England completes memorable 3-0 series sweep in Pakistan
Karachi (AP): A relentless England lineup powered to an eight-wicket win in the third and final cricket test on Tuesday to complete an historic series sweep in Pakistan.
England started the day needing a further 55 runs for victory and reached 170-2 within 38 minutes to secure its second successive win with more than a day to spare in its first test tour to Pakistan in 17 years.
It was Pakistan's first ever 3-0 loss in a three-test series on home soil.
Pakistan fell for 216 against 18-year-old rookie Rehan Ahmed (5-48) in the second innings to set England a modest target of 167 for victory.
Ben Duckett resumed on 50 and remained unbeaten on 82 off 78 balls and skip(per Ben Stokes signed off his team's dominant Bazball' brand of aggressive cricket by finishing 35 not out.
Pakistan spinner Abrar Ahmed could have finished the series with 18 wickets in two test matches, but Agha Salman couldn't hold onto a difficult chance from Stoke at long-on with England just 19 runs away from a memorable win.
England won the first test on a flat wicket in Rawalpindi by 74 runs in dimming light on the last day before recording a thrilling 26-run win at Multan on a slow turning track inside four days.
Rehan Ahmed conquered Pakistan's batters in the team's fortress National Stadium on Day 3 and England had motored to 112-2 in the final session through aggressive batting of Zak Crawley (41) and Duckett.
It was a just a third loss for Pakistan at the National Stadium in 45 test matches and first in 15 years. England was the first team to beat Pakistan there in a test match in 2000 before South Africa won a test match here seven years later.
The 3-0 drubbing was also Pakistan's fourth successive test loss at home after Australia beat them in the final test earlier this year to win the two-test series 1-0.
Pakistan was kept at bay throughout the last three weeks and unable to find the right combination to counter England's aggressive gameplan, which began at home this summer and now has seen them winning nine of the last 10 test matches. England's only loss in that period was against South Africa at Lord's before the Proteas got beaten 2-1 in the series.
England set the tone of a clean sweep in Pakistan when four of its batters smashed centuries on the opening day of the first test and the visitors racked up world-record 506-4.
Young Harry Brook filled perfectly in the shoes of injured Jonny Bairstow with three successive test centuries on tour and amassed 468 runs.
His 111 at Karachi in the first innings fetched England a vital first innings lead of 50 runs before Pakistan capitulated against Ahmed's legspin in the second innings.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
