Sindh High Court nullifies sugar inquiry commission report

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday nullified the sugar inquiry commission and its report and ordered authorities concerned to conduct a fair inquiry into the matter.

A SHC division bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Omar Sial announced the reserved verdict on a petition filed by the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) against an inquiry commission formed by the government to probe into a sugar crisis that hit the country earlier this year.

The SHC declared report of Sugar Inquiry Commission null and void and also ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to carry out an independent inquiry as per law.

The federal government had made public a report of the Sugar Inquiry Commission on May 30. The report was uploaded on the Press Information Department (PID) website.

According to the report, the sugar mill owners had inflicted losses on sugarcane growers consistently.

The commission had also found irregularities in advance payments to farmers in the form of cash or commodity, which is tantamount to unregulated banking, whereas, the mill owners hurt farmers by indulging in informal banking and earned a profit of up to 35 per cent.

Later on July 14, the Supreme Court had nullified the Sindh High Court’s June 23 stay order that restrained the federal government from taking action against sugar mills in light of the sugar inquiry commission’s recommendations.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, allowed the federal government’s petition challenging the SHC order. It directed the government and relevant institutions to desist from unnecessary measures against sugar mill owners and take action against them as per the law.

The government through the attorney general for Pakistan had filed the appeal in the apex court, requesting it to set aside the restraining order the high court gave on a petition moved by sugar mill owners.

from Latest Pakistan News - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Fzx1lj

England 'owe' Pakistan cricket matches, says Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram has insisted England "owe" Pakistan for going ahead with their tour amid the coronavirus pandemic as he urged English officials to honour a planned returned visit in 2022.

England have not played in Pakistan since 2005/06. An attack by armed militants on Sri Lanka''s team bus in Lahore in 2009 ended major cricket tours for a decade.

But Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, West Indies and Bangladesh have all since made the trip.

Pakistan are currently playing the second Test of a three-match series at Southampton, which follows an England-West Indies series last month that marked international cricket''s return from lockdown.

Both teams, among the poorer Test nations, have been praised for travelling to Britain, which has been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak and helping spare the England and Wales Cricket Board an estimated £280 million loss if their scheduled matches were wiped out by the virus.

"You boys owe Pakistan cricket, and the country, a lot, with the boys coming over here," Pakistan great Akram, arguably the best left-arm fast bowler in cricket history, told Sky Sports on Sunday.

Akram added the participation of English players in this year''s edition of the Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 franchise tournament, should encourage the ECB in thinking it was safe to send the England side there as well.

"The English players were there for the Pakistan Super League in our team, Karachi Kings Alex Hales and Chris Jordan," said Akram.

"They loved it, they enjoyed it, they got looked after beautifully and I must give credit to the government of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan team and their staff.

"Thank you for coming'' - England off-spinner Moeen Ali told Sky he had been taken aback by the enthusiastic reception he had received from Pakistan fans.

"It''s not the cricket performances you get congratulated for," said Moeen, who is not part of the current Test squad but did feature in world champions England''s recent one-day international series against Ireland.

"Everyone says ''thank you for coming''.

"They just want international players to come and be part of the cricket culture here and it''s been amazing.

"Meanwhile England batting consultant Jonathan Trott, who told reporters his own experience of playing in Pakistan amounted to an Under-19 tour where he "didn''t win in a game" in six weeks, was cautiously optimistic.

"It has got to get all the stuff in place to go there," former England batsman Trott said.

"It is not really a decision for the players --it is up to the administrators and the ICC (International Cricket Council) to decide.

"They played the PSL, that went well, and an invitational side that played a few T20s, a lot of those guys said it was pretty good.

" The ongoing England-Pakistan series, as happened in the West Indies Tests, is being played behind closed doors, with both teams staying in onsite hotels to create a bio-secure bubble designed to guard against the spread of COVID-19.

Pakistan are also due to play three Twenty20s against England after the Test series finishes and Akram said: "They've been here almost two and-a-half-months in the bio-secure.

So if everything goes well, England should tour Pakistan.

"I promise you they'll get looked after on and off the field there and every game will be a packed house.

" Earlier this month, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said he hoped England could tour before their planned trip in two years' time.

"We'd love to have them coming over well before then for a shorter tour," said Khan, a Birmingham-born former batsman with several English counties.

"It''s something that we'll speak to the ECB about.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Ya1Lzz

Sindh High Court nullifies sugar inquiry commission report

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday nullified the sugar inquiry commission and its report and ordered authorities concerned to conduct a fair inquiry into the matter.

A SHC division bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Omar Sial announced the reserved verdict on a petition filed by the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) against an inquiry commission formed by the government to probe into a sugar crisis that hit the country earlier this year.

The SHC declared report of Sugar Inquiry Commission null and void and also ordered National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to carry out an independent inquiry as per law.

The federal government had made public a report of the Sugar Inquiry Commission on May 30. The report was uploaded on the Press Information Department (PID) website.

According to the report, the sugar mill owners had inflicted losses on sugarcane growers consistently.

The commission had also found irregularities in advance payments to farmers in the form of cash or commodity, which is tantamount to unregulated banking, whereas, the mill owners hurt farmers by indulging in informal banking and earned a profit of up to 35 per cent.

Later on July 14, the Supreme Court had nullified the Sindh High Court’s June 23 stay order that restrained the federal government from taking action against sugar mills in light of the sugar inquiry commission’s recommendations.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, allowed the federal government’s petition challenging the SHC order. It directed the government and relevant institutions to desist from unnecessary measures against sugar mill owners and take action against them as per the law.

The government through the attorney general for Pakistan had filed the appeal in the apex court, requesting it to set aside the restraining order the high court gave on a petition moved by sugar mill owners.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/2Fzx1lj

Coronavirus: Japan's economy shrinking at fastest rate

The Japanese economy has shrunk at its fastest rate on record as it battles the coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s third largest economy saw gross domestic product fall 7.8% in April-June from the previous quarter, or 27.8% on an annualised basis.

Japan was already struggling with low economic growth before the crisis.

The figures released on Monday are a stark reminder of the severe financial impact faced by countries around the world.

Japan slipped into recession earlier this year following two successive quarters of economic contraction.

Its latest data for the April to June quarter was the biggest decline since comparable figures became available in 1980 and was slightly bigger than analysts had expected.

One of the main factors behind the slump was a severe decrease in domestic consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy. Exports have also fallen sharply as global trade is hit by the pandemic.

The latest data is the third successive quarter of declines for the Japanese economy, representing its worst performance since 1955.

The downturn puts further pressure on a Japanese economy that was already struggling with the effects of a sales tax hike to 10% last year, along with typhoon Hagibis.

After the slump, hopes of a bounce

Japan is the latest in a string of Asian economies to report drastically lower second quarter GDP data.

That shouldn't be a surprise: no one escaped the reach of the pandemic, and even if there weren't strict lockdowns put in place, people generally stayed indoors and didn't spend money.

That has a knock-on effect on corporate earnings, as consumers buy less and so companies earn less.

It's a vicious cycle that in turn leads to a lack of confidence about hiring prospects - which means there's also nervousness about job prospects. All of that is showing up in the numbers today.

Still, now is the time to look to the future and to the possibility of a rebound.

Japan is likely to do better than other economies according to some analysts. Capital Economics says even though the world's third largest economy is in the midst of a second wave of infections, its health care systems aren't overwhelmed, and new cases have started to decline. The research house says it expects to see third quarter GDP bounce back - and continue through to next year.

 

from World News: International Headlines, Breaking News - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3hgFwjb

New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern postpones election amid coronavirus spike

The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed the country's general election by a month amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

The vote was due to take place on 19 September but will now be held on 17 October instead.

Ms Ardern said on Monday that the new date would allow parties "to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under".

Earlier this week, the country's largest city went back into lockdown.

"This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead," Ms Ardern said, adding that she had "absolutely no intention" of allowing any further delays to the vote.

The opposition National Party has argued the election should be delayed as restrictions on campaigning mean Ms Ardern had an unfair advantage.

Nine new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Monday, bringing the number of active cases linked to the Auckland cluster to 58.

The outbreak was initially traced back to members of one family, although Ms Ardern later said that subsequent contact-tracing had found an earlier case involving a shop worker who became sick on 31 July.

A health official who knew the family told the New Zealand Herald that the family were "shell-shocked" and "a little embarrassed that it had happened to them".

The announcement that new cases had been discovered shocked the country, which had recorded no locally transmitted cases for more than three months.

There are four "alert levels" in New Zealand, and Auckland has been on Level 3 since the new measures were announced. The rest of the country is on Level 2.

Before the new cluster was identified, the government had lifted almost all of its lockdown restrictions, which were first imposed in March.

New Zealand has reported more than 1,600 infections and 22 deaths since the pandemic began, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

An early lockdown, tough border restrictions, effective health messaging and an aggressive test-and-trace programme had all been credited with virtually eliminating the virus in the country.

from World News: International Headlines, Breaking News - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3g1mATV

Coronavirus: Japan's economy shrinking at fastest rate

The Japanese economy has shrunk at its fastest rate on record as it battles the coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s third largest economy saw gross domestic product fall 7.8% in April-June from the previous quarter, or 27.8% on an annualised basis.

Japan was already struggling with low economic growth before the crisis.

The figures released on Monday are a stark reminder of the severe financial impact faced by countries around the world.

Japan slipped into recession earlier this year following two successive quarters of economic contraction.

Its latest data for the April to June quarter was the biggest decline since comparable figures became available in 1980 and was slightly bigger than analysts had expected.

One of the main factors behind the slump was a severe decrease in domestic consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy. Exports have also fallen sharply as global trade is hit by the pandemic.

The latest data is the third successive quarter of declines for the Japanese economy, representing its worst performance since 1955.

The downturn puts further pressure on a Japanese economy that was already struggling with the effects of a sales tax hike to 10% last year, along with typhoon Hagibis.

After the slump, hopes of a bounce

Japan is the latest in a string of Asian economies to report drastically lower second quarter GDP data.

That shouldn't be a surprise: no one escaped the reach of the pandemic, and even if there weren't strict lockdowns put in place, people generally stayed indoors and didn't spend money.

That has a knock-on effect on corporate earnings, as consumers buy less and so companies earn less.

It's a vicious cycle that in turn leads to a lack of confidence about hiring prospects - which means there's also nervousness about job prospects. All of that is showing up in the numbers today.

Still, now is the time to look to the future and to the possibility of a rebound.

Japan is likely to do better than other economies according to some analysts. Capital Economics says even though the world's third largest economy is in the midst of a second wave of infections, its health care systems aren't overwhelmed, and new cases have started to decline. The research house says it expects to see third quarter GDP bounce back - and continue through to next year.

 

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3hgFwjb

New Zealand: Jacinda Ardern postpones election amid coronavirus spike

The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed the country's general election by a month amid a spike in coronavirus cases.

The vote was due to take place on 19 September but will now be held on 17 October instead.

Ms Ardern said on Monday that the new date would allow parties "to plan around the range of circumstances we will be campaigning under".

Earlier this week, the country's largest city went back into lockdown.

"This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead," Ms Ardern said, adding that she had "absolutely no intention" of allowing any further delays to the vote.

The opposition National Party has argued the election should be delayed as restrictions on campaigning mean Ms Ardern had an unfair advantage.

Nine new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Monday, bringing the number of active cases linked to the Auckland cluster to 58.

The outbreak was initially traced back to members of one family, although Ms Ardern later said that subsequent contact-tracing had found an earlier case involving a shop worker who became sick on 31 July.

A health official who knew the family told the New Zealand Herald that the family were "shell-shocked" and "a little embarrassed that it had happened to them".

The announcement that new cases had been discovered shocked the country, which had recorded no locally transmitted cases for more than three months.

There are four "alert levels" in New Zealand, and Auckland has been on Level 3 since the new measures were announced. The rest of the country is on Level 2.

Before the new cluster was identified, the government had lifted almost all of its lockdown restrictions, which were first imposed in March.

New Zealand has reported more than 1,600 infections and 22 deaths since the pandemic began, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

An early lockdown, tough border restrictions, effective health messaging and an aggressive test-and-trace programme had all been credited with virtually eliminating the virus in the country.

from latest-news - SUCH TV https://ift.tt/3g1mATV