By joining the convention on serving criminal sentences abroad, it becomes possible to establish the reflected relations with a total of 21 countries, which also includes countries that are not a member of the Organization of American States, such as the U.S, Canada, Brazil, and Mexico. With 19 articles, the convention reflects many core matters, including conditions for the transfer and information about the sentenced person, transfer request and requirements, refusal of transfer request, transit, and remaining sentence.

According to the working group in charge of the bill, Mongolia has signed agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and the Transfer of Sentenced Persons with 36 countries as of today. Through the convention, Mongolia will be able to bring back Mongolian nationals that are serving criminal sentences in the countries that have joined the convention as well as to return foreign nationals serving sentences in Mongolia.

As of the first quarter of 2020, a total of 10 Mongolian nationals are serving sentences in the U.S, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Czech Republic. Furthermore, 17 citizens are currently being investigated in connection with crimes in the U.S. and the Czech Republic. As for Mongolia, one U.S. citizen is serving sentence, while 3 citizens of the U.S, Canada, and the Republic of Kazakhstan are under investigation.

Mongolia has previously joined the Berlin and COE Conventions on Transfer of Sentenced Persons respectively.

So far, 10,836 Mongolian nationals in 46 countries have submitted their requests to return to their home country.

A charter flight will be conducted tomorrow, May 13, to Istanbul, Turkey to bring 170 Mongolian citizens home. Moreover, 202 Mongolians in Ulan-Ude and about 200 Mongolians in Irkutsk of Russia will be allowed entry to Mongolia through Altanbulag border checkpoint on May 14 and 15.

In addition, a charter flight will depart for May 18, Monday, to India to evacuate 190 Mongolian nationals in the country, reports Director General of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs L.Munkhtushig.

The company said the COVID-19 pandemic had not had a material impact on its operations and it was still expecting to produce about 60,000 ounces this year at cash costs of about US$500/oz.

Steppe said it had sold a total of 5,233oz of gold and 1,372oz of silver to date, in two separate deliveries to the Central Bank of Mongolia, generating cash flow before stream obligations of $8.5 million.

The company said it would put positive cash flow towards studies to expand the openpit and processing, with an aim to increase production to 150,000oz of gold per annum.

Steppe was congratulated in a joint statement on reaching the milestone by the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry and the country's Central Bank.

"We would like to applaud Steppe Gold for successfully commencing gold production at the ATO gold mine, which will positively impact the economy during this difficult period," the ministry said.

Steppe president and CEO Bataa Tumur-Ochir said the company had increased its mining rate and planned to increase gold and silver deliveries as it moved out of the ramp-up phase.

It had started commercial production in March at ATO, which it had acquired from Centerra Gold in 2017.

Steppe describes itself as Mongolia's premier precious metals company and said in January it was the first company to receive funding from the country's National Investment Fund PIF SPV.

Steppe shares spent much of the past 12 months below the C$1 mark but shot to a high of $1.73 last week.

They closed at $1.66 yesterday to capitalise the company about $76 million (US$54 million).

Last week, the IAAC investigated a staggering 491 cases; 13 were closed and three cases returned to prosecutors.

Importers in China will have to apply to the General Administration of Customs within six months of the announcement to be considered for waivers, which are effective from May 19.

The first batch of exemptions was announced in September 2019. It included major agricultural commodities such as soybeans and pork, as well as petrochemical products.

On Friday, the two countries’ top trade negotiators held their first telephone call since the Phase 1 deal agreement in January. Under the deal, China agreed to increase its purchases of US goods from a 2017 baseline by $200 billion over two years, with around $77 billion in increased purchases in the first year and $123 billion in the second year. In return, the US promised to slash tariffs from 15 to 7.5 percent on $120 billion worth of Chinese goods.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the two nations should implement the deal with equality and mutual respect. The agreement is beneficial for both sides, along with the rest of the world, he said.

US-China bilateral trade nosedived in the first four months of the year as supply chains on both sides were severely disrupted by coronavirus lockdowns. Customs data showed that China’s imports of US goods dropped by 11.1 percent in April, and by an unprecedented 85.5 percent in March. US President Donald Trump has threatened to terminate the deal if China fails to meet its purchase commitments.

The Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the already strained relations between the world’s two largest economies, with Washington accusing the Chinese government of “covering up” the initial coronavirus outbreak in December, and of obstructing Western efforts to investigate the virus’ origin. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Washington has “significant evidence” that the coronavirus originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. Beijing has called Washington's claims “groundless accusations.”

It has been witnessed that the railway construction has been undergoing with vigorous progress regardless of the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 pandemic.

Employee catering services, supply of uniforms, protective gears and other required materials for the 6,000 workers are all sustained by national companies. This sets a good example of protecting workers’ family income during pandemic by making sure all workers are keeping their jobs even in times of crisis.

Their successful completion is expected to create good base and practice of professional cadres, technology, machineries and manufacturers for building railway structures in the future.

During the discussion, N.Enkhbold requested Sergey Shoigu to help evacuating Mongolian cadets with their families and other students who study in Russian Federation with a chartered military plane. Minister Shoigu accepted the Mongolian request and has tasked the relevant officials to organise the evacuation of the cadets with their aircraft.

According to sources, Mongolia plans to evacuate over 500 of its students from Russia by air and land in the next weeks. The returnees are expected to be quarantined in the Selenge and Darkhan-Uul provinces, which are close to the Russian border.