publishedmedium:the ub post

Bolorsoft CEO and consultant discuss Unicode standard of Mongolian script – The UB Post
27 avr. 2018
By M.OYUNGEREL
▻https://www.pressreader.com/mongolia/the-ub-post/textview
(note : je reprends tout le texte ici car le format de Pressreader est très pénible, le UB Post n’a plus l’air d’être en ligne en version html et l’adresse ci-dessus n’a pas l’air très spécifique)

Mon­gol News sat down with Founder of Bolor­soft Co. S.Badral and Con­sul­tant of Bolor­soft T.Jamiyansuren to dis­cuss the in­ter­na­tional stan­dard for Mon­go­lian script. Last week, they at­tended the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion meet­ing in San Jose, Cal­i­for­nia, USA to im­prove the ex­ist­ing Mon­go­lian script stan­dard/pho­netic model.

$The public has just re­cently be­come aware of the con­tro­ver­sial sit­u­a­tion con­cern­ing the im­prove­ment of in­ter­na­tional stan­dard for Mon­go­lian script, which is whether to en­code with Mon­go­lian pho­netic model or with graphetic, like that used to en­code Chi­nese char­ac­ters. Since you have par­tic­i­pated in these dis­cus­sions, would you please give our read­ers in­for­ma­tion re­gard­ing this is­sue?

*S.Badral: Uni­code is a com­pany of in­ter­na­tional char­ac­ter en­cod­ing stan­dards. It’s an in­te­grated consortium of cor­po­ra­tions which de­velop the en­cod­ing stan­dards for all the scripts in the world. In other words, it pro­duces one com­pre­hen­sive stan­dard which identifies the com­puter codes for Latin “a”, Cyril­lic “a”, Mon­go­lian “a”, and Chi­nese char­ac­ters. If the script in ques­tion is not en­coded by Uni­code stan­dards, all the global play­ers, such as Face­book, Google, Adobe, Ap­ple, Mi­crosoft, and IBM, would not sup­port it. That means the script will not be sup­ported on any op­er­at­ing sys­tem, com­puter, or phone. Al­though Mon­go­lian script was first en­coded based on a pho­netic model in 2000, small un­solved is­sues have caused it to drag out with­out a so­lu­tion for 17 to 18 years.

So, dur­ing the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion meet­ing in Ho­hhot last Septem­ber, it was al­most de­cided that the cur­rent model is com­pletely wrong and a graphetic model de­vel­oped by Chi­nese ex­perts Liang Hai and Shen Yilei was nearly adopted. At that time, we flatly op­posed, say­ing, “Mon­go­lian script has let­ters, and it’s writ­ten by its pho­net­i­cally.

...In this last meet­ing, we have achieved our ob­jec­tive for the past few years and de­fended our her­itage...

There­fore, we need to im­prove the ex­ist­ing pho­netic model in­stead of adopt­ing graphetic en­cod­ing”. With sup­port from the In­ner Mon­go­lian party, the graphetic model was not ap­proved. In this meet­ing too. Our dis­cus­sion re­volved around aban­don­ing the pho­netic model and chang­ing to the graphetic model.

T.Jamiyansuren: Had we ap­proved the Uni­code stan­dard for Mon­go­lian script as the graphetic model that the Chi­nese de­vel­oped, it would’ve then been dis­cussed and ap­proved at the ISO in­ter­na­tional stan­dard meet­ing, and ev­ery­thing would’ve been over. Be­cause these two meet­ings were sched­uled right af­ter an­other, we tried very hard to not take it to the ISO meet­ing. That Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion meet­ing was al­most like war.

Do any state rep­re­sen­ta­tives take part in these im­por­tant meet­ings? What is the par­tic­i­pa­tion of the Mon­go­lian state and govern­ment in this in­ter­na­tional dis­cus­sion con­cern­ing na­tional script and cul­ture?

S.Badral: Pre­vi­ously, rep­re­sen­ta­tives from the Agency for Stan­dard­iza­tion and Metrol­ogy and the In­sti­tute of Lan­guage and Lit­er­a­ture at the Mon­go­lian Acad­emy of Sci­ences reg­u­larly at­tended these meet­ings. But we don’t know why the is­sue has got­ten to this point. Be­fore we went to Ho­hhot in Septem­ber 2017, we viewed that the fu­ture of Mon­go­lian script re­lates to the na­tional in­ter­ests and in­tel­lec­tual in­de­pen­dence of Mon­go­lians and con­tacted the pres­i­dent. Pres­i­dent Kh.Bat­tulga then met us within 10 days of our re­turn, called the rep­re­sen­ta­tives of rel­e­vant or­ga­ni­za­tions, and or­dered them to ur­gently take nec­es­sary mea­sures. We de­ter­mined that an ac­tion plan to im­prove the Mon­go­lian scripts pho­netic model will be de­vel­oped by the Com­mu­ni­ca­tions and In­for­ma­tion Tech­nol­ogy Author­ity (CITA) and ap­proved by the Agency for Stan­dard­iza­tion and Metrol­ogy, and formed a work­ing group.

How­ever, the work­ing group did noth­ing be­cause they didn’t have a bud­get. The Na­tional Se­cu­rity Coun­cil obliged them to send a re­port ev­ery week, but we have no idea what re­port was given or what work was done. The agency tried to dis­cuss the fund­ing is­sue in a govern­ment meet­ing, but was post­poned. By then, the bud­get dis­cus­sion had al­ready been con­ducted, hence, no so­lu­tion. Ba­si­cally, they took this is­sue very idly.

Govern­ment Memo No. 54 was passed. In there, they as­signed six agen­cies to take care of the ex­e­cu­tion and fund­ing of this is­sue, three for each. While the Mon­go­lian script en­cod­ing im­prove­ment is­sue was bounced be­tween state or­ga­ni­za­tions like a ten­nis ball, it was time for the sched­uled meet­ing.

T.Jamiyansuren: Ap­prox­i­mately 20 days be­fore we left, an­other work­ing group was es­tab­lished by the Min­istry of Ed­u­ca­tion, Cul­ture and Sci­ence, and they held a meet­ing. Dur­ing that meet­ing, there was some kind of talk, “What do we do . Ei­ther we give S.Badral and T.Jamiyansuren a state as­sign­ment, or no­tify them that they do not rep­re­sent the state”. A let­ter was sent to the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion stat­ing, “These two men do not have the right to rep­re­sent the state,” and that a per­son named Enkhdalai will be com­ing. Those two men have just re­turned from par­tic­i­pat­ing in that meet­ing. But po­lit­i­cal sug­ges­tions and con­clu­sions do not af­fect the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion meet­ing. They sent a per­son called Enkhdalai with a po­si­tion of con­sul­tant at CITA. We were in­tro­duced at the meet­ing.

Did the Mon­go­lian rep­re­sen­ta­tives first met each other once they were at the meet­ing?

S.Badral: Yes. We had ar­rived two days be­fore, met our trans­la­tor, and care­fully pre­pared the is­sues of con­cern and presentations. Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion chose Gan­ba­yar Gan­sukh (G.Gan­ba­yar), a man who lives in Ok­la­homa, as our trans­la­tor. On our end, it was un­clear who was go­ing to voice the state po­si­tion even a week be­fore the meet­ing.

T.Jamiyansuren: Uni­code Consortium be­lieved that CITA is of im­por­tance and had them at­tend as a li­ai­son mem­ber. The re­spon­si­bil­i­ties should be even higher in re­gard to this.

Did you in­tro­duce a Mon­go­lian pho­netic model that you de­vel­oped your­selves, dur­ing the meet­ing?

S.Badral: How could we have the Mon­go­lian script en­coded graphet­i­cally, like that of Chi­nese char­ac­ters on our watch? So, I and T.Jamiyansuren dis­cussed and co­op­er­ated with Mon­go­lian script ex­pert Lkhag­va­suren, and pre­pared a pre­sen­ta­tion on ways to im­prove the pho­netic model. We dis­cussed the dis­ad­van­tages of the ex­ist­ing model and ways to fix it, and proved it with a re­al­is­tic ex­am­ple. Af­ter three days of the meet­ing, the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion had a pos­i­tive at­ti­tude and said, “If we re­ally fix it like this, the model will be eas­ier and bet­ter”. That’s be­cause the graphetic model con­tains only char­ac­ters and not let­ters, which makes it com­pli­cated to sort, cat­e­go­rize, and de­velop etc. There would be many prob­lems such as iden­ti­fy­ing the text and spellcheck­ing it. The pro­posed graphetic model was not even for the clear Mon­go­lian script drawn, so it was hard for the user to write with the word in mind or even the root of the word . For in­stance, the “a” and “e” at the be­gin­ning, mid­dle, and end of a word, and “n”, were to be writ­ten by press­ing one “teeth” or aleph, and the “crown”, “tooth”, and “tail” (el­e­ments of Mon­go­lian script writ­ing) were to be au­to­mat­i­cally man­aged. This might break the Mon­go­lian think­ing and one but­ton will eas­ily break from too much pres­sure. I think the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion peo­ple started to un­der­stand it. The In­ner Mon­go­lians on the other hand, sug­gested to de­velop both the graphetic and pho­netic mod­els, maybe be­cause they were in a rush to de­cide on some so­lu­tion to pre­vent fur­ther drag out, or they lost faith in the pho­netic model.

Any­how, main­tain­ing the pho­netic model which was to be aban­doned, fix­ing its bugs, and hav­ing a de­ci­sion made for it to be de­vel­oped with pref­er­ence is a big achieve­ment.

So the rep­re­sen­ta­tives lis­tened to you and ac­knowl­edged your pre­sen­ta­tion. Isn’t the mes­sage “They don’t rep­re­sent the state” a way of sav­ing their skin in case some­thing went wrong?

S.Badral: It just looks like that. Since last Septem­ber, that’s the stance our govern­ment held. In the first work­ing group meet­ing of the Min­istry of Ed­u­ca­tion, Cul­ture and Sci­ence, CITA rep­re­sen­ta­tives kept say­ing, “It’s not suit­able for pri­vate com­pany rep­re­sen­ta­tives be in­cluded in a state work­ing group, that’s pri­vate party in­ter­est,” so I even re­moved my­self from the work­ing group (laughs).

T.Jamiyansuren: Be­cause the is­sue couldn’t have been qui­eted down, they had to send some­body as a rep­re­sen­ta­tive, which hap­pened to be Enkhdalai, as a con­sul­tant at CITA. I had the im­pres­sion that that per­son read and re­searched quite a lot too. But it’s not ef­fec­tive to have some­one who’s in­ter­ested in the Uni­code stan­dard of Mon­go­lian script read ready pre­pared ma­te­ri­als and retell them. You have to be metic­u­lous with your words, and be able to prove your point. His few un­sure words dur­ing his pre­sen­ta­tion had Chi­nese ex­perts stand up and say, “This is ex­actly why there should be a graphetic model”. Of course, it was not easy to give this much work in tight sched­ule to a per­son who lacked ex­pe­ri­ence.

Peo­ple are say­ing that the Mon­go­lian govern­ment will pay at­ten­tion to our na­tional script be­fore the next Au­gust meet­ing to pre­vent the graphetic model from be­ing en­coded. Is there re­ally such dan­ger, or is ev­ery­thing be­hind us now?

S.Badral: If we hadn’t given a pre­sen­ta­tion at this last meet­ing and changed the com­mis­sion’s un­der­stand­ing, our Mon­go­lian script re­ally would have been en­coded graphet­i­cally. But now, the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion has de­cided to de­velop both mod­els to ra­tio­nally solve the is­sue. That means we have to fix and im­prove our pho­netic model and in­tro­duce it to use. Even a sin­gle sym­bol can­not be changed once it’s reg­is­tered in the Uni­code stan­dard. There­fore, there’s a strict rule that we have to fix with­out chang­ing the pre­vi­ous one. In the meet­ing, we in­tro­duced a pos­si­ble so­lu­tion that we can im­prove it like that. So our govern­ment has to take care of this is­sue for this to con­tinue on a big­ger scale. We wouldn’t beg them if it was only tech­ni­cal work, but it’s re­lated to so­ci­ety, cul­ture, and pol­i­tics.

T.Jamiyansuren: Some who un­der­stands the sig­nif­i­cance of this meet­ing are right when they say, “This was like the mod­ern Khi­agt agree­ment”. This is a mat­ter of whether Mon­go­lian script will ex­ist for the next five years, 500, or 5,000. When the rep­re­sen­ta­tives were asked for their opin­ion on the lo­ca­tion and time of the next meet­ing, In­ner Mon­go­lians sug­gested to ur­gently hold it in Ho­hhot, af­ter two months. But the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion head said, “The next meet­ing will be held at least six months later. There’s a sug­ges­tion to or­ga­nize it in Ulaan­baatar,” while our state rep­re­sen­ta­tive stayed quiet. We couldn’t, so we voiced our opin­ion. In other words, there will be a Uni­code meet­ing re­gard­ing this is­sue in Ulaan­baatar, at the end of Septem­ber. If it’s or­ga­nized well, it’s not ours but Mon­go­lia’s name that will bear the good name.

It seems like we are greedy, hear­ing that the Chi­nese have de­vel­oped the graphetic model and en­code the Mon­go­lian script, when we don’t even use the Mon­go­lian script our­selves. There are some who say to stop co­op­er­a­tion with the Chi­nese and de­velop the script alone. What do you say about this?

S.Badral: Lan­guages ex­ist through the use of its script. In the mod­ern times, peo­ple’s writ­ing has trans­ferred from hand­writ­ten notes to typ­ing on a com­puter or a phone. As for Mon­go­lian writ­ing, it has slipped into the list of en­dan­gered lan­guages be­cause there is no dig­i­tal us­age and no op­por­tu­nity to cre­ate con­tent. How can dig­i­tal con­tent be cre­ated when the Uni­code stan­dard of 18 years has a big prob­lem. There­fore, this is­sue will be im­me­di­ately fixed and in­tro­duced into use like Cyril­lic and Latin al­pha­bets. In terms of pos­ses­sion, it shall be­long to those who use it. In other words, Mon­go­lian script is not the prop­erty of Outer or In­ner Mon­go­lians. There could be Amer­i­cans, Ger­mans, British, Bel­gians, Ira­ni­ans, or peo­ple of any other coun­try who have stud­ied and uses Mon­go­lian script. They have the right to learn and use what­ever lan­guage and script they please. It’s im­por­tant we pro­vide that op­por­tu­nity. That’s why these in­ter­na­tional rep­re­sen­ta­tives are putting this much ef­fort into in­tro­duc­ing the Mon­go­lian script in dig­i­tal use. This script is a very im­por­tant world cul­tural her­itage.

Why are you putting this much ef­fort and heart for the Mon­go­lian script?

S.Badral: As for me, I’m a mem­ber of the Uni­code tech­ni­cal com­mis­sion Work­ing Group (WG)-2 and vol­un­teer of the WG3. I re­ceive in­for­ma­tion about this be­fore oth­ers. I’ve seen this as my civic du­ties and re­ported it to the state and govern­ment. Sec­ondly, Bolor­soft is a dig­i­tal lin­guis­tics com­pany. Mon­go­lians know that we have re­leased many prod­ucts re­lated to Mon­go­lian lan­guage and script. Al­though Cyril­lic writ­ing pro­grams are in the mar­ket, most users don’t know that it is based on Mon­go­lian script. That’s why we can’t aban­don it.

Bolor­soft Co. is con­sid­ered a ma­jor provider in the de­vel­op­ment of Mon­go­lian script at Uni­code Consortium. That’s be­cause we were the first to cre­ate the Uni­code font for Mon­go­lian script and have it li­censed. This field was stag­nant since 2013, un­til we solved the Uni­code stan­dard for Mon­go­lian script is­sue. But those fonts be­came the be­gin­ning of big cor­po­ra­tions such as Google and Mi­crosoft. So, Uni­code Consortium al­ways invites us to their in­ter­na­tional meet­ings. We try to at­tend these meet­ings con­stantly to voice the in­ter­ests of Mon­go­lia, but we can’t al­ways due to the ex­pen­di­ture. But I see that there are peo­ple who are jeal­ous and spread ru­mors that we are try­ing to make money us­ing Mon­go­lian script. That’s the only thing they talked about in the last six months, politi­ciz­ing it. On the other hand, we are work­ing for Mon­go­lia’s in­ter­ests.

If we were seek­ing profit from this, we wouldn’t be us­ing ar­ti­fi­cial in­tel­li­gence to de­velop Mon­go­lian lan­guage and writ­ing, but fi­nan­cial de­vel­op­ment. We are one of the first Mon­go­lian com­pa­nies de­vel­op­ing and us­ing ar­ti­fi­cial in­tel­li­gence. In this last meet­ing, we have achieved our ob­jec­tive for the past few years and de­fended our her­itage.

#Mongolie, l’attribution de 1072 actions de la mine de charbon de #Tavan_Tolgoï aux 2,5 millions de citoyens mongols (décidée il y a 6 ans…) passe en phase active.

What mobilizing Erdenes TT shares for 2.5 million citizens could mean for the stock market | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/05/what-mobilizing-erdenes-tt-shares-for-2-5-million-citizens-could-mean-for-

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/rsz_2-1.jpg

Nearly 2.5 million Mongolian citizens will finally be registered as shareholders in Erdenes Tavan_Tolgoi (Erdenes TT) nearly six years after a mass distribution of shares in 2012. More than two thirds of Mongolian citizens currently own 1,072 shares each in the majority state-owned coal mining company. But that ownership has been in name only, with many displeased with the government’s inaction in mobilizing citizen-held shares. But thanks to a recent vote by the board of Erdenes TT, the issue is likely to reach a resolution in the near future, and with that comes the potential for a monumental shift in the nation’s economy.
[…]
In 2017, Erdenes TT mined more than 10.1 million tons of coal and exported 8.4 million tons, amassing revenue of 1.1 trillion MNT. From this revenue, 243 billion MNT was contributed to the state budget. G.Khashchuluun believes that this revenue can be doubled or even tripled, helping to strengthen the value of the company.

“Right now, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi mainly exports raw coal to China. If the company ceases export of raw coal and begins exporting processed coal, revenue could be increased twofold or even threefold. This can be accomplished by the government with an increased export tax on raw coal,” G.Khashchuluun said.

No matter how the situation plays out, the fate of Erdenes TT is on pace to have far-reaching effects on not only Mongolia’s financial and mining sector but also the economic and political landscape of the nation.

3 Mongolian judokas to compete for United Arab Emirates | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/22/3-mongolian-judokas-to-compete-for-united-arab-emirates

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/olloo_mn_1445134696_hvleg.jpg

One of Mongolia’s top judokas D.Tumurkhuleg (66 kg division) was invited to become a contracted athlete of the United Arab Emirates.

Judokas N.Dagvasuren (81 kg) and B.Temuulen (100 kg) are expected to become contracted athletes for the United Arab Emirates. They are expected to finalize the contract in March and start competing for the country in May.

In addition, other top Mongolian athletes have already made contracts to compete for other countries. For instance, judoka G.Otgontsetseg, a top judoka in the women’s 48 kg changed her citizenship and competes for Kazakhstan and has won bronze medals at the World Championships and Olympics for the country.

Last year, Azerbaijan’s judo team drew contracts with E. Bazarragchaa (48 kg), P.Buyankhishig (52 kg) and M.Ichinkhorloo (57 kg).

En Mongolie, les EAU recrutent des judokas, le Qatar des footballeurs et le Japon des sumotoris (pour mémoire 4 des 5 derniers yokozunas sont mongols dont 2 des 3 actuels).

Swiss court says S. #Bayartsogt may have signed disadvantageous contract with #Oyu_Tolgoi | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/22/swiss-court-says-s-bayartsogt-may-have-signed-disadvantageous-contract-wit

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/3ad15140e7c4fc8df1032a1b2dc18d35.jpg

The highest judicial authority in Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court, has ruled to uphold the seizure of 1.85 million USD in Swiss bank accounts closely linked to former Minister of Finance S. Bayartsogt. The former finance minister was integral in signing the 2009 Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement.
[…]
The court documents reportedly refer to Oyu Tolgoi but do not accuse the company of wrongdoing on the project.

According to the court documents, the corruption investigation by the OAG was launched in 2016 when the bank accounts used to transfer 10.1 million USD to S.Bayartsogt in September 2008 were seized by Swiss authorities.

The Swiss court has raised concern that the transfer of 10.1 million USD came the month he was appointed finance minister.

The Swiss Federal Tribunal’s three-judge panel wrote that evidence pointed to “concrete clues that large amounts of money of questionable origin” had flowed in transfers that were “typical of money laundering”.

“It is very suspicious that the minister of a foreign country, immediately after taking a ministerial post, would be the recipient of such a large sum,” the ruling said.

“There are indications that (S.Bayartsogt) as finance minister signed a contract that was disadvantageous to the Mongolian state,” the Swiss ruling said.

The 2009 investment agreement was negotiated when Turquoise Hill Resources was named Ivanhoe Mines and was chaired by prominent mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland. Rio owned less than 10 percent of Ivanhoe at the time and only acquired more than 50 percent ownership of Ivanhoe until January 2012. Rio was still involved in the striking of the investment agreement.

S.Bayartsogt was forced to resign as Deputy Speaker of Parliament after his offshore dealings were revealed during the publication of the #Panama_Papers.

Is U.S. President Trump Drawing Inspiration From Inner Mongolia? | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/18/is-u-s-president-trump-drawing-inspiration-from-inner-mongolia

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Trump_8.jpg

It’s perhaps for this reason that there wasn’t actually that much discussion about a proposal that would be particularly unusual for modern America: the idea of a military parade in Washington D.C. While this has actually happened before when the U.S. needed to drum up civilian support for conflicts abroad, it’s now viewed more as a mark of an authoritarian or dictatorial regime (thanks in large part to associations with North Korea and Russia). We don’t know exactly what Trump is envisioning, but it’s possible that he’s actually taking inspiration from Inner Mongolia – which may be a first for a U.S. president.

The closest thing to an official account is that Trump was directly inspired by the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in France – almost a cheerier version of the sort of parades we’ve occasionally seen in Russia and the Far East. However, we also know that in July of last year Xi Jinping presided over a parade in Inner Mongolia, marking the 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army. Over 12,000 military units and personnel were in action with Jinping inspecting them directly, ultimately making for both an impressive spectacle and a formidable show of strength.

Given the fact that Trump publicly discusses what he appears to view as a very competitive relationship between the U.S. and China, it’s easy to imagine that this 2017 parade had an effect on him as well. So while some still think it’s unlikely the U.S. president actually gets his parade, there’s a chance we could see an Inner Mongolian spectacle imitated in Washington in the near future.

#défilé_militaire #humour_mongol …

Opinion libre, probablement inspirée par cette revue des revues

Donald Trump Is Not the Only One Who Likes a Grand Parade
▻http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/donald-trump-is-not-the-only-one-who-likes-a-grand-parade

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/reuters/2018/ChinaParadeFeature.jpg

US President Donald J. Trump wants a military parade—a grand military parade.

Trump, reportedly inspired by the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris last summer, has asked the Pentagon to organize a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington that [wait for it] tops the French.

The reaction to Trump’s plan has ranged from skepticism to criticism.

The last major military parade in the United States marked victory in the Gulf War in 1991. George H.W. Bush was president at the time. According to the Washington Post, opinion was sharply divided over the parade.

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/reuters/2018/BastilleDayTrumpFeature.jpg

Mongolian Football Federation sign cooperation agreement with Qatar Football Association | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/20/mongolian-football-federation-sign-cooperation-agreement-with-qatar-footba

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/large.jpg

#Qatar Football Association (QFA) President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani signed co-operation agreements with Hungarian Football Federation President Sandor Csanyi and Mongolian Football Federation (MFF) President Ganbaatar Amgalanbaatar, at Al Bidda Tower in Doha.

#diplomatie_du_footbal

Will Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un meet in Ulaanbaatar? | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/12/will-donald-trump-and-kim-jong-un-meet-in-ulaanbaatar

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/5aa203c52e889.image_.jpg

In the lead up to the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un set to happen sometime in May of this year, Ulaanbaatar has been vaulted into the conversation to host the much anticipated peace talks.

The meeting will make Trump the first ever US President to meet with a North Korean leader. On Friday, former President Ts.Elbegdorj took to twitter to commemorate a “long [waited] breakthrough”. The fourth president of Mongolia also took the opportunity to make an offer to host the historic talks in Ulaanbaatar.

“Korean Peninsula: A long waited breakthrough! Here is an offer: US President Trump and NK leader Kim meet in UB. Mongolia is the most suitable, neutral territory. We facilitated important meetings, including between Japan and NK. Mongolia’s continuing legacy – UB dialogue on NEA,” Ts.Elbegdorj tweeted on Friday.

During his presidency, Ts.Elbegdorj was at the forefront of trying to champion Mongolia and specifically Ulaanbaatar as a neutral location to hold peace talks with North Korea. In his tweet, Ts.Elbegdorj alludes to the fact that Mongolia has been a mediator between Japan and North Korea for talks regarding abducted Japanese citizens.

B.Shijirbat talks about his performance at Asia’s got talent | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/01/25/b-shijirbat-talks-about-his-performance-at-asias-got-talent

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHPD-8lqvkY

Graphic designer and dancer B. Shijirbat made international headlines when [pas spoiler la vidéo de la] final of “Asia’s Got Talent”. The dancer uses his graphic design to enhance his dance performance. He previously won second place in the season 2 of “Mongolia’s Got Talent”.

First of all, I’d like to congratulate you on your success at “Asia’s Got Talent”, where you won fourth place. When did you return to Mongolia?

et la finale
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkIK20LlEk0

Championnat de sculpture sur glace à Breckenbridge, Colorado
Massive Art Sculpted from 20-Ton Blocks of Snow in Breckenridge - YouTube
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSLgX9gqnuU

Mongolia hopes fifth time’s the charm for oil refinery | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/02/11/mongolia-hopes-fifth-times-the-charm-for-oil-refinery

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/rsz_gazriin_tos_1.jpg

The construction of an oil refinery at Altan Shiree soum of Dornogovi Province is set to commence in April of 2018, financed with a one billion USD loan from India. The progress of the project has been encouraging for many who are hopeful that the refinery will offset a certain amount Mongolia’s fuel dependence on Russia.

Despite the optimism, there has been a lot of skepticism, rightfully so. An oil refinery has been an elusive objective for Mongolia for decades. Since the transition into a democracy in 1990, Mongolia has for the most part, been able to maintain the integrity of its political security, dictating its own foreign policy.

What Mongolia has not been able to do is fully ensure its economic and energy security. China is Mongolia’s biggest trading partner and largest buyer of its exports. Previously, the predecessor of the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union filled that role for Mongolia. In the 1990s, due to Russia being caught up in its own internal issues, it saw a significantly reduced role in Mongolia’s economy. Where Moscow has been able to make up for that loss is in the fuel sector.

Mongolia is essentially 100 percent dependent on Russia for fuel. Russia, in particular the state-owned Rosneft, is the largest exporter of fuel to Mongolia, accounting for 94 percent of fuel imports in 2016. In 2017, Russia accounted for up to 98 percent fuel imports to Mongolia. The almost absolute dependency of Mongolia on Russia and the fact that the Mongolian government considers fuel a strategic commodity helps maintain some influence of Russia on Mongolia’s economy.

The oil refinery financed by India is part of Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh’s Cabinet’s efforts to ensure that Mongolia produces food, energy, and fuel internally. The sentiment to alleviate Mongolia’s dependence on its two neighbors is not new and the construction of an oil refinery has been discussed for two decades.

Lie-in protest staged while lawmakers celebrated 26th anniversary of the Constitution | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/01/16/lie-in-protest-staged-while-lawmakers-celebrated-26th-anniversary-of-the-c

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AAGI8209.jpg

The “Booj Ukhlee” (Chocking to Death) movement against air pollution resumed with a lie-in protest with elderly people and children at Sukhbaatar Square last Saturday.

Mums and Dads Against Smog NGO organized the #lie-in, also known as #dead-in, to implant a stronger image of how the #air_pollution in the city is slowly killing them while causing all kinds of respiratory diseases to all members of the public.

While the young and old laid on freezing cold pavement at -14 degrees Celsius for hours at the southwestern side of Sukhbaatar Square with only a thin mattress to lessen the cold hard surface, members of Parliament, Cabinet and Ulaanbaatar City Council paid respect to Chinggis Khaan’s statue in commemoration of the 26th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. They completely ignored the lie-in as they made their way to General D.Sukhbaatar’s statue at the center of the square to lay wreaths only a few feet away from the protesters.
[…]
However, air quality monitoring stations set up throughout Ulaanbaatar still signal air pollution as “hazardous”. On Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m., PM2.5 level was recorded 409 micrograms per cubic meters at Tolgoit area and 371 micrograms per cubic meters at MNB, indicating that air pollution is at hazardous level. Sensors at Nisekh, Bayankhoshuu, and the Western Central Intersection were at “very unhealthy” level, measuring from 222 to 286 micrograms per cubic meters, while the other sensors signaled “unhealthy”, PM 2.5 measuring slightly under 200 micrograms per cubic meters.

120 km de file d’attente à la frontière chinoise, la moitié de la distance depuis les mines de charbon de Tavan Tolgoï…

Minister of Mining D.Sumiyabazar indefinitely suspends export of coal from Tavan Tolgoi to Gashuunsukhait | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/12/15/minister-of-mining-d-sumiyabazar-indefinitely-suspends-export-of-coal-from

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/120-kilometer-logjam-of-trucks-at-the-Gashuunsukhait-border-crossing.jpg

The transport of coal from the Tavan Tolgoi mine to Gashuunsukhait, the site of the 120 kilometer truck logjam, has been indefinitely suspended by the decision of the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar.

The transport of coal for Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi, Tavan Tolgoi JSC, and Energy Resources LLC will be affected by the decision. As of right now, it is unclear for how long the suspension of transport will continue for.

State-owned Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi has said that transport will resume once the 120 kilometer queue has been addressed. According to Erdenes TT, the decision will likely not affect sales of coal and even if it did, it is possible to make up sales later.

Human rights advisor to President Kh.Battulga defends proposal to reinstate death penalty | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/12/10/human-rights-advisor-to-president-kh-battulga-defends-proposal-to-reinstat

G.Uyanga, former Member of Parliament and Civil Society and Human Rights advisor to President Kh.Battulga, sat down with Unuudur to defend Kh.Battulga’s proposal to reinstate capital punishment.

The President’s wish to reinstate the death penalty has been the subject of much debate and division in Mongolia. As an advisor to the President, what is your stance on the death penalty?

People expressing their opinions on a controversial topic and taking sides is one thing. For us, finding a solution is what’s important. The President has proposed his solution.

First of all, President Kh.Battulga has made it clear that at no point during his term as President will he pardon any individuals convicted of heinous crimes against children. There are many convicted criminals who ask for pardons from the President. From 2014 until November 2017, the President’s Office received more than 400 requests for pardons, 22 of which were granted. Starting from now, those who have committed horrible crimes will not be considered for pardons. This is one solution.

Second, the President has proposed to reinstate the death penalty. In order to reinstate capital punishment, Parliament needs to legislate it. Whether it does or not is up to Parliament.

Pour cette « conseillère sur les droits humains »,
– la #peine_de_mort n’est de toutes façons pas abolie légalement,
– elle n’est que suspendue sur décision – inconstitutionnelle, d’après elle – du précédent président
– le fait que la #Mongolie ait adhéré au Deuxième protocole facultatif se rapportant au Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques, visant à abolir la peine de mort de l’ONU n’est pas vraiment gênant
– les sondages sont pour le recours à la peine de mort, voire massivement pour chez les juristes
– la principale – et unique motivation – est la punition de crimes sexuels sur des enfants

In 2016 alone, more than 298 children aged two to seven had become victims of sexual abuse. We do not know how many similar cases go unreported. This is a horrific statistic for Mongolians. The most recent decision by the President was based on research and designed to reverse what the previous President enacted based on emotion. It would be irrational to conclude that President Kh.Battulga’s decision was driven by emotion or overreaction. The reality of the situation demands this type of action.

NB : la population de la Mongolie est de 3 millions d’habitants en 2016. Le chiffre comparable pour la France semble être autour de 5500 par an, soit, pour une population 20 fois plus nombreuse, un taux comparable. Et il est, bien sûr, difficile de comparer les sous-déclarations dans les deux pays…

données (assez anciennes)
rapport ONED 2004
▻http://www.protection-enfance.org/Agressions.php

Universalis, données 2000
▻https://www.universalis.fr/encyclopedie/pedophilie/5-donnees-statistiques-du-phenomene-en-france

Will prohibiting left turns on Peace Avenue decrease traffic ? | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/08/13/will-prohibiting-left-turns-on-peace-avenue-decrease-traffic

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/baaf29___x974-1068x453.jpg

Starting on August 15, left turns will be prohibited on Peace Avenue from Western Central Intersection to Eastern Central Intersection, reported the Traffic Police Department this week. A significant shake-up in the Ulaanbaatar road network, the move was a surprise to many and it has been a polarizing issue since the announcement. Will prohibiting left turns be able to decrease traffic flow as traffic authorities believe or will it only convolute an already chaotic road system?

“Beginning on August 15, drivers will be prohibited from turning left at all seven intersections on Peace Avenue from Western Central Intersection to Eastern Central Intersection,” Major B.Ochirbat of the Traffic Police Department told media.

To put into perspective, drivers will not be allowed to turn left on Peace Avenue starting from around Gandantegchinlen Monastery (Barrun Durvun Zam) until Kempinski Hotel (Zuun Durvun Zam).

(comme indiqué sur la carte par les ronds rouges, l’immense place centrale est sur la gauche entre le 3ème et 4ème rond à partir de la gauche (ouest))

Quand le nouveau président mongol visite les militaires il ne se déguise ni en Top Gun, ni en sous-marinier, ni en Chinggis Khan…

President visits the Ministry of Defense | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/31/9174

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Interior-of-honorary-ger-for-Mongolian-khaans-being-presented-to-the-President.jpg

On Friday, President Kh.Battulga toured the Ministry of Defense to oversee its operations.

At the beginning of his tour, President Kh.Battulga, Minister of Defense B.Bat-Erdene and a head of the State Honorary Guards paid tribute to the state’s honorary white banner (peace symbol) and military black banner (wartime symbol), which were used during the Mongol Empire.

ThyssenKrupp wins contract to supply conveyor system for #Oyu_Tolgoi | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/30/thyssenkrupp-wins-contract-to-supply-conveyor-system-for-oyu-tolgoi

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/A-ThyssenKrupp-conveyor-system-in-Peru-transporting-4500-tons-of-crushed-iron-ore-from-mine-to-the-port.jpg

ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions has won a contract valued in the “higher double-digit million EUR” range to supply a material handling system for the new Oyu Tolgoi underground mine.

The conglomerate will supply a total of nine conveyors with a combined length of 9.5 km, as well as seven transfer towers operating at a design tonnage of 7,100 tons per hour. First production from underground is expected in 2020.

“One of the richest underground copper deposits in the world will soon be accessed with the help of high capacity gearless driven conveyors from ThyssenKrupp,” reported the company on July 25.

From a depth of nearly 1,400 meters beneath the Gobi Desert, the new underground material handling system is planned to transport 95,000 t/d of copper ore up to the surface. The main components are four high lift conveyors each equipped with 1.6-meter wide steel cord belts and dual 5,500 kW gearless drives from Siemens. Further conveyors will feed the main incline conveyors and tie the new underground system into the existing process facility.

Extreme drought hits third of Mongolian territory | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/27/extreme-drought-hits-third-of-mongolian-territory

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/rsz_severe_drought_is_affecting_more_than_34_percent_of_the_country.jpg

Approximately 34 percent of the country has been hit with severe drought, according to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry.

In addition, the ministry reported that 43 percent of the country is experiencing a moderate drought, while only 23 percent of land has been designated as having no drought (normal status).

Despite efforts to alleviate dryness, including weather modification operations to produce rain, the drought is expected to intensify, reports the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment. The institute also warned that the drought in the agricultural province of Selenge and in the northern part of Sukhbaatar Province has reached dangerous levels. The large number of wildfires spreading across the country has been in part caused by people, but officials say the drought is making the situation even worse.

Hakuho M.Davaajargal breaks sumo record with 1,048th victory | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/24/hakuho-m-davaajargal-breaks-sumo-record-with-1048th-victory

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20196353_1497347476954111_542498083_o_50.png

Mongolian professional sumo wrestler yokozuna (grand champion) Hakuho M.Davaajargal won Takayasu at the 13th day of Nagoya Basho (July grand sumo tournament) last Friday and broke the record for most career wins, with his 1,048th victory.

Hakuho M.Davaajargal, 32, surpassed former sumo wrestler ozeki Kaio’s record of
1,047 wins.

After claiming his 1,048th win, Hakuho said, “I’m glad that I was able to show this victory to the fans. If you put something into words, then it can come true. But you can also say my practice before this tournament and my physical condition led to this result.”

The Mongolian yokozuna started his sumo career at age 16, and made his debut in 2001.

There were rumors about Hakuho M.Davaajargal becoming a Japanese citizen to stay in the sumo world after he retires from the sport as the Japan Sumo Association doesn’t
allow foreign nationals to become a stable master (oyakata).

Le record de Kaiō (avec un macron, svp) datait de juillet 2011.

(autre spécialité mongole : yokozuna, actuellement 3 sur les 4)

Après le danseur mongol, un aspect mongol plus… brutal à AGT 2017

▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dqBGaxd0E0

B.Battulga impresses ‘AMERICA’S GOT TALENT’ with power act | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/24/b-battulga-impresses-americas-got-talent-with-power-act

B.Battulga, also known as Tulga, baffled audiences in the first round when he threw bowling balls in the air only to catch it with ease on the small of his back. The Mongolian strongman also spun a large log on his chest.

Judge Mel B was particularly impressed and sent Tulga to the Judge Cuts.

Battulga’s performance for the Judge Cuts consisted of twirling a giant burning log on his back. Afterwards, he invited judges Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum on stage and spun the two judges who were seated on opposite ends of a giant log. The full performance of the Judge Cuts will be aired on July 25 on NBC. Seven acts from a total of 20 will be sent to the
quarterfinals.

B.Battulga was a circus performer at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which was closed on May 2017.

Canion Shijirbat: Dancer Amazes With Projection Act - America’s Got Talent 2017
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42nEh-ypjjY

Il s’est fait éliminer la semaine suivante.

Multimedia dancer B.Shijirbat eliminated from ‘America’s Got Talent’ | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/23/multimedia-dancer-b-shijirbat-eliminated-from-americas-got-talent

Top participant of the Season 2 of “Mongolia’s Got Talent”, multimedia dancer B.Shijirbat competed in the Season 12 of “America’s Got Talent” (AGT) and has been eliminated in the
Judge Cuts round.

B.Shijirbat’s audition in the first round consisted of a dramatic dance sequence with the graphic element on the screen behind.

Mongolia experiences hottest month in 56 years | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/20/mongolia-experiences-hottest-month-in-56-years

The Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment reported that June 2017 was the hottest month on record in 56 years.

The average temperature in June was 1.1 to 7.1 degree Celsius higher than the average temperature of previous years.

The mean temperature in most areas of the nation ranged from 15 to 20 degree Celsius. Even the high-altitude mountain ranges experienced an average temperature of 2.9 to 10 degree Celsius.

Mungunmorit soum of Tuv Province experienced the most precipitation in June,amounting to 73.5 milliliters. The highest temperature on record in June 2017 was 40 degrees Celsius in Sainshand soum of Dornogovi Province, while the coldest was minus five degrees Celsius in Tsetsen-Uul soum of Zavkhan Province. The fastest wind speed on record in June was 36 meters per second in Mogod soum of Bulgan Province.

President Kh.Battulga takes office | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/17/president-kh-battulga-takes-office

The inauguration for newly elected President Kh.Battulga took place on July 10 at the State Palace, and outgoing President Ts.Elbegdorj presented Kh.Battulga with the state seal.
[…]
On July 10, President Kh.Battulga received Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Yevgeniyevich Levitin, Aide to the Prime Minister of Japan and Chair of the Japan-Mongolia Friendship Group of the House of Representatives of Japan Motoo Hayashi, Ambassador of China to Mongolia Xing Haiming and Ambassador of the European Union to Mongolia Hans Dietmar Schweisgut to exchange views on relations and cooperation between Mongolia and their respective countries and organizations.

Je ne sais pas si l’ordre de réception des représentants étrangers (Russie, Japon, Chine, Union européenne) est significatif…

DEMOCRATIC PARTY : WE WIN | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/07/08/democratic-party-we-win

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/22222.jpg

The run-off voting for the 2017 presidential election has taken place throughout Mongolia on July 7.

At 1:00 a.m. on June 8, the General Election Commission (GEC) made an announcement about voter turnout of the run-off election. Head of GEC Ch.Sodnomtseren noted that 1,119,723 (60.4 percent) of 1,982,733 registered took part in the election, with 1,983 poll stations collecting votes across Mongolia.

According to the preliminary ballot count at 2:40 a.m. on Saturday, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Kh.Battulga had won 609,950 votes (50.6 percent), M.Enkhbold received 496,185 votes (41.2 percent) of all votes, and 99,350 voters (8.2 percent) had cast blank ballots.

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1111.jpg

… et pour la couleur locale…

During the run-off election, voting machines in a number of poll stations of Tuv Province stopped working because the bar codes on some ballots had printing errors and a task force from the General Intelligence Agency, Information Technology Center, and Communications and Information Technology Authority was put in charge of addressing the issue.

The task force reprogrammed the machines to read the ballots with printing errors to resolve the issue, reported GEC. On Friday, GEC issued a resolution to conduct a hand counting of all the ballots from all poll stations in Tuv Province to verify the ballots counted through voting machines.

Second round run-off voting for the presidential election to take place on July 7 | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/06/28/second-round-run-off-voting-for-the-presidential-election-to-take-place-on

http://theubpost.mn/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/1-1.jpg

Despite voter turnout exceeding 50 percent of all registered voters, none of the presidential election’s three candidates was able to win more than 50 percent of all votes from the electorate on Monday, so a second round of voting will take place between the two leading candidates on July 7 to determine a clear winner.

The General Election Commission (GEC) held a press conference about preliminary election results. Head of the GEC Ch.Sodnomtseren noted that 1,357,788 of 1,988,868 registered voters submitted ballots at 1,983 polling stations across Mongolia, putting nationwide voter turnout at 68.27 percent.

According to preliminary ballot counting, Democratic Party (DP) candidate Kh.Battulg a won the majority of votes, and M.Enkhbold of the Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) and S.Ganbaatar of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party were in a very narrow race for the remaining votes, but M.Enkhbold won by over 1,000 votes. With 411,748 votes, M.Enkhbold earned 30.32 percent of the nationwide vote, 577,478 voters gave Kh.Battulga 38.11 percent, and S.Ganbaatar won 30.19 percent with 409,899 votes.

On June 28, the General Election Committee has announced that the run-off election for overseas voters will be held on July 4-5, and the second round of voting in Mongolia will take place on July 7. The second round of voting will be between Kh.Battulga and M.Enkhbold, representing Mongolia’s two dominant political parties.

Prime Minister postpones the Mongolian Economic Forum | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2017/05/14/prime-minister-postpones-the-mongolian-economic-forum

The 2017 Mongolian Economic Forum has been postponed again, this time by a decision from Prime Minister J.Erdenebat, who cited three reasons for the postponement.

The forum was scheduled to be held from March 30 to 31, but was pushed back to May 18 to 19. Now it has been delayed indefinitely by order of the Prime Minister.

PM J.Erdenebat cited three reasons for the postponement. The primary reason is waiting for the nation’s enrollment in an extended fund facility program with the International Monetary Fund. The PM said that it would be wise to wait until the program enrollment is finalized, as the economic policy and topics of the forum will be clear by then.

The second reason given for the delay is the upcoming presidential election. Preparations for the election could overshadow the forum and decrease productivity, explained J.Erdenebat. He added that economics need to be discussed without politics involved.

The PM’s third and final reason for the forum’s postponement is that the government needs to look at the results of the previous forums and correct mistakes. “If the forum had concrete results, our economy wouldn’t be in the state it is in today,” the PM noted.

J.Erdenebat concluded the order by saying that Mongolia can gather people and bring in special guests and participants from foreign countries, but tangible results from the forum is what’s most important.