England ease to five-wicket win over Pakistan

CARDIFF: World Twenty20 champions England romped home against Pakistan with a five-wicket win at Cardiff on Sunday.

Pakistan, looking to redeem some pride amid the spot-fixing controversy, failed to defend the 126 runs they posted on the board with a poor batting and fielding display.

Eoin Morgan, given a life when at 13 when he was dropped by Shoaib Akhtar, top-scored for England with 38 notout. The Ireland-born batsman shared a 50-run match-winning partnership with all-rounder Michael Yardy.

Earlier, Pakistan struggled to score on a slow pitch after they were put in to bat by England captain Paul Collingwood. Umar Akmal was the top scorer for the visitors with 35 notout while Graeme Swann took two wickets for 14 runs for England to peg Pakistan back early in their innings.

England lead the two-match Twenty20 series 1-0.

The next match will be played at the same venue on Tuesday, September 7.

Troubled Afghan bank faces another day of long queues

KABUL: Queues formed at branches of Afghanistan's biggest bank Sunday as customers clamoured to withdraw their savings, though lines were shorter days after corruption allegations appeared in US newspapers.

Security appeared to have been stepped up at the head office of Kabul Bank, with armoured vehicles parked outside as crowds thronged the banking chamber.

Many customers said they wished to withdraw their money because they had lost trust in the bank, though others said they simply needed cash ahead of this week's Eid holiday marking the end of the Muslim Ramadan fasting month.

Waheed Shirzoi, 26, said: “I am withdrawing my money because I am taking a trip and I also believe my money will not be safe in this bank.

“I think my money will be safer in the state-run banks,” he said.

Privately-owned Kabul Bank has been the subject of reports alleging large-scale corruption by executives, though the government and central bank have said it is solvent and there is no need for customers to panic.

Banks were closed on Friday for the weekly holiday, providing respite after a day of mild panic following the reports, which saw the Washington Post say Kabul Bank had been taken over by the central bank.

The governor of Afghanistan's central bank, Adbul Qadir Fitrat, said Kabul Bank had not been taken over and along with the finance minister reassured depositors their money was secure.

On Saturday, branches across the country saw huge crowds wanting to withdraw their money, though many were also queuing to be paid, as Kabul Bank handles the salaries of hundreds of thousands of civil servants.

US newspapers, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, reported on Wednesday that the central bank had replaced the bank's two top executives chief executive Khalilullah Ferozi and chairman Sher Khan Farnud and ordered Farnud to hand over 160 million dollars' worth of luxury property purchased in Dubai for himself and for cronies.

Fitrat denied the reports, saying the men had resigned voluntarily as new regulations did not permit shareholders to hold executive positions.

The US Treasury Department on Saturday denied a report, also in the Washington Post, that American taxpayers would be forced to help bail out Kabul Bank.

The White House said the report was not true and pointed to a statement from Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin saying the bank's troubles were “an Afghan issue”.

“While we are providing technical assistance to the Afghan government, no American taxpayer funds will be used to support Kabul Bank,” Wolin said.

The Washington Post said on Friday the US Treasury Department had dispatched a team to Kabul to help deal with the crisis, and that a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai had called for Washington's intervention.

One of Karzai's political rivals Sunday questioned the Afghan government's conduct in dealing with the banking crisis, saying it had a responsibility to help ordinary Afghans and not just the president's family.

“You are the president of a country and your prime responsibility is to help your own family?” said Abdullah Abdullah, who was Karzai's main rival in last year's presidential elections.

“The money belongs to the people of Afghanistan, it's not anybody's private entity,” he told reporters at his home in Kabul.

“If there was a misconduct, as it seems there was by the bank itself, what was the regulatory role, the supervisory role of the government of Afghanistan and the central bank? Why it wasn't dealt with earlier?” – AFP

Taliban threaten to disrupt Afghanistan election

KABUL: Afghanistan's Taliban said on Sunday they would attempt to derail elections this month and warned Afghans to boycott the vote, the first explicit threat against the poll by the hardline Islamists.

“We are against it and will try with the best of our ability to block it. Our first targets will be the foreign forces and next the Afghan ones. So we are asking people to not take part,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. – Reuters

India test-fires Brahmos cruise missile

BHUBANESWAR: India on Sunday test-fired an advanced version of a supersonic cruise missile, officials said, as part of the country's drive to boost its defence system.

The Brahmos, which can travel at up to 2.8 times the speed of sound and has a range of 290 km (180 miles), was tested at a test range in the eastern state of Orissa.

“It was a fantastic test. It met all mission requirements,” S.P. Dash, director of the test range, told Reuters.

The Brahmos, named after India's Brahmaputra river and Russia's Moscow river, was developed by a joint venture between India's Defense Research and Development Organisation and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyen.

“The missile flew in the designated complex trajectory including large manoeuvres and a steep dive,” a Brahmos spokesperson said. – Reuters

An explosion due to gas cylinder in Quetta

Quetta: A gas cylinder exploded near Liaqat Market, in Quetta on Sunday, shattering glass windows of numerous shops near by.

The explosion took place in the basement of Shalimar market. The sound of the explosion was heard miles away, spreading fear amongst people.

Police officials arrived at the scene and confirmed the source of the explosion to be a gas cylinder.

The bomb disposal squad team also arrived at the scene and declared it safe after inspecting the entire building. No casualties were reported.

Michael Jackson auction not against his wishes

HONG KONG: The auction house that is putting Michael Jackson's memorabilia under the hammer in Macau has dismissed accusations that the sale goes against the singer's wishes, a report said Sunday.

More than 100 items once used by Jacksonincluding a pair of crystal-studded gloves and a set of Jackson 5 jumpsuits will go on a sale by US-based Julien's Auctions in the glitzy gambling haven of Macau in October 9.

But in an interview with British tabloid Daily Star in August, Jackson's former lawyer, Brian Oxman, said the late star had tried to stop the auction, and the sale in Macau would be tantamount to selling off his children's estate.

“This is an outrage. Back in May of 2009 there was to be an auction.

Michael demanded it was stopped. He never wanted this material to be auctioned,” Oxman was quoted as saying to the tabloid.

“He would be furious. He would be turning in his grave. This was to be his legacy to his children, and the legacy of his children is being sold off,” he said in the report.

In response, Darren Julien, president and chief executive of Julien's Auctions, told the South China Morning Post that Oxman was “only seeking publicity” in levelling accusations against the auction house.

“None of the items are consigned to us by the estate of Michael Jackson.

The items come to us from some of Michael Jackson's family members and friends who he gave them to when he was alive,” Julien told the Hong Kong English daily.

“We would never and have never done anything that would hurt them [the Jacksons] or that they would not be supportive of. Brian Oxman on the other hand is only concerned for himself,” he told the Post.

Jackson last year authorised Julien's to hold a sale of more than 1,300 items taken from his sprawling Neverland Ranch in California, which the singer left and never returned to following his acquittal on child abuse charges in 2005.

But the auction was scrapped after a settlement had been reached between Julien's and Jackson's lawyers shortly before the 50-year-old eccentric pop star passed away in June last year.

The auction house said at the time that they believed the sentimental reaction of Jackson's fans following news of the dispersal of the Neverland collection had made the singer think twice about going ahead with the sale. – AFP

Hameed denies he alleged match-rigging

KARACHI: Pakistan test opener Yasir Hameed denied on Saturday he had told the British tabloid The News of the World that he had accused his team mates of fixing matches.

The Sunday newspaper has quoted Hameed as saying that some of his team mates were fixing “almost every match”.

“They were doing it (fixing) in almost every match. God knows what they were up to,” he is quoted as saying.

However Hameed, who played in the last two tests of the series against England, said he had never spoken to the newspaper.

“I have given no interview to this newspaper. So the question of my saying my teammates fix matches does not arise,” Hameed told Geo News in Karachi.

Hameed also said he did not know there was a camera present when he was talking.

“I am deeply disturbed right now with this development. I am trying to speak to the Pakistan manager to tell him this is wrong.”

Pakistan team sources told Reuters that the News of the World statement had come as a shock to the players and officials who are already under pressure because of the inquiry into the spot-fixing betting allegations against the suspended trio of test captain Salman Butt and pace bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.

“The team is in a meeting right now and I can't speak to you right now,” manager Yawar Saeed said from Cardiff, where Pakistan play England in a Twenty20 international on Sunday.

The sources said Pakistan High Commissioner, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, was also attending the meeting. -Reuters