The 9th edition of this event will take place in the Kempinski Hotel, UB on 25th January 2020. Tickets are available via the link below or directly through the British Mongolian Chamber of Commerce. Ticket sales will cease on 20th January 2020.

http://www.sand-baggers.com/9th-ub-burns-supper/…

Scottish bagpiper Ally McCallum will be in attendance and we are delighted to be supporting the Scottish judo squad, who will also be present following a day of competition against their Mongolian counterparts in UB.

The apparent retaliation for last week's US drone strike against a senior Iranian commander amplifies concern about a spiraling tit-for-tat conflict between the United States and Iran.
US crude jumped more than 4% to over $65 a barrel Tuesday evening after US officials said Iran launched more than a dozen missiles that targeted at least two bases hosting American military personnel. Crude, which settled at $62.70 a barrel during regular trading Tuesday, climbed as high as $65.48 a barrel.
Significantly, the attack was claimed by Iran itself, not one of the nation's various proxy groups in the region. And the Pentagon said that Iran used ballistic missiles from inside Iraq, indicating a significant escalation.
"It comes as no surprise that there has been a reprisal from Iran -- the concern is that this is just the sign of things to come," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData.
President Donald Trump, who has previously visited one of the airbases targeted, has been briefed on the rocket attacks. The Pentagon said it is "working on initial battle damage assessments" and will "take all necessary measures to protect and defense" US personnel and allies in the region.
Trump has previously vowed to hit back at Iran if it retaliated for the US drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of the IRGC Quds Force.
Investors are on high alert for any signs of a clash between the United States and Iran that threatens oil supplies in the Middle East. Crude prices retreated earlier this week on hopes that energy supplies won't be impacted by the tensions.
A spike in oil prices could deal a blow to the world economy, which is already struggling from weak manufacturing activity. Dow (INDU) futures tumbled more than 300 points, or 1.2%, late Wednesday.
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described the bases in Iraq that were targeted.

Previously, many people have re-located from scarcely-populated provinces to big electoral districts – this has affected election results. This move is well-known as ‘grasshopper migration’.

The Mongolian cabinet has approved MNT 43 billion to be spent in organizing the 2020 elections. The cost of the parliamentary election will be MNT 24.3 billion.

At the meeting, the sides will exchange views on strategic partnership relations and cooperation between Mongolia, USA and Japan, regional matters, Korean Peninsula issue as well as trilateral cooperation.

The meeting will be co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary of the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, D.Stilwell, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Sh.Takizaki, Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau.

In the congratulatory message, Xi Jinping pointed out, 2019 witnessed significant progress in China-Mongolia relations. The two countries celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and achieved fruitful results in exchanges and cooperation in various fields. When President Khaltmaa Battulga paid a state visit to China and attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation last April, Mr. President and I had in-depth exchange of views and reached important consensus, providing important political guidance for bilateral relations.

Xi Jinping stressed, I attach great importance to the development of China-Mongolia relations. In the new year, I am willing to work with President Khaltmaa Battulga to push for new progress in the China-Mongolia comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to benefit the two countries and peoples.

Khaltmaa Battulga said in his congratulatory message, Mongolia and China held grand celebrations for the historic year of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2019. With joint efforts of the two peoples, the Mongolia-China comprehensive strategic partnership has achieved all-round development. As permanent neighbors, Mongolia and China have always been committed to regional security and development while respecting each other's development path as well as interests and concerns. I stand ready to maintain close cooperation with President Xi Jinping and wish China prosperity and progress.

The decision is part of the government's efforts to improve air quality in the capital, Ulan Bator, which suffers severe air pollution, by increasing access to processed fuel, it said.

On May 15, a government ban on domestic use of low-grade coal in Ulan Bator came into force, with the aim of reducing air pollution. Since then, households in the city have been supplied with processed fuel, instead of raw coal.

Currently, there is only one fuel processing plant in Mongolia. The plant, with an annual capacity of processing 600,000 tons of fuel, is barely meeting demand in Ulan Bator.

The construction of the new plant is scheduled from March to August, with the same processing capacity as the existing one, according to the press office.

There were more than 2,000 reindeers in Mongolia during the 1970s. However, the number dropped to 926 at the end of 2007 as reindeer herders had to butcher and sell their reindeer for lack of sustainable incomes, bringing the animal to the brink of extinction.

The Mongolian government has taken measures to improve the herders' living standards by promoting tourism, bringing the number of reindeers back to 2,000 in 2016. Since then the reindeer population has been growing continuously.

Particularly, the country holds a reindeer festival in the northernmost province Khuvsgul every summer to promote the unique culture of reindeers and protect the animal.

Mongolian reindeer herders only live in Khuvsgul province where around 90 households keep reindeers.

The information system provides opportunity to make activities related to development of land management plan, its implementation and monitoring more open to public based on their participation.

“With introduction of the online system, any action to violate interest of citizens due to land-related disputes will be ended aside from eliminating duplicate planning, reducing unproductive expenses caused by incoherence between the sectors and making investment in land not risky and more assured,” said Ts.Gankhuu, Head of the Administration of Land Affairs, Geodesy and Cartography.

Furthermore, government organizations of all social and economic spheres such as agriculture, environment, urban planning, industry, road transport and defense will be able to jointly formulate interrelated, unified plan with no spatial overlaps using the online system.

You can visit the site through www.egazar.gov.mn

The HU is scheduled to perform at the ‘Coachella’ music and art festival in California. They will be the first Mongolian band to perform at the one of the world’s biggest music festivals. But is it surprising? The HU is already fast becoming a rock legend!

The popular music festival, which is annually held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, will be taking place across two weekends: April 10-12th, and the 17-19th. The festival is known for being filled with nonstop music, celebrities, and bold fashion statements.

The festival brings together the best music representatives from all over the world and Asian artists including Bigbang, and Rich Brian Epik High will participate in the festival alongside The HU.

With more than 60 million livestock and wide pasturelands, the Mongolian agriculture and livestock sectors have huge potential to drive economic diversification and as a key source of broad-based employment.

However, major challenges such as low productivity, animal health issues, and vulnerability to climate change and extreme weather events, limit the sector’s potential. About 56 percent of Mongolia’s herders own 200 head or fewer of livestock and are trapped in a low-input, low-output, low-productivity cycle. Animal disease, coupled with poor food hygiene and inadequate nutrition, limit the output and quality of meat and dairy products. As a result, Mongolian meat exports have stagnated at less than 10 percent of their potential despite the country’s proximity to the region’s largest markets for meat imports.

“Livestock productivity holds the key to boosting the sector’s competitiveness. Improving animal health and livestock productivity by commercializing the value chain will enable greater economic diversification and contribute to broad-based employment and income growth in rural areas and at the same time improve food security and food safety,” said Andrei Mikhnev, World Bank Country Manager for Mongolia.

The new project aims to improve the quality of and access to veterinary services nationally and help establish transboundary animal disease free zones. The project will help improve performance of the Mongolian Veterinary Services Authority to effectively control animal diseases, promote responsible use of antimicrobials, provide veterinary public health services, and improve food safety in line with international standards.

In addition, the project will improve livestock productivity and increase the volume of livestock products that meet market requirements by promoting partnerships between producers and processors. Collaborative research with academic and research institutions, as well as investments to improve animal breeding and nutrition services, will also contribute to this goal. Moreover, the project will provide immediate response in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency.

The 5-year project will be implemented by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry of Mongolia.