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The Guardian
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Add to playlist: Céline Dessberg's harp evokes Hollywood and home – plus the week's best new tracks
From FranceRecommended if you like Eddie Chacon, the Sweet Enoughs, Chet Baker Up next Full-length album due later this year Perhaps you are listening to a lot of Mongolian-French harp music featuring hauntingly beautiful Mongolian-language vocals about the natural treasures of the Earth, in which case Céline Dessberg will be old news to you and you can move along. For the rest of us though, she's a revelation. Taking inspiration from all aspects of her heritage, you'll find traces of Buddhism, the Mongolian countryside, Chet Baker and David Byrne woven through her songs in a sound that's classic, old as the hills and refreshingly new all at once. Her standout track to date is Chintamani, the B-side to her 2025 single Selenge. Over three minutes and 32 seconds of bliss, Dessberg mixes the yatga (a traditional Mongolian zither-harp hybrid) with old-Hollywood vocal backing and a waltz rhythm that puts it somewhere between a chaste slow-dance at prom in the 50s and the feeling of stepping into a cool, clear lake in the blazing midday sun. In Dessberg's hands, the yatga is playful, angelic and makes you want to use words like 'frolicking'. Her voice is rich and often deep, but on Chintamani it has a childlike quality too: a wide-eyed awe at the beauty of her homeland. Last year's EP Hödöö is mostly in French and it feels much more nostalgic – close your eyes and you'll see black-and-white Nouvelle Vague waifs swaying in your mind. But on both releases, the warmth of Dessberg's voice is irresistible. Even if the last vestiges of GCSE French (or Mongolian) fail you, this is music that gets you right in the heartstrings. Kate Solomon Sudan Archives – My Type Far from her breakout stately cello-based music, here Brittney Parks is starry-eyed as she admires a carefree high-flyer, her romantic rapped verses giving way to a rapturous chorus swirl. Water From Your Eyes – Playing ClassicsDeadpan NYC club classicism and tight-jawed hi-NRG get dragged towards a ditch of distortion in a strangely addictive confection that couldn't be by anyone but the Chicago duo. Olof Dreijer – IrisThe former Knife member's solo material has grown increasingly mischievous and alive over several great EPs. Iris is all clicking joints and waterslide-bright slipperiness as it reaches towards ravey expansiveness. Pile – Bouncing in BlueFeel like giving up? Rick Maguire can relate, sketching the fine line between control and surrender as the Boston band build from muted incantation to cathartic cacophony. They Are Gutting a Body of Water – TrainersFancy some more disaffection, perhaps where alt-rock meets hardcore? This crunchy Philly band have your back (and in frontman Douglas Dulgarian's label, which released early work by Wednesday and MJ Lenderman, great taste, too). Sam Prekop – Light ShadowThe Sea and Cake man returns to his dependable side gig, producing gorgeous modular synth meditations – albeit this time skewing unusually clubby, teasing intermittently dreamy and impish motifs over a propulsive pulse. Molly Nilsson – How Much Is the World? Communist philosopher and synth-pop doyenne, the Swede evokes the greatest cold war pop star that never was: here she questions what life is worth on a bittersweet ballad. [Not on Spotify: listen here] Subscribe to the Guardian's rolling Add to Playlist selections on Spotify.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
This Mongolian railway adventure rivals the Trans-Siberian
A long train journey deep into a windswept wilderness: isn't this travel at its most romantic? If such an idea immediately summons thoughts of fur hats and Doctor Zhivago, you're probably one of the many people with the Trans-Siberian railway on your bucket list. Russia is, alas, firmly off limits for the time being. Fortunately, though, there is a more than viable alternative – the Trans-Mongolian Express. Somewhat shorter than its more famous cousin to the north, these days its route (for westerners at least) is curtailed by the fact that after the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, it ventures into Russian territory and continues to Moscow. Nevertheless, it still more than fulfils that promise of the emptiest of landscapes: deserts, mountains and steppe. Russian influence in Mongolia may have ebbed away since the 1990s, but the two railways have much in common, and the Trans-Mongolian still holds firmly to the old Soviet model. Each compartment has its own fierce, uniformed guard who hold their flags out of the door at a precise 45 degrees in each station until they are given leave to, well, leave. At the Chinese/Mongolian border, passengers are locked in until soldiers posted on the platforms let them out; alternatively, they're locked out and left to roam an empty local station for hours at a time. Officials board the train to check passports repeatedly (five times during one stop). Luggage is taken out and regularly inspected. Compartments have four bunks that may or may not be provided with sheets, which are then collected half an hour before arrival, typically as you are trying to find your shoes; and a reasonable level of athleticism is required to reach the top bunk (no steps). Hot water (one tea bag per person) comes courtesy of a wood-fired stove in the corridor. If it's luxury you're looking for, I'd recommend the Orient Express. It's a journey, though, that's not without its compensations. After arriving in the middle of the night in Sainshand – where for some inexplicable reason, we are disembarked onto the track rather than the platform – I found myself close to the Gobi Desert. Here, herders milk their Bactrian camels three times a day, half for the family bucket, the other half suckled by the calves. Camel milk, sadly, didn't feature in the lunch of mutton dumplings I shared with the herders, but I did get to learn a new variation of the game of knucklebones, as well as how to make a rope from camel hair. The desert is full of surprises. There's a museum dedicated to Danzanravjaa, the fourth reincarnation of the Noyon Khutagt (or 'Lama of the Gobi'). A writer, composer, painter and physician, as well as a monk who took his vows at the age of six, he went on to found the Khamar monastery in 1820, standing eerily alone in the windswept desert. It follows the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and is surrounded by dozens of prayer wheels and caves, where monks still meditate continuously for 108 days. Within the monastery lies the Khoid Shambalaa, a sacred site that promises to cleanse you through the earth's energy. Nearby is Mount Bayanzurkh, a 'black mountain' that is believed to grant wishes if you climb to its summit. From the desert, it took a further 12 hours for the train to reach the capital where, even on the outskirts of the city, horses grazed by the side of six-lane highways. An hour outside of town, and here was the Mongolia we all picture – endless, windswept grasslands, rolling hillsides and animals everywhere: horses, cattle, sheep and goats. There were yurts (known here as 'gers') in the fields, on the hillsides, even in the backyards – the Mongolian equivalent, perhaps, of the garden shed. A little further on, and the animal numbers increased tenfold, the herds of horses surrounded by little foals, some barely a week old, but already steady on their reed-thin legs. Among nomadic people, wealth is measured in the number of animals you own. While it would have been impolite to enquire too intently, the Divà family with whom I stayed for a couple of nights, admitted to having over a thousand. Because they are not allowed to graze in the Hustai National Park which lies near to the Divàs' traditional camping ground, some of the family take their herd on a continuous migration. Meanwhile, other family members have stayed home to run a business offering visitors a ger for the night. These turned out to be surprisingly cosy, with a stove (fired by dung), candles, scarlet-painted furniture and golden hangings around the perfectly circular walls, made of canvas rather than the traditional felt. The Divàs were preparing to open the camp to visitors for the first time as I arrived, and still had the finishing touches to administer, including a door for the outside loo. 'We're just making it,' they explained. You learn to be resourceful out on the steppe. The National Park permits no domesticated animals, but it does have plenty of wild ones, including red deer and eagles, wolves and gazelles, lynx and, most symbolically of all, the wild horse. Also known as Przewalski's horse, or in Mongolia, the takhi, this is the world's only true wild (as opposed to feral) horse, the difference being wild horses have never been domesticated. The takhi have an extra set of chromosomes compared to the domesticated horse, and were wiped out from their natural habitat on the steppe in 1969. They were successfully re-introduced in 1992, when just 15 were released from a Dutch zoo. There are now over 300. Naturally shy, these beasts are not easy to find, so a certain amount of off-road driving through the park is required to track them down. Small, stocky and with a large head (rather like a donkey's), they have Palomino-like colouring, with light-coloured bodies and dark manes and tails, and are thought to have split from the ancestor they shared with the domesticated horse at least 40,000 years ago. This time spent on the steppe – with its days of soughing wind and sky larks, and nights of rain pattering on canvas – was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. It felt a long way from where it had all begun, ten days earlier in Beijing, where I had met up with a small group of fellow-adventurers, for a tour arranged (appropriately) by Intrepid. From there, a very different mode of transport from the Mongolian Express – the Chinese bullet train – whisked us away on the first stage of our journey into Chinese Inner Mongolia. We hurtled past haunting mountainous landscapes, extraordinary 'stone forest' rock formations created by two million years of wind and rain, huge lakes with tens of thousands of migrant geese and swans, and vast grasslands of its own. Legend has it that the Mongol people are descended from the progeny of a deer and a wolf. That combination of speed and resourcefulness would, of course, be the perfect traits for a people that spends its life mostly on horseback out on the steppe. The land of Genghis (or Chinggis) Khan still holds him in the highest esteem, and there are countless statues to him (and those beloved horses), including the world's tallest equestrian statue. Made of stainless steel and 130ft tall, you can climb up the horse's back legs to eventually emerge out onto its mane to enjoy the view. Navigating your way round Mongolia is surprisingly easy. The Chinese character signs of Inner Mongolia give way to English, and Mongolian Cyrillic, once you cross the border, even though, outside the cities, westerners are rarely seen. Indeed, such is our novelty value that, when stopping for petrol, we were surrounded by locals asking for selfies, and children daring each other to stand close to the strangers. On the other hand, some things are surprisingly familiar. I'd swear most Mongolian recipes are based on variations of Liverpudlian scouse (most feature mutton, potatoes, onions and carrots). But there again, perhaps this makes perfect sense. Comfort food is surely just what is required for a nomadic life on this wild, magnificent steppe. Essentials Intrepid Travel offers an 11-day TransMongolian Railway trip from £2,321pp, starting from Beijing, China and ending in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Price includes accommodation, transport, selected meals and a local guide throughout. International flights and tips for guides aren't included.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Rio Tinto ramps up copper production as Trump preps fresh tariffs
Rio Tinto expects annual copper output to come in at the top end of forecasts, just as President Donald Trump prepares to slap hefty tariffs on US imports of the metal. The mining giant, which this week named iron ore boss Simon Trott as its next chief executive, told investors on Wednesday that 2025 copper output has been boosted by the 'continued successful ramp up' of its Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. Rio Tinto is making progress towards making the mine the fourth largest in the world by 2030. It also expects 'good performance' at Escondida in Chile – the world's largest. The group now expects copper output to hit the top end of a 780,000 to 850,000 tonne forecast, while 'good cost controls' are set to drive the cost of production lower than initially forecast. It follows upheaval in copper markets amid the threat of 50 per cent tariffs set to be imposed on US imports from 1 August In response, a wide gap has opened between the price of the metal traded in the US compared to prices in London as exports from other countries become less appealing. As Trump ploughs ahead with efforts to force greater onshoring of US industry, Rio Tinto already suffered a £300million tariff hit within its Canadian aluminium business in the first half. However, this was partially offset by US premiums for the metal. The group also reported its strongest second-quarter iron ore production since 2018. It boasted a 13 per cent sequential rise in second-quarter production after rebounding from extreme weather-related disruptions earlier this year. The world's largest iron ore producer shipped 79.9 million metric tonnes (Mt) of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the three months ended June 30, up from 70.7 Mt shipped in the March quarter. However, this fell just short of guidance. Outgoing boss Jakob Stausholm said: 'We delivered excellent operational performance from our mine operations. 'We will continue to drive progress towards our long-term strategy to deliver profitable growth and build a stronger, more diversified business.' Rio Tinto shares were 1.2 per cent to 4,398.5p by midmorning, having lost 13.4 per cent over the last 12 months. Adam Vettese, market analyst at eToro, said: 'Overall, the results highlight Rio's quality asset base and improving diversification but challenges in optimising system capacity and delivering higher-quality product remain areas to watch. 'Investors will be looking for continued improvement in execution heading into H2, particularly in iron ore shipments, to unlock full value from the stronger underlying production performance and hope to see this trigger a reversal in the prevailing trend direction of the shares.'
Reuters
16-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Rio Tinto misses estimates for iron ore output, copper forecast upbeat
July 16 (Reuters) - Rio Tinto ( opens new tab, (RIO.L), opens new tab on Wednesday posted a lower-than-expected rise in iron ore shipments for the second quarter, but forecast fiscal 2025 copper production at the higher end of its guidance range. Iron ore shipments at Rio Tinto, the world's largest producer of the steel-making commodity, are recovering after a series of tropical cyclones snarled operations in the March quarter. In the three months ended June 30, the miner shipped 79.9 million metric tonnes (Mt) of iron ore from its Pilbara operations, a 13% rise from the previous quarter but below a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 81.98 Mt. Rio Tinto shipped out more of its lower-quality SP10 iron ore. SP10 levels accounted for 29% of Pilbara shipments. It forecast full-year copper production at the higher end of its guidance range and expects unit costs around the lower end, as its Oyu Tolgoi underground mine in Mongolia ramps up. The miner reaffirmed its full-year iron ore shipment forecast at the lower end of its range of 323 million metric tonnes (Mt) to 338 Mt. Rio Tinto on Tuesday named Simon Trott, head of its most profitable iron ore division, as CEO, succeeding Jakob Stausholm, who unexpectedly announced in May he would step down after four-and-a-half years.
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Passenger jet and cargo plane miss each other by just 300ft over Russia after 'unexpected manoeuvre' by Air China flight puts it on collision course
In a chilling near-miss above Russia, a passenger jet and a cargo plane came within just 300ft of each other after an 'unexpected manoeuvre' by an Air China pilot sent the aircraft directly into the path of an oncoming Boeing 767. The dramatic incident, which unfolded in the early hours of July 7 over Tuva, a mountainous region bordering Mongolia, has reignited growing fears over global aviation safety. Shockingly, the two aircraft - Air China Flight CA967 bound for Milan and an SF Airlines cargo plane heading to China - should have been separated by at least 1,000ft, in line with international safety regulations. Instead, the Air China Airbus A350 mysteriously began climbing from 34,100ft to 36,000ft without clearance from Russian air traffic control, placing it on a near-collision course with the cargo jet flying at 35,000ft. Startling audio recordings that surfaced over the weekend on Chinese social media appear to capture the confusion in the skies, with multiple pilots attempting to communicate with a Russian controller juggling four planes at once. The near miss triggered an alarm known as the Traffic Collision Avoidance System on both planes, prompting the Air China pilot to ask air traffic control what had caused this to happen. The audio, mostly in English, paints a picture of mounting chaos as the Airbus edged dangerously close to the Boeing. The controller asked: 'Are you climbing with instruction or without instruction? Confirm, please.' The pilot replied: 'No. Thank you.' What exactly prompted the sudden ascent remains a mystery. One theory is that the Air China pilot may have misheard instructions given to another aircraft nearby. While two other planes - another Air China flight and a Hainan Airlines jet - were told to maintain their altitudes, Flight CA967 received no such directive before it began its unsanctioned climb. Radar data confirms the terrifying approach, showing the jets heading almost directly toward one another at high-speed at cruising altitude. The SF Airlines pilot, reportedly the first to spot the looming danger, urgently requested confirmation from air traffic control, only to be told an Airbus A350 was right in front of him. A swift order was given that both aircraft were to veer off immediately in opposite directions to avoid catastrophe. But behind the scenes, tensions flared. It is not known who released the recording and it could not be independently verified. Air China, SF Airlines and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have been asked for comment by local media. The recording circulating online also includes a conversation between the two pilots after they switched to a different communication channel and spoke to each other in Mandarin. The sound quality meant that parts of the conversation were inaudible, but at one point the cargo pilot was heard to say: 'I saw your plane climbing. Did [air traffic control] instruct you to? 'I saw that there was a plane ahead and it was only 20 nautical miles [37km] away and still climbing. Such a crossing altitude is very inappropriate. I guess you also heard me saying 'request traffic information'.' The Air China pilot appeared to blame the female Russian air traffic controller for the incident, saying 'the girl' was 'making a fuss' and had left everyone 'confused'. He later said: 'We couldn't explain it clearly to them' and 'didn't know how to tell them'. The pilot added: 'I assume we'll have to write a report on this kind of incident when we get back.'
