The line of ships waiting to load sugar in Brazil has more than doubled in the last week, suggesting Brazil may set a new monthly sugar export record, Plinio Nastari, the president of consultancy Datagro told Reuters.
In the first two weeks of May, Brazil exported 1.57 million tonnes of sugar, already exceeding the volume shipped in the entire month of May 2019, according to government data.
"As a sign of the increase in demand for Brazilian sugar, the queue for sugar shipment more than doubled this week, from 27 to 56 vessels scheduled to load 2.642 million tonnes, a volume four times higher than that programmed exactly one year ago," said Nastari.
The last time that the shipping schedule reached such a level was in September 2017, when Brazil broke a monthly export record of 3.5 million tonnes, according to Nastari.
China is set to import 14% of the volume scheduled for shipment, or 367,000 tonnes, followed by Egypt, with 8.8%, and Indonesia, with 7%, he said.
Brazil will increase sugar production by 18.5% in the 2020/2021 harvest, to 35.3 million tonnes, according to the national crop supply agency (Conab), as mills move to allocate as much cane as possible to produce the sweetener, looking to cut ethanol production amid low prices and reduced demand due to coronavirus lockdowns.
Around 80% of the sugar to be exported by Brazil has already been negotiated in advance, with the sector taking advantage of higher prices between October 2019 and February 2020, before the global coronavirus pandemic fully hit.
India's illegal actions in IOK
Pakistan hails OIC's stance
RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday welcomed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC's) statement in which the representative forum of the Muslim Ummah rejected India's illegal actions to alter demographic status of the occupied Jammu and Kashmir as violative of the OIC and the UN Security Council resolutions and international human rights/humanitarian laws.
"Pakistan welcomes the OIC statement, expressing deep concern over India's unilateral actions of 5 Aug & subsequent measures to alter demographics of IOJ&K. It also calls on the international community to resolve the J&K dispute as per UNSC resolutions & aspirations of Kashmiri people," Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui stated in a tweet.
Earlier, the Jeddah-based Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) of OIC, in a statement, strongly condemned and categorically rejected the Indian government's recently introduced "Jammu and Kashmir Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules, 2020", which spells out new domicile rules causing "demographic flooding" of non-natives in the IoJ&K.
While the world is striving to fight a global pandemic of Covid-19, India has mischievously used the opportunity to illegally alter the demographic composition of Muslim majority in IoJ&K, it added.
However, as in the past, the people of Kashmir have squarely denounced this law as yet another illegal move and expressed their resolve to stand firm against the tyranny of Indian occupation, the IPHRC said.
Earlier concerns, expressed by the Commission, are proving to be real as a series of actions undertaken by the Indian Government are designed at systematically paving the way for "settlement colonialism" through forced demographic change, institutionalizing a system of domination over indigenous Muslim population by converting them into minority within their homeland and obviating the exercise of their right to self-determination.
"This is a manifest violation of the human rights of the Kashmiri people guaranteed under well codified international human rights treaties including Articles 27 and 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which clearly declare any illicit transfer of population in conflict zones or disputed territory as illegal," it stated, adding that it will not only change the demographics of the occupied area and resultant disenfranchisement but will further complicate the dispute, which has already claimed thousands of innocent lives of Kashmiri Muslims, the commission added.
It stated that the Commission is appalled to note that, since 5th August 2019, the Indian Government, despite widespread international condemnation from UN, OIC and other human rights bodies, continues to pursue systematic persecution of Kashmiri Muslims through vicious political, economic and communication blockade in the IoJ&K.
However, despite deployment of over half a million security personnel, the Indian Government has failed to quell the Kashmiris' legitimate struggle for the right to self-determination, it added.
SED Director empowered to issue directions to NBFCs
ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has empowered its Director Supervision and Enforcement Department to issue directions to Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs).
According to an SRO 440 (I)/2020 issued by the SECP here on Wednesday, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 10 of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act, 1997, the Commission, in partial modification of earlier notifications SRO 1545(I)/2019 dated December 06, 2019, and in supersession of SRO 325(I)/2020, dated April 16, 2020 subject to such conditions and limitations as it may from time to time impose, hereby delegates the powers and functions of the commission to the Director Supervision and Enforcement Department in relation to NBFCs.
Director Supervision and Enforcement Department would be empowered to modify or cancel the directions issued and impose conditions, the SECP said.
In case the post of Director Supervision and Enforcement Department is vacant or incumbent is unable to perform his duties, the powers and functions delegated to him through this notification, shall stand delegated to the Commissioner (SCD).
This notification shall not affect anything done, order made, notification issued, show cause issued, circular made, proceeding commenced, penalty imposed and/or collected, sanction granted, approval made, fee directed or collected, direction given, investigation, inspection or inquiry conducted or any other action taken or done under or in pursuance of the above referred superseded notifications, shall be valid and under lawful authority. -SOHAIL SARFRAZ
Minister launches TeleSchool App
RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Shafqat Mehmood, on Wednesday launched TeleSchool App to get feedback from parents and students.
Speaking at the launching ceremony of the application, he said that the App was aimed at providing a two-way SMS platform to parents and students to respond about TeleSchool initiative, taken to impart education, through distance learning, due to closure of educational institutes as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Indian envoy summoned over unprovoked ceasefire violations along LoC
RECORDER REPORT
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday summoned senior Indian diplomat and lodged with him a strong protest over the unprovoked ceasefire violations along Line of Control (LoC) in which three civilians sustained serious injuries.
"A senior Indian diplomat was summoned to register Pakistan's strong protest over the ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces along the Line of Control in Nikial Sector, on May 19, 2020, resulting in serious injuries to three innocent civilians," Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said.
Due to indiscriminate and unprovoked firing by the Indian occupation forces, she added that 18-year-old Karam Din, son of Allah Din and 20-year-old Muhammad Rizwan, son of Muhammad Taj, resident of Ooli village; and 30-year-old Hafiz Ilyas, son of Muhammad Sharif, resident of Khanni village, sustained serious injuries.
Farooqui said that the Indian occupation forces along the LoC and the Working Boundary (WB) had continuously been targeting civilian populated areas with artillery fire, heavy-caliber mortars and automatic weapons.
In 2020, India has so far committed 1101 ceasefire violations, she added.
Condemning the deplorable targeting of innocent civilians by the Indian occupation forces, she said that it was underscored that such senseless acts are in clear violation of the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, and are also against all established humanitarian norms and professional military conduct.
"These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security," she said, adding that the Indian side was told that by raising tensions along the LoC and the WB, India cannot divert attention from the grave human rights situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K).
Farooqui said that the Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the WB.
The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions.
IHC to resume hearing of Islamabad mayor's petition today
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume hearing of Mayor Islamabad Sheikh Ansar Aziz's petition challenging his suspension from today (Thursday).
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani will hear Sheikh Ansar's petition.
He has requested the court to let him perform his duties as mayor till the matter was decided.
In the last hearing, the bench had issued notices to Interior Ministry and Chairman Local Government Commission in Aziz's petition challenging his suspension and also directed the respondents to submit written replies.
The mayor was suspended "with immediate effect for a period of ninety (90) days for fair conduct of inquiry under Section 96, sub-section (1) of Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015 (X of 2015)," read the notification issued by the Interior Ministry on Sunday.
In his petition, the mayor cited the federal government, the Ministry of Interior and the Local Government Commission as respondents and requested the court to direct the parties to work within the parameters of the law.
He stated in the petition that soon after the appointment of Ali Nawaz Awan as the chairman of the Local Government Commission, the commission has started creating hurdles in the affairs of the petitioner, and started to pass orders in casual and arbitrary manner.
Earlier this year, a reference was filed against Aziz in which it was alleged that he was abusing his powers, using staff for personal use and operating official vehicles that were reportedly beyond his entitlement.
The reference was filed by Humayun Akhtar, a member of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the acting Chief Metropolitan Officer (CMO).
A local government commission led by the PTI lawmaker Ali Nawaz Awan had recommended that Aziz be suspended during the course of an ensuing investigation.
Mayor Aziz claimed that the accusations against him were politically motivated.
He had informed the court that despite a legal delegation of power to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), many of the functions had not been transferred by the CDA and the chief commissioner's office to the MCI.
He had also alleged that the ruling PTI had paralysed union councils in Islamabad, and that MNA Awan had brought up challenges for the mayor soon after being appointed the head of the commission that filed the reference against him.
He has prayed that the order/recommendations passed by the chairman Local Government Commission be declared that the same had been passed without lawful authority and in violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioner and the same may be set aside.-TERENCE J SIgAMONY