Thursday, February 09, 2023

"They need your help now"...


Desperate pleas have been made to help hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after the devastating earthquake battering Turkey and Syria, as the official death toll passed 19,000.

Daniel Craig and Tamsin Greig have fronted new televised fundraising appeals by the Disasters Emergency Committee, with Sir Michael Palin presenting radio adverts.

And aid workers on the ground told of terrified families sleeping on the streets in below-freezing conditions, with infections spreading while many people remained trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The British government has agreed to match donations of up to £5million to the appeal launched by the DEC, an alliance of 15 charities.

Rescues were continuing with two-year-old boy was picked out of the rubble by a Romanian and Polish rescue team in Hatay 79 hours after the Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake.

The boy, wearing a striped sweater, cried as he was gently lifted from the hole where he had been trapped.

But recovery efforts have been hampered by freezing weather and dozens of aftershocks, as well as already-damaged infrastructure and blocked aid corridors in civil war-torn Syria.

Sunday, February 05, 2023

"Harry Pain"? - "He's one of our own..."



Harry Kane holds many records, including setting some in the Champions League - yet his long wait to hoist a trophy aloft goes on.

He was the first player to score nine goals in his first nine appearances in the modern-day version of the European Cup.

He was also the fastest to 20 strikes in the Champions League, his 24-match tally two fewer than previous pace-setter Alessandro Del Piero.

He just hasn’t lifted up the Champions League trophy yet - nor indeed won any other team title in his professional career, other than a pre-season friendly Audi Cup after Tottenham Hotspur beat Bayern Munich on penalties in summer 2019.

A recent Museum Of London exhibition was dedicated to the Spurs striker and England captain, showcasing his life and achievements.

This display included a cabinet full of golden boots, hat-trick balls and player-of-the-year prizes.

Yet for all his feats, record-breaking as he goes for both club and country, rival fans will nevertheless taunt about his apparent “failure” so far to go all the way to a team trophy.