Mongolia's coal export drops nearly 50 pct amid COVID-19 pandemic www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia exported a total of 11.2 million tons of coal in the first seven months of this year, a decrease of 46.4 percent compared to the same period last year, according to official data on Tuesday.

Microsoft says it is still talking with Trump about buying TikTok from its Chinese owner www.cnn.com

New York (CNN Business)Microsoft says it is still discussing a potential purchase of TikTok, days after President Donald Trump said he would ban the popular short-form video app from operating in the United States.

In a blog post Sunday, Microsoft (MSFT) said its CEO Satya Nadella has talked with Trump about buying the app, which is owned by Chinese start-up ByteDance. US policymakers have for weeks expressed concerns about the app as tensions between the United States and China escalate, with many asserting that it could pose a national security risk.
'Everyone is going cray cray': TikTok users freak out over possible US ban
'Everyone is going cray cray': TikTok users freak out over possible US ban
"[Microsoft] is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury," the company said, adding that it will "move quickly" to talk with ByteDance "in a matter of weeks."
"During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President," the company added.
The Washington State-based firm's blog post suggests TikTok could avert the ban that Trump threatened Friday night, when he said he could use emergency economic powers or an executive order to block the app from operating in the United States. Microsoft's remarks also come after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company's talks with ByteDance had been put on hold after Trump's comments.
A deal would create a new structure wherein Microsoft would own and operate TikTok services in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As part of the agreement, Microsoft said it would ensure that all private data of TikTok's American users would be transferred to and remain in the United States.
TikTok has previously stressed that its US user data is already stored on US-based servers and backed up in Singapore, and is therefore not subject to Chinese law as some US officials have feared.
"This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love, while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections," Microsoft said. "The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries."
The company added that "in any event" it would finish talking with ByteDance no later than September 15.
ByteDance did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Microsoft post. But the company said in a statement published Sunday on Toutiao, the Chinese social media site it owns, that it "has always been committed to becoming a global company."
"In this process, we are faced with all kinds of complex and unimaginable difficulties," the company added. It cited a "tense international political environment," among other issues.

It from Disney's king of streaming to fighting for TikTok's life
"But we still adhere to the vision of globalization and continue to increase investment in markets around the world, including China, to create value for users around the world," ByteDance said. "We strictly abide by local laws and will actively use the rights granted to us by the law to safeguard the legal rights of the company."
TikTok did not respond immediately to a request for comment Sunday night, but a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business on Saturday that it is "confident in the long-term success" of the app. The company has hired nearly 1,000 people to its US team this year, and plans to hire another 10,000 employees across the United States, the spokesperson said. It also recently announced a "Creator Fund" to lure top talent to create content for the app.
Beijing, meanwhile, blasted Washington after Trump floated a ban.
"The US has been stretching the concept of national security, without any evidence, and only based on presumption of guilt. It is threatening certain businesses," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters Monday. "China is firmly opposed to this."
TikTok could be the "right partner at the right time" for Microsoft, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives, who pegged the app's valuation at roughly $50 billion. (He added, though, that TikTok's value could be hurt considerably if it were to be shut down.)
Ives added that if the sale is successful, Microsoft would also receive a social media "crown jewel" at a time when tech peers like Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) parent Alphabet are facing regulatory scrutiny, making it difficult for them to consider Tiktok.
— Shawn Deng, Jill Disis and Isaac Yee contributed to this report.

Global coal power falls for first time even as China builds more www.mining.com

Global coal-fired power capacity edged down for the first time on record in the first half of 2020 as retirements accelerated and the coronavirus saw new projects put on hold.

U.S. FAA lays plan for Boeing 737 MAX's return; hurdles remain www.reuters.com

15 killed in motorcycle accidents in Mongolia in July www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia exports 3000 tonnes of horse meat to China www.news.mn

Before the coronavirus lockdown, Mongolia exported 54 thousand tonnes of horse meat to China in 2019. However, exports of horse meat have fallen due to Mongolia closing its border with China in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Subsequently, during the first half of 2020, Mongolia exported only 3000 tonnes of horse meat to China.

China to provide RMB 600 million as non-refundable aid to Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The People’s Republic of China has resolved to provide a non-refundable aid of RMB 600 million to Mongolia for the procurement of border inspection equipment.

New residential area under development in Moringyn Davaa www.montsame.mn

Capital City Housing and Infrastructure Development Sub Program includes development of five new residential areas around Ulaanbaatar. On July 31, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for residential buildings for 10 thousand households in the 10th subdistrict of Khan-Uul district. Minister of Labor and Social Protection A.Ariunzaya, Deputy Minister of Construction and Urban Development E.Zolboo, Acting Governor of the capital city and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar J.Batbayasgalan and other officials attended the ceremony.

The people that Covid-19 has cut off from home www.theguardian.com

When her studies in Budapest finished this spring, Puje was meant to return home to Mongolia, where she had a job waiting for her in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. But in mid-March, Mongolia sealed its borders completely, even to its own citizens, and it has not yet reopened them. Now, the 26-year-old Puje is one of thousands of Mongolians stranded in Europe.

Covid-19 has caused havoc with the travel plans of millions across the world, ruining holidays and testing long-distance relationships. But for many people who are still unable to get back to their home countries, such problems seem trivial by comparison.

Chinese students, Mongolian tourists, Palestinians from Gaza and many others have all found themselves unable to return home, often meaning separation from close family, economic hardship and uncertainty about the future.

Mongolians are some of the hardest hit. The only way home is via a government evacuation flight, but these only run once a month from Frankfurt and Istanbul. The tickets are expensive, and passengers must also pay for a mandatory 21-day stay in a government quarantine facility on arrival.

Even for those who have the money, demand outstrips supply. Thousands apply for seats on each plane, and most are rejected, amid rumours that those with government connections are given priority. The Mongolian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

“Imagine how long 2,500 Mongolians in Europe will have to wait with only two flights per month,” said Oyunaa Luvsan, a Mongolian currently stuck in the city of Pécs, Hungary, who created a Facebook group for Mongolians stranded in Europe to share their frustrations. Some are students who have run out of money, others were tourists on a brief trip that has been extended for months after their return flights in March were cancelled.

Chinese students overseas have also been struggling to get home to China, the first country to introduce strict travel restrictions after the outbreak in Wuhan. Although there are now flights available, ticket prices have risen several fold, only to be cancelled at the last minute on occasion, prompting frustration and anger.

Parents of students stuck abroad penned an open letter to Chinese diplomats asking for help, and some Chinese internet users have questioned the image the country has projected of coming to the rescue of its people. “Isn’t China’s propaganda that it can bring its citizens back?” one commentator wrote on the social media platform Weibo.

The Chinese embassy in the US said that between 11 April and 5 June about 7,000 students had been brought back on chartered flights. In a statement this week, the embassy said it would continue to provide such flights.

For Palestinians living in Gaza, who were already suffering from a punishing Israeli-Egyptian blockade, the pandemic has greatly compounded a dire situation in which many are trapped inside and out. Gisha, an Israeli rights group, said entries and exits into Gaza are down by roughly 98% of what they were in February, with only 218 Palestinians exiting the enclave in June.

One 32-year-old woman who left Gaza in April to receive medical treatment for a cancerous tumour in her head has been separated from her four children ever since, including her nine-month-old baby.

Tell us
Twice she attempted to return to Gaza from the West Bank city of Ramallah, but was refused at Israeli checkpoints, she said, blaming a recent breakdown in coordination between Palestinian and Israeli authorities.

“I talk to my children daily by phone, and we see each other on video calls,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous so as not to damage her prospects of returning. “I don’t love Gaza. But I love to be with my husband and children. I want to be back,” she added.

Mongolia and Gaza are extreme cases, but there are also a number of countries which have allowed citizens to return but not long-term foreign residents. The most notable of these is the UAE, where Emirati citizens make up just 12% of the population. Many long-term foreign residents were shocked to find they were treated as outsiders and were unable to return when the pandemic began.

From a Facebook group devoted to those still trying to return, it is clear that there are still thousands of residents who have not been able to make it back, even as the UAE has begun letting in tourists. Some have relatives in the UAE, or were awaiting scheduled medical treatment there.

“It has dramatically affected how people feel about living here … It has become very clear that expats don’t matter and you will never have any rights here,” said a British woman who has lived in Dubai for 20 years, and owns a house and a business there. She was unable to return until recently even though her husband was there, and said many of her friends were making plans to leave Dubai after their recent experiences.

As the prospects of scoring a seat on an evacuation flight appear slim some Mongolians stranded in Europe have been mulling ever more creative options. One group in Hungary investigated chartering a plane, but were told Mongolian authorities would not allow it to land. The latest plan under consideration is to travel overland for several days through Russia and camp out near the Mongolian border, hoping to be let in.

Puje said she was desperate to leave. She has lost her part-time waitressing job in Budapest, and been attacked on the metro due to her Asian appearance, when a woman assaulted her with an umbrella and accused her of being a spreader of coronavirus.

“My university stipend is over, it’s hard to find a job here, my visa is about to expire and I have nowhere to live. I just want to go home,” she said.

Russia proposes $20 billion in new investment projects with China www.rt.com