbaatar, convinced the elevation would help their stamina when it came time to play other teams.

There were difficult moments in international play: Mongolia made its World Cup debut in 2019 but lost all four of its games in Amsterdam. The Mongolians had more success at the 2019 Asia Cup, finishing fourth, and qualified for the Olympics through the world rankings list. It was a seminal moment for women’s sports in the country and made the team instant stars.

“Younger kids are growing and playing basketball, and they’re looking at them,” Luvsandash said. “These girls are stars now in Mongolia. [Onolbaatar’s] jersey is selling online in Mongolia. It’s selling very well. Kids are buying it.”

They are Olympians. They are mothers. And they no longer have to choose.

On the court, Mongolia lost its opener in Tokyo in heartbreaking fashion. Against a bigger Italian team, the Mongolians missed a shot in the final seconds and fell, 15-14.

Against the United States, Onolbaatar tried to keep up with Kelsey Plum, a WNBA star who has been playing basketball most of her life. With her team down 11-1 early, Onolbaatar, who is 5-foot-11, drove the lane and tried to muscle her way to the hoop. U.S. center Stefanie Dolson, who is 6-5, met her at the rim and violently blocked the shot, and Onolbaatar lowered her shoulder and fouled Dolson out of frustration.

When it was over, Onolbaatar finally flashed a smile when she walked out of the stadium, stopping by a television to watch a replay. She pointed and muttered something to her teammates. They all looked as if they had just won. Earlier in the week, Onolbaatar said she hoped girls in her country would watch the team play in Tokyo and feel inspired.

“I think I’m going to be a role model for them,” she said. “If I can practice hard, believe in myself and get to this level — they have an opportunity, too.”

July 25 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 1,513 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the total caseload to 156,737, the country's health ministry said Sunday.

Among the latest confirmed cases, 501 were recorded in the capital city Ulan Bator and others were detected in all 21 provinces, the ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, seven more COVID-19 related deaths were recorded in the past day, raising the total to 801, said the ministry.

The Asian country began a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to cover at least 60 percent of its population.

So far, 59.2 percent of the country's population has been fully vaccinated.

Mongolia women’s 3x3 basketball side are the first team to qualify for an Olympic Games from their nation. The whole country, plus the men's side who just missed out on making it to Japan, are ready to roar them on.

The sport of 3x3 basketball has had a stratospheric rise, from street sport to the Olympic Games in just seven years, and Mongolia has been on board for the ride.

The event takes place on half a basketball court, with three on court playing at one time plus a substitute. Each team shoots into a single hoop, with the two points gained from outside the usual three-point line, and one point, inside. The winner is the team with the highest score at the end of the 10-minute period, or the first team to reach 21 points. If the score is tied after 10 minutes, the game goes into overtime with the first team to score two points declared the winner.

The sport is fast and furious and, in non-COVID-19 times, events often have an urban festival feel with DJs, music, dancers and raucous crowds, which is why it is so popular, particularly with the younger generation. In Mongolia it is so popular, a dedicated TV channel plays matches and everything stops when a match is on. Even more so now that the women have qualified a team to Tokyo 2020, in 2021.

The squad of Solongo Bayasgalan, Chimeddolgor Enkhtaivan, Tserenlkham Munkhsaikhan and Khulan Onolbaatar have made history by becoming the first Mongolians to qualify for a team event at an Olympic Games. Previously, only athletes from individual sports competed for Mongolia. A second history-making moment was when Onolbaatar was announced as the first woman flag bearer for her nation at the opening ceremony. She was presented with Mongolia's flag by President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa before heading to Japan.

"Female Mongolian athletes have been performing really strong in international competitions," said Onolbaatar, who went to school in Australia so speaks perfect English. "Becoming the first woman to carry the flag at the Olympics is such an honor. I am just so proud right now."

On taking part in the first team event for Mongolia she told FIBA3x3.basketball, "I'm happy for sure but the biggest emotion is the pride to be Mongolian. I just can't wrap my head around the idea that I am given this huge opportunity on the biggest stage in sports, at the Olympics. It is every athlete’s dream to represent your country on the biggest stage possible".

Onolbaatar made her 3x3 debut in 2017, becoming a household name on the 3x3 scene after leading Mongolia to the quarter-finals of the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup 2019, including a memorable buzzer-beating win against Germany.

Special time for Mongolia

The women qualified for Tokyo 2020 via a FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifier in Japan in November 2019 and the men's side came close, just missing out on joining their compatriots at the final Olympic qualifying tournament in Hungary in June. Tokyo 2020 spoke to the men's captain, Delgernyam Davaasambuu, prior to that event about the popularity of the sport in Mongolia.

“This year is a very special year for our country because our country normally (don’t qualify in) team sports… it’s the first time in the 3x3,” he said. “Our women’s team can already go to the Olympics. We are first time qualifying Olympics, so we are very happy. Everybody is happy and excited.”

“In Mongolia, it is also exciting because both gender teams are doing well,” said Bat Gotov, the team delegate for 3x3 Mongolia national team, who helped translate some answers, and expand on others. “For example, in Serbia, it’s a good team but it’s only a men’s team. In Mongolia, people are equally as excited about the women’s team playing as the men’s team playing. We also have good representation in all age groups as well – in youth, under 18 and under 23, so it’s more inclusive for both genders for all ages, so this also makes this sport exciting for Mongolians.”

Vast open spaces

The fact that Mongolia have qualified a team at all is testament to their love of the sport. There are little more than three million people in the country, known for its vast, rugged expanses and nomadic culture. Twice the size of Turkey, and with just under half the population living in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, it has been relatively easy to keep socially distanced during the Coronavirus pandemic, according to Davaasambuu.

“It’s the same for other countries but now it is fine because our country is big – big land and small population, so it’s easy, it’s fine,” said Davaasambuu who trains in the capital but loves to relax by heading back to the wide open spaces and seeing his parents who own more than 200 horses.

“In terms of Corona, of course, it’s impacted everyone, including all sports and of course the Olympics being postponed, and a lot of local and international events have been cancelled but as a country, Mongolia has done relatively well, I believe,” added Gotov.

“Thanks to efforts from government vaccination is progressing quite speedily – I believe as of today, over 85% of the adult population has already had at least one dose of vaccine, and one-third of the adult population is fully vaccinated. Also our Olympic team, including our 3x3 team have received their AstraZeneca vaccines back in April, so it also helps to travel and hopefully the borders will start opening soon for everyone.”

Underdogs

The team are often seen as underdgos, says Onolbaatar, which she feels works to their advantage. "All the other teams don't really take us seriously. I think that part actually made us stronger and sharpened our focus," she said to FIBA . "This summer we have practised a ton and practised relentlessly. I think that's why we are showing some good results." This training has been enabled as the women turned professional after their Olympic qualification.

Gotov agrees with Kulan that the underdog status can be a benefit.

“It’s quite exciting because 3x3 provides an opportunity for the team to travel,” he said, “and for the past three or four years being in different countries all over Europe, Asia and the Americas, a small community of Mongolians are always found somewhere and they always come and show up and express support. Obviously, they love to see a home team play in big events, and matching the grand names like Serbia and Russia and whatever, and small Mongolia is also on the court, so it’s quite exciting for them, for the country.”

The world’s number one urban sport, developed from street basketball until the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) formally adopted the rules ahead of 3x3 basketball’s debut at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore. It is the first sport to debut at YOG to be included in the Olympic programme, and since 2012 a World Cup for nations, and a World Series for clubs have been implemented. Mongolia are currently ranked eighth in the world for both genders.

History made

Mongolia has competed in every Olympics since their first one at Tokyo 1964 – except Los Angeles 1984 – but have previously only qualified in individual events.

In that first Tokyo Games, 21 Mongolian athletes competed in five sports, going home without any medals. Since then, they have won medals at every Games except Sydney 2000, including two golds, 10 silver and 14 bronze in judo, boxing, shooting and wrestling.

Beijing 2008 was their zenith, when Naidan Tuvshinbayar and Enkhbatyn Badar-Uugan both won gold, in judo and boxing, respectively. Tuvshinbayar just nicked it into the history books as the first Mongolian to stand on top of an Olympic podium, just 10 days ahead of Badar-Uugan.

“Our country’s first gold medal was a great moment,” said Davaasambuu. “In our country (there was) a big celebration; I was a child. It was a great moment. All people were celebrating and (raises his fist) saying ‘We can do it’.”

“It was an interesting moment in Mongolia,” continued Gotov, “because right before the Beijing Olympics we had some elections, a parliament election, in late June and also in July. There was some unrest and dispute and discussion so it was kind of bad blood in Mongolia at that time, and suddenly, one day, when the Olympics gold came the whole of Mongolia became united back again and everybody felt okay… So it’s sometimes interesting that politics divides, and sport unites.”

During Rio 2016, a rather different experience was had by Mongolia. “If you recall, it was some accident with a Mongolian freestyle (wrestler),” said Gotov, “and there were only three seconds left and he started to celebrate on the bronze medal and they gave him a penalty point and he lost. And, obviously, his coach has been upset and protesting and getting naked… so maybe this time it will be different!”

United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman is paying a visit to Mongolia between July 23 and 25.

Today, July 24, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia B.Munkhjin received U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ulaanbaatar to exchange views on a broad range of issues concerning Mongolia-U.S. relations and cooperation.

Deputy Foreign Minister Munkhjin underlined that the high-level visit from the U.S., Mongolia’s third neighbor and a strategic partner, is of great significance to strengthening the strategic partnership and friendly ties between Mongolia and the U.S. and is a proof that the two nations are maintaining active cooperation in times of global pandemic.

Deputy Secretary of State Sherman expressed her pleasure with her visit to Mongolia during the time when Mongolia has just successfully organized the presidential election and celebrated its Naadam Festival. She affirmed that the U.S. will continue to support Mongolia in strengthening its democracy and extended thanks to Mongolian troops for serving in the peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan.

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State also vowed to cooperate with Mongolia on increasing economic and trade partnership and implementing the Mongolian Water Compact and Transparency Agreement.

Also during the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Munkhjin put forward a proposal to widen the opportunity for Mongolian youth to study in the U.S. The two sides then shared opinions on world’s coronavirus situation, vaccination as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.