Trending on X, 6 PM: Nomrog and Japan, Nyambaatar, Minsk talks, Bayan-Ulgii teachers, budget cuts, cable car

These are the topics Mongolian users discussed most on X between 14:13 and 18:24 on October 26, ranked by engagement. Afternoon activity was relatively light, and six topics were confirmed against news sites. Topics from earlier roundups appear only when there is a new development. Posts with unverified claims or unsupported accusations against named people were left out. Post metrics are as of 18:24.

1. Nomrog fire: Japan's government pledges to help restore the burned area (new development)

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara addressed the grassland fire in the Nomrog Strictly Protected Area in Dornod province at his October 26 morning press conference, and it was the most widely shared topic of the afternoon. According to Jiji Press and NTV, he said: "The Japanese government takes the extent of the damage seriously. We'd like to express our heartfelt sympathy to the people of Mongolia." He added that Tokyo would stay in close contact with the Mongolian government and help restore the affected area. The fire broke out on October 8 while a convoy carrying Japanese executives and other staff of Mobicom, a KDDI subsidiary, was travelling through the protected area. Mongolian authorities are investigating the cause. UBN reported that the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Mobicom's management met the same day and set up a working group on compensation. Users widely shared a Mongolian translation of the statement.

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2. IAAC asks Interpol to issue a blue notice for Kh. Nyambaatar (new development)

IAAC commissioner B. Bilegt said the agency had requested an Interpol blue notice to trace former Ulaanbaatar mayor Kh. Nyambaatar internationally. According to UBN, Bilegt said that when Nyambaatar approved a 500 billion tugrik advance for the Tuul Expressway, he replaced acting investment department head B. Gantulga with T. Davaadalai in a new order, which opened the financing and gave others an undue advantage. The IAAC is also investigating whether companies affiliated with him won about 20 state tenders. These are claims made during an investigation and have not been established in court.

3. President Khurelsukh holds official talks with Lukashenko in Minsk (new development)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko officially welcomed President U. Khurelsukh at the Palace of Independence in Minsk on October 26, during his state visit. The two leaders met one-on-one and then held official talks. According to iKon.mn, Khurelsukh backed Lukashenko's proposal to carry out two or three major projects that would make a real difference to people in both countries. Memoranda were planned on cooperation in food, agriculture, light industry, sport, trade, science and humanitarian affairs. News.mn reported that the two sides set out a roadmap for cooperation. Zogii.mn, citing BelTA, reported that Khurelsukh said Minsk felt "like paradise on earth", a remark that drew mixed reactions from users.

4. Bayan-Ulgii primary teachers score 26% on a Mongolian-language test

An Education Ministry working group visited schools and other education bodies in Bayan-Ulgii province from October 12 and tested teachers and managers on their Mongolian. Unuudur reported that primary teachers scored 26%, the lowest of any group tested. L. Ganbat, head of the ministry's general education policy department, who led the group, said the ministry would identify the weak areas and send recommendations. A video of Education Minister L. Enkh-Amgalan saying that measures, starting with attestation of teachers who do not know Mongolian, would follow reached many users on X. Unuudur also noted that some local residents blamed the system rather than the teachers.

5. MPP caucus to cut current and capital spending in the 2027 budget by 10–20% (new development)

The ruling MPP caucus in parliament discussed the 2027 draft budget on October 26. UBN reported that the budget will be revised because, after public consultation, the government is withdrawing investments that were to be funded from 2 trillion tugriks of Oyu Tolgoi dividends. To pay for essentials such as livestock vaccines, school lunches, energy, and education and health equipment, current and capital spending in the submitted draft will be cut by 10–20%. MP B. Kherlen also briefed the caucus on recommendations from parliament's ethics subcommittee.

6. Ulaanbaatar's cable car to start carrying passengers on December 15

Ulaanbaatar's cable car is scheduled to open officially and start carrying passengers on December 15, the national broadcaster MNB reported. The 4.2 km Yarmag–Khar Khorin line has two stations, 19 towers and 98 cabins, each holding up to 10 people. The cabins can withstand winds of up to 21 metres per second and have heated seats for winter. Eguur.mn reported that the system can carry 2,320 passengers an hour at peak.

Methodology: We ranked posts from about 200 major news and influential accounts found through X search, plus more than 50 keyword searches, by an engagement score (likes + 2× reposts + views/100), and checked the facts against news sites. Posts that could not be verified or that carried a risk of defamation were left out. Views expressed by individuals on X do not represent the position of egov.mn.