Australia win toss and send Pakistan in to bat
CENTURION, South Africa (Reuters) – Australia won the toss and put Pakistan in to bat first in their Champions Trophy Group A match at Centurion on Wednesday.
Australia must win to be certain of advancing to the semi-finals, while Pakistan have already qualified.
Pakistan have recalled seam bowler Mohammad Asif, who has recovered from injury and completed a suspension for a drugs offence.
Teams:
Pakistan – Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Younus Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Rana Naved ul-Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul.
Australia – Shane Watson, Tim Paine, Ricky Ponting, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Callum Ferguson, James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle.
(Reporting by Ken Borland; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
Scores dead in tsunami in Pacific islands
APIA, Samoa — A powerful earthquake in the South Pacific hurled a massive tsunami at the shores of Samoa and American Samoa, flattening villages and sweeping cars and people out to sea, leaving at least 82 dead and dozens missing.
Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground and remained huddled there hours after the quake struck early Tuesday. Signs of devastation were everywhere, with a giant boat washed ashore lying on the edge of a highway and floodwaters swallowing up cars and homes.
The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Samoa, an island nation of 180,000 people located about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii. It struck about 120 miles (190 kilometers) from neighboring American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people.
Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.6 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman. He reported dozens of park workers missing.
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials struggled to determine damage and casualties.
Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police there had confirmed 63 deaths but that officials were still searching the devastated areas, so the number of deaths might rise soon.
Hundreds of injured people were being treated by health workers, and people were still struggling into centers seeking treatment, Maiava said.
At least 19 people were killed on American Samoa, officials there said.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” said American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference.
In Washington, President Barack Obama declared a disaster for American Samoa. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was deploying teams to provide support and assess damage.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi looked shaken Wednesday on board a flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to the Samoan capital of Apia.
“So much has gone. So many people are gone,” he told reporters on board. “I’m so shocked, so saddened by all the loss.”
Malielegaoi said his own village of Lepa was destroyed.
“Thankfully, the alarm sounded on the radio and gave people time to climb to higher ground,” he said. “But not everyone escaped.”
Gov. Tulafono told reporters in Honolulu that more victims could be found when rescuers reach areas that are inaccessible by roads. Tulafono said a member of his extended family was among the dead.
There were unconfirmed reports of at least five additional people dead in the island nation of Tonga, west of the Samoas, New Zealand’s acting Prime Minister Bill English said.
“There are a considerable number of people who’ve been swept out to sea and are unaccounted for,” English said. “We don’t have information about the full impact and we do have some real concern that over the next 12 hours the picture could look worse rather than better.”
He said a New Zealand P3 Orion maritime surveillance plane would reach the region later Wednesday to search for survivors. U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. John Titchen said a C-130 was being dispatched Wednesday to deliver aid to American Samoa, assess damage and take the governor back home.
The Samoa Red Cross said it had opened five temporary shelters and estimated that about 15,000 people were affected by the tsunami.
New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the Samoan beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was leveled.
“It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out,” Ansell told New Zealand’s National Radio from a hill near Samoa’s capital, Apia. “There’s not a building standing. We’ve all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need ’round here.”
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said an Australian woman has been confirmed killed in Samoa and six other Australians remain unaccounted for after the tsunami.
Mase Akapo, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in American Samoa, reported at least 19 people killed in four different villages on the main island of Tutuila. Officials reported at least 50 injured.
Residents in both Samoa and American Samoa reported being shaken awake by the quake early Tuesday, which lasted two to three minutes and was centered about 20 miles (32 kilometers) below the ocean floor. It was followed by at least three large aftershocks of at least 5.6 magnitude.
The quake came Tuesday morning for the Samoas, which lie just east of the international dateline. For Asia-Pacific countries on the other side of the line, it was already Wednesday.
The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, fresh sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.
In American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort continued into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened by either the quake or the tsunami.
Several areas were expected to be without electricity for up to a month.
The dominant industry in American Samoa — tuna canneries — was also affected. Chicken of the Sea’s tuna packing plant in American Samoa was forced to close although the facility wasn’t damaged, the San Diego-based company said.
The effects of the tsunami could be felt thousands of miles away.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said “very weak” tsunami waves were registered off the island of Hachijojima about 10 hours after the quake. There were no reports of injuries or damage in Japan, which is about 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers) northwest of Samoa.
U.S. officials said strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington state. No major flooding was expected, however.
In Los Angeles, lifeguards said they would clear beaches at about 8 p.m. in response to an advisory for possible dangerous currents.
While the earthquake and tsunami were big, they were not on the same scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Atwater of the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle. That tsunami killed more than 230,000 in a dozen countries across Asia.
Sagapolutele reported from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Associated Press writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand; Jaymes Song and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu and Seth Borenstein and Michele Salcedo in Washington contributed to this report.
Hakimullah’s brother killed in US drone attack in Pak
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Taliban new chief Hakimullah Mehsud’s brother was among 15 militants killed in two US drone attacks in the country’s lawless tribal belt, reports said on Wednesday. Hakimullah’s brother Kalimullah was among six militants who were killed in the first drone attack in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan Agency yesterday afternoon, Express 24/7 news channel reported. Nine militants were killed in the second drone attack, which was carried out in the evening in the Dandey Darpakhel area of North Waziristan Agency. Several foreigners, including Afghan nationals, were among those killed in the two attacks. Former Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud was himself killed in a US drone attack in August. Since Baitullah’s death, 65 Taliban militants, including foreigners, have been killed in drone strikes in South Waziristan, the Dawn newspaper reported. The home of Irfan Shamankhel, the son of Taliban commander Sher Alam Mehsud, was targeted in yesterday’s first drone attack in South Waziristan. The house of Mustafa, an Afghan national who had close relations with Taliban commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, was targeted in the second attack in North Waziristan. US spy planes have carried out over 70 missile attacks in Pakistan’s tribal belt since last year. Till early this year, the Pakistan government would strongly protest all such attacks, describing them as a violation of the country’s sovereignty and counter-productive for the war on terror. In recent months, there have been few formal protests from the Foreign Office though the issue of drone attacks figures in almost every weekly briefing by the foreign ministry’s spokesman.
Bowlers’ generosity with extras worries Intikhab
CENTURION: Despite a convincing win against arch-rivals India at the Centurion on Saturday, Pakistan’s coach Intikhab Alam remained wary of his side’s generosity with extras and reminded his bowlers not to repeat the mistakes against Australia on Wednesday.
Pakistan, who restricted the top-ranked ODI team India to 248 who were chasing 303, gave away 22 extras that included 11 wides and seven no-balls. Umar Gul, who was taken apart by the Indian batsmen while going wicketless, was guilty of over-stepping three times with the resulting freehits costing Pakistan 14 runs.
Intikhab, Pakistan’s coach, braved sunny and warm conditions during Pakistan’s three-hour long training session on Monday to ensure his bowlers did not cross the line. ‘In today’s cricket, it is a crime to bowl no-balls,’ Intikhab said after the training session. ‘It’s not just the extra run and the ball, but also the freehit that the batsmen get which can cause problems. We are very strict about it and I position myself at the bowler’s end in the nets to make sure we limit over-stepping.
‘At times, it’s the pressure on the bowler as well. Against India, for example, the bowlers stretched a little extra to deliver what was required off them but that’s not an excuse. There won’t be as much pressure on them against Australia so I hope we don’t make such mistakes again.’
Apart from the extras situation, Intikhab was content with his team’s performance that has seen them win all four matches on the tour so far. Playing back-to-back matches against the world’s top-ranked ODI team and reigning world champions, according to Intikhab, will help the players improve their skills.
‘We are fully prepared for the Australians and will go into the match with a different strategy to the Indians. It’s always a challenge to play a better side and gives our players a chance to learn. Our team has tremendous potential as well as definite plan for every individual so that if things don’t go in our favour, there is a back-up that we can fall on in the field. The good thing, for us, is that we are peaking at the right time and the winning momentum is doing wonders to the players’ confidence levels.’
Intikhab also termed the availability of Mohammad Asif, eligible for selection after completing his 12-month ban last Wednesday, a healthy dilemma for the team management but admitted it was difficult to accommodate him in the starting eleven.
Asif, who could have made his comeback in Pakistan’s opening game against the West Indies, last represented Pakistan almost 18 months ago and was unable to participate in international or domestic cricket due to the ban. ‘His omission is actually a good thing for Pakistan cricket. It does give us a headache selecting teams but it’s difficult to omit someone who has been performing in order to accommodate him. Our selection policy is simple: you perform and you’ll make it to the final eleven and that, itself, is a challenge and incentive for our players to perform in every single match.’
Pakistan’s match against Australia at Centurion may be of significance depending on India’s performance against the same opponents. Pakistan lost a five-match ODI series against the world champions in the UAE earlier this year. With Australia hosting Pakistan for a Test and ODI series starting in December, Intikhab wants a clinical show on the field and has backed his spinners to cause plenty of problems.
‘I won’t say they are vulnerable to spin but we do have two world-class spinners in our squad who gave the Australians plenty of problems in the UAE. They are very professional but playing Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi will be a challenge for them as well. We did well against them earlier, in a series we should’ve won. But we beat them in the Twenty20 and that was the start of good things for us.’
Saeed, with four wickets in the tournament so far, caused a few problems in April, an act he is hoping to repeat when the two sides meet again.
‘The Australians don’t play spin particularly well which was obvious in the UAE,’ Saeed said. ‘It was a good series for me and I was successful against them and that is exactly what I will be aiming to repeat on Wednesday. I’m particularly looking forward to bowling against Ricky Ponting, who I’ve never bowled to before, and am targeting his wicket more than anyone else’s.’
China urges all sides to ease tensions over Iran
BEIJING (Reuters) – China urged all sides on Tuesday to try to ease mounting tensions over Iran’s nuclear plans and focus on negotiations, as Western powers ramp up pressure on Tehran to come clean.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China wanted positive results from talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany, to be held in Geneva on Thursday.
The permanent Council members are the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China.
“We hope that all sides will use this opportunity to enhance diplomatic efforts … and seek a comprehensive, lasting and appropriate solution to the Iran nuclear issue,” Jiang told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
“We believe that all sides should take more steps to ease tensions and resolve problems, and not the opposite,” Jiang said.
China’s delegation to the talks will be led by an official in charge of arms control, she added.
On Monday, Iran test-fired missiles, which a commander said could hit any regional target, adding to alarm in Western nations over revelations last week that the country was building a second uranium enrichment facility.
The United States and European powers have called for greater force behind demands that Iran be transparent abut its nuclear plans, and threatened Iran with “sanctions that bite.”
China has also voiced concern about the enrichment plant, which has not yet come online, but has urged nations to solve the latest flare-up in tensions with Iran through negotiations.
Beijing’s distaste for sanctions and appetite for Iran’s oil mean it could flex its power as a permanent member of the Security Council to soften any proposed resolution that could threaten its economic and energy ties with Tehran.
“We support protecting the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and also advocate appropriately resolving the Iran nuclear issue through negotiations,” Jiang, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said.
(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Emma Graham-Harrison; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
Security forces kill 16 militants in Waziristan clashes
MIR ALI: At least 16 suspected militants were killed in clashes with the security forces in the last 24 hours in Waziristan. Separately, in the Orakzai tribal region, helicopter gunships pounded militant positions, killing 10 insurgents and wounding several others in three villages, intelligence officials told AP.
In Waziristan, the militants attacked security check posts in Nawazkot, Spin Qamar and Razmak during clashes with security forces in which 16 militants were killed.
Bodies of two militants were recovered near the FC camp in Razmak. The militants were then buried in a mass grave in Ladha.
Meanwhile, according to an Associated Press report, one Pakistani soldier was killed and seven others were critically wounded in a militant rocket attack on an army camp in the northwest. The military responded by firing heavy artillery on the Razmak, Ladha and Makeen areas, killing 18 insurgents, the AP quoted two intelligence officials as saying. — DawnNews/AP
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