Mongolia

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The Deadly 'Dzud' Is Back, Has Killed Millions of Animals

More than 7.1M dead in Mongolia so far this year, and that number could more than double

(Newser) - An extreme weather phenomenon known as the dzud has killed more than 7.1 million animals in Mongolia this year, more than a tenth of the country's entire livestock holdings, endangering herders' livelihoods and way of life, the AP reports. Dzuds are a combination of perennial droughts and severe,...

Pope Arrives in Country With Fewer Than 2K Catholics

Francis is the first pope ever to visit Mongolia

(Newser) - Pope Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday morning to encourage one of the world's smallest and newest Catholic communities. It's the first time a pope has visited the landlocked Asian country and comes at a time when the Vatican's relations with Mongolia's two powerful neighbors, Russia...

Pope Plans to Visit Country With 1,450 Catholics

Francis' August trip will be first-ever papal visit to Mongolia

(Newser) - The young cardinal in charge of Mongolia's tiny Catholic community said Monday that Pope Francis' upcoming visit to a country with just 1,450 Catholics is evidence of his willingness to travel to the farthest corners of the globe to minister to even a handful of the faithful. Italian...

Mongolia, China Endure Devastating Sandstorms

Expansion of Gobi desert means storms could increase

(Newser) - Eight major sandstorms in the past three months have hit Mongolia and China, darkening skies and causing breathing difficulty while killing people and livestock. The storms are centered in the border area at the Gobi desert, but the sand has reached Beijing . In northern China, air pollution levels reached 20...

China Tried to Wipe Words 'Genghis Khan' From Khan Exhibit

Or so claims French museum, which says China is trying to rewrite history

(Newser) - A French museum has postponed a planned exhibition about Genghis Khan, saying the Chinese government is trying to rewrite history—specifically, the part of history where Khan and his heirs conquered China in the 13th century as rulers of the Mongol Empire. The Château des ducs de Bretagne museum...

China's New Worry: the Bubonic Plague

Herdsman contracts it, likely from a marmot

(Newser) - China has another infectious disease worry on its hands, but this one is old school. As in, it's the bubonic plague, reports the BBC . It seems a herder in Inner Mongolia came down with the disease, and he's now undergoing treatment in a hospital, per the New York ...

Trump Jr.'s Controversial Trip Cost Taxpayers $77K

That was the Secret Service cost of his 8-day Mongolia trip

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr. continues to be dogged by that sheep-hunting trip to Mongolia —one that documents now show cost taxpayers roughly $77,000. ProPublica in December reported on the eight-day August trip, during which the oldest son of the US president killed a rare argali sheep and obtained a...

Officials to Review Trump Jr's 'Unusual' Summer

The US Fish and Wildlife Service will take a look

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr.'s summer trip to Mongolia is falling under a little extra scrutiny, Roll Call reports. Following a report that he illegally killed an endangered sheep and imported parts of it back to America, the US Fish and Wildlife Service plans to take a closer look. At...

Report: Trump Jr. Had an 'Unusual' Summer Vacation

He killed a rare Mongolian sheep, got retroactive permit, met with nation's president: ProPublica

(Newser) - Donald Trump Jr. lived the "Yurt Life" over the summer, embarking on an expedition with his son Donald to Mongolia that he documented in a series of Instagram posts . Now, ProPublica and WYNC report that Trump Jr. received "special treatment" during the trip, which "blurred the lines...

2 Cases of Plague Cause Concern in China
2 People in China
Contract the Plague
Nov 13, 2019 12:35 PM CST

2 People in China Contract the Plague

Couple diagnosed with pneumonic plague, the most serious form

(Newser) - The New York Times is reporting on "fears of an outbreak" of plague—and, no, you haven't traveled back in time. On Tuesday, officials in China announced that two people had been diagnosed with pneumonic plague, which the CDC calls the most serious of three forms of the...

70-Year-Old Wins Grueling 'Death March'

Bob Long beats the odds by winning a long, Mongolian horse race

(Newser) - Bob Long is 70—and just won a punishing 10-day horse race across the Mongolian steppes. That makes him the oldest rider to even finish the race, the New York Times reports. "It's nothing," says the Idaho native. "You just ride 650 miles on a death...

Barron Trump Gets Rather Large Gift From Mongolia

Horse named Victory will stay in the country

(Newser) - It's a "Victory" for President Trump's youngest son, Barron. The White House says Mongolia's government has gifted the 13-year-old with a horse, which has been named Victory. Press secretary Stephanie Grisham says the Trumps are "very grateful" for the horse, which will remain in Mongolia....

Rarest of Rare Discoveries: a Swimming Dinosaur


Rarest of Rare
Discoveries:
a Swimming
Dinosaur
NEW STUDY
Dec 7, 2017 10:15 AM CST

Rarest of Rare Discoveries: a Swimming Dinosaur

It's believed to be only the 2nd swimming dinosaur ever found

(Newser) - The dinosaur was the size of a turkey and had a neck like a swan, teeth like a crocodile, forelimbs similar to a penguin's flippers, and clawed feet ideal for use on land. It's such a strange assortment of features that researchers who identified the new species from...

There Are Worse Places to Die Than Mongolia
There Are Worse Places
to Die Than Mongolia
Longform
Apr 7, 2017 3:16 PM CDT

There Are Worse Places to Die Than Mongolia

The country is a surprising leader in palliative care

(Newser) - A man lies dying of liver cancer inside his family's tent—or "ger"—as a harsh wind blows outside, where the family's sheep are hunkered down. His only wish is "to be without pain" as he dies. In that case, it's a good thing...

A 'Dzud' Comes Every 12 Years. Except for This Time

40K livestock are already dead in Mongolia; 1M died last year

(Newser) - It may rhyme with "dud," but it packs a deadly wallop: A dzud (pronounced 'ZUHD) is an extreme weather phenomenon unique to Mongolia that's characterized by a summer drought and then a prolonged winter of heavy snow and temperatures of minus 40 to minus 59 degrees...

'constants.stuffy.activism' Is Now an Address Here

To visit the US Embassy in Mongolia, go there

(Newser) - The Mongolian post office is replacing traditional addresses with easy-to-remember three-word phrases courtesy of a British startup, Quartz reports. More than 75% of the world's population has no address capable of receiving mail, notes Forbes . What3Words solved this problem by dividing the globe into 57 trillion 3-meter-by-3-meter squares, replacing...

Shipwreck Recalls Really Bad Luck for 2 Invasions

Japanese find harks back to 13th-century Mongol attacks

(Newser) - A shipwreck off the coast of Japan serves as evidence that no navy can defeat Mother Nature. Archaeologists spotted the wreck off the island of Takashima in southern Japan and say it belongs to one of two attempted Mongol invasions from the 13th century, Archaeology reports. Running 65 feet long...

What 10K People Looking for Genghis Khan's Tomb Found

In 6 months, they spent 3.4 years poring over maps

(Newser) - If we ultimately uncover Genghis Khan's tomb, we may have outer space and about 10,000 volunteers to thank. As Smithsonian recounts, legend has it that the location of the Mongolian warrior's tomb was safeguarded by soldiers who murdered the tomb builders and were then killed themselves. University...

Cop Charged With Torture in Teen's Wrongful Execution

China arrests Feng Zhiming for coercing 18-year-old's confession in '96

(Newser) - On Monday, the conviction of an 18-year-old teen in China for the rape and murder of a woman in a public restroom was overturned —18 years after he was put to death for the crime. Today, the police officer who led the investigation into the case of young Huugjilt...

Genghis Khan Owes His Empire to ... Rain

Study: Unusual 15-year stretch created grasslands for his army

(Newser) - Scientists who study tree rings for a living have discovered that central Mongolia had an usually warm and wet spell from 1211 to 1225. This would probably remain of note only in tree-ring-studying circles if not for one other thing: Those dates happen to coincide with the rise of none...

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