Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
New Zealand abandoned its cricket tour of Pakistan on Friday because it was wary of being attacked outside Rawalpindi Stadium, according to the Pakistan government.
New Zealand Cricket declined to reveal the nature of the security alert from its own government that prompted the sudden decision to cancel the tour moments before the scheduled start of the one-day international series in Rawalpindi. Both teams had stayed at their hotel.
According to Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan the cricketers could be attacked outside the stadium.
Khan, who is on a government visit of Tajikistan, informed Ardern "we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team."
Ahmed said he had no information about a security threat against the New Zealanders, and backed Khan at a news conference.
"He told her that the law and order situation is the best in our country and we give a guarantee that there is no security problem here, there is no security threat," Ahmed said. "But the prime minister of New Zealand said that the issue is not the threat but we have such information that when the team goes out it can come under some attack, so they have unilaterally canceled their tour."
The security concern has the Pakistan hosts mystified.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said together with the Pakistan government they "made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured the New Zealand Cricket of the same."
PCB chairman Ramiz Raja hinted they will protest to the International Cricket Council against NZC's unilateral decision.
"Crazy day it has been! Feel so sorry for the fans and our players," Raja tweeted. "Walking out of the tour by taking a unilateral approach on a security threat is very frustrating. Especially when it's not shared!! Which world is NZ living in??NZ will hear us at ICC."
NZC said on its website: "Following an escalation in the New Zealand government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisers on the ground, it has been decided the Black Caps will not continue with the tour. Arrangements are now being made for the team's departure."
New Zealand's first visit to Pakistan in 18 years was to feature three ODIs in Rawalpindi and five Twenty20s in Lahore. Both cities and the security arrangements were cleared by NZC's security team last month.
Ahmed said Pakistan allowed hosting the games without spectators but New Zealand rejected the offer. Pakistan, therefore, allowed the stadiums in Rawalpindi and Lahore to be at 25% crowd capacity because of the pandemic. But Pindi Stadium wasn't opened on Friday to spectators as New Zealand decided to abandon the tour.
NZC chief executive David White said the advice he received made the tour impossible to continue, and he was supported by the New Zealand Cricket Players Association.
"I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option," White said.
The PCB said it tried its best to convince the Kiwis, but "cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal (of New Zealand)."
Pakistan captain Babar Azam expressed his disappointment at the cancellation, while former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar tweeted: "NZ just killed Pakistan cricket."
England men's and women's teams are due in Pakistan for short two-match T20 series next month, and the England and Wales Cricket Board said it would make a final call on the tours this weekend.
England's men have not played an international in Pakistan since 2005 while the women are visiting for the first time.
"We're aware of New Zealand's decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert," the ECB said. "We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB Board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed."
Pakistan was a no go zone for international cricket teams for a decade after terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009. The ambush killed seven people and injured several Sri Lankan cricketers, including Thilan Samaraweera, who is among the New Zealand tour management as the batting coach.
Since international teams resumed touring Pakistan in 2019, this is the first instance of a team having to abandon while in the country.
"The players are in good hands," New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills said. "They're safe and everyone's acting in their best interests."
------
Munir Ahmed from Islamabad contributed to this report
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.
Canadian immigrants threatened by hostile regimes are urging parliamentarians to quickly pass the 'Countering Foreign Interference Act' so they can feel safe living in their adopted home.
A long-simmering feud between hip-hop superstars Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a boiling point in recent days as the pair traded increasingly personal insults on a succession of diss tracks. Here’s a quick overview of what’s behind the ongoing beef.
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Whether passionate about Poirot or hungry for Holmes, Winnipeg mystery obsessives have had a local haunt for over 30 years in which to search out their latest page-turners.
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busy stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.