Storms, floods in Sicily kill at least 12 people
Rome, Nov 4: Storms lashing Sicily have killed at least 12 people with torrential floods, Italian authorities said as the country's leader headed Sunday to the stricken Mediterranean island.
Divers pulled out nine of those victims from a home flooded by a rapidly swelling river in the countryside near Palermo.
State TV broadcaster RaiNews24 said the sole survivor of the flood that ravaged the home with water and mud was the owner, who had just stepped outside to walk the family dogs Saturday when the torrent hit.
News reports said the man at first clung to a tree, then ended up on the roof of a nearby house. He used his cellphone to call for help but it was too late for the others, who included a one-year-old baby, a three-year-old child and a teenager. The victims were from two families who had gathered in the country villa for the weekend.
A man's body was also found on a guardrail along a Palermo-area road after floodwaters swept away his car, Italian news reports said.
Across the island, in the town of Cammarata, near Agrigento, the fire department said its divers were working to recover the bodies of two people swept away while driving on a road near the flooding Saraceno River.
Also in Agrigento province, firefighters rescued 14 people from a hotel in the town of Montevago, which was threatened by floodwaters from the Belice River.
Agrigento, famed for the ruins of ancient Greek temples, is a popular tourist destination.
Elsewhere in Sicily, at least two other people were missing Sunday after floodwaters swept away their cars, including a doctor heading to the hospital in the hill town of Corleone.
Other storms had battered northern Italy earlier in the week, killing at least 15 people, uprooting millions of trees near Alpine valleys and leaving several Italian villages without electricity or road access for days.
In Casteldaccia, the hamlet where the river flooded the home in Sicily, neighbor Maria Concetta Alfano said she, her husband and their adult disabled daughter fled after barking dogs drew their attention to the rising waters in the Milicia River, the Italian news agency ANSA said.
It quoted the husband, Andrea Cardenale, as saying he drove away as "water was up to the hood of the car."
Rescuers retrieved the bodies from the home. A Sicilian prosecutor opened an investigation to determine if any human error, such as possible inadequate drainage of the river, might have played a role in the deaths.
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No contract was signed with Muzarabani for PSL stint, but verbal agreement was reached: PCB
Karachi (PTI): The Pakistan Cricket Board admitted that no contract was ever sent to Blessing Muzarabani to play in the PSL but insisted that a firm verbal agreement was reached with the Zimbabwe pacer and he had breached the trust while joining the Indian Premier League.
The PCB recently imposed a two-year ban on Muzarabani from playing in the PSL claiming he breached a contract with Islamabad United and joined IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders.
The fast bowler’s agent, Rob Humphries tore into the PCB on Sunday in a social media post for the ban and claimed his client neither took part in the PSL players auction nor signed any contract with Islamabad United.
Humphries said the ban was excessive and unjustified.
But sources in the PCB while conceding no contract was signed with Rabbani claimed that a clear verbal agreement between both the parties was reached.
The source said this was also clear in the PCB announcement about the ban that despite a clear offer and an unequivocal acceptance of essential terms, the player chose to disregard these obligations in favour of a conflicting arrangement.
The PCB source said once essential terms — including remuneration and structure — are agreed upon through written correspondence, a binding obligation is formed.
But Humphries said after talks began with Islamabad United they had made it clear that unless they had a contract they couldn’t apply for an NOC from the Zimbabwe Cricket.
“We've remained quiet publicly over the last six weeks because we did not wish to create or cause anymore animosity for the Pakistan Super League/Pakistan Cricket Board than they had already created for themselves,” Humphries’ statement said.
"[On] 13 February, Blessing [was] approached by Islamabad United about a playing opportunity for the 2026 PSL. The deal [was] agreed subject to obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Zimbabwe Cricket.
“An NOC cannot be obtained without a contract from the PSL. Islamabad United/PSL announced the signing to the world via social media,” it said.
Humphries further urged the PCB to gracefully withdraw the ban and accept this situation risen out of an administrative error at their end.
Muzarabani was taken by Islamabad as a replacement for West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph for USD 40,000.
