Tonga cyclone leaves one dead Students battle police ahead of poll

Nuku’Alofa, Tonga – Authorities were searching Tonga’s remote islands for cyclone victims yesterday after a powerful storm cut a swath of destruction through the South Pacific archipelago, killing one person and destroying most of the homes in some areas.

Relief efforts following Saturday’s cyclone were concentrating on the Ha’apai islands, one of Tonga’s three island groups between the main island of Tongatapu in the south and the Vava’u islands to the north, Tonga’s Director Leveni Aho said.

Cyclone Ian hit Tonga with gusts of up to 287 kilometres an hour. The storm was later downgraded from Category 5 – the most destructive level – to Category 4, with gusts of up to 250 kmh. Yesterday, the cyclone was tracking southeast away from Tonga.

Two navy patrol boats carrying tarpaulins, tents and other emergency supplies left Tongatapu to bring help to victims who were cut

of

Emergencies off in the Ha’apai islands. Authorities have been unable to make telephone contact with 23 islands, which account for most of the inhabited islands in the Ha’apai group, Aho said.

A New Zealand air force P3 Orion plane made a surveillance flight over the disaster area yesterday, taking pictures showing the extent of the damage. ‘‘ Some places have very extensive damage – up to 80 percent of the houses have been totally wiped out,’’ Aho said.

Cairo – Hundreds of students supporting Egypt’s ousted president battled security forces today at three Cairo universities, two days before a referendum that officials say will be protected by a massive deployment of soldiers and police.

The clashes came as Egypt’s interim president Adly Mansour urged voters to head to the polls to cast ballots this week on the draft constitution.

Mansour said that the draft charter used ‘‘ moderate’’ Islam as a base for legislation. He also asked voters ‘‘ to lead the ship of shores of safety.’’

Egypt’s 52 million- plus voters will decide whether to support amendments to the constitution initially drafted under toppled Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. The military overthrew Morsi in a popularly backed coup on July 3 and two panels dominated by secular- leaning politicians and legal experts later rewrote the document.

A large turnout and a strong ‘‘ yes’’ vote would give legitimacy and a boost to a military- backed

the nation to the plan for presidential and parliamentary elections.

Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group and its allies stepped up confrontations in the streets today. Students at Cairo and Ain Shams universities marched off campus, burned tyres and blocked main roads. Riot police fired tear gas and students responded by hurling stones.

Students at the Islamic Al- Azhar University also protested. Police arrested 19 protesters for blocking traffic, a security official said.