LONDON: A British music teacher is walking the entire length of the London Underground route to raise money for victims of the Beirut explosion.
Harry Sargeant, 24, was horrified to see footage of the massive blast and decided to raise funds for the people of Beirut, the Evening Standard reported on Saturday.
The massive explosion at the Port of Beirut killed 181 people, wounded thousands and left hundreds of thousands homeless.
A new two-week lockdown in Lebanon that started on Friday morning to stem a string of record daily infection rates is adding further strain to the country’s ravaged economy.
“It was really shocking to see all the people who were injured, those whose homes were destroyed and now have nowhere to live,” Sargeant told the Evening Standard. “After seeing what happened I knew I wanted to do something to help.”
Funds raised by his walk will be donated to the British Red Cross, which is working with the Lebanese Red Cross to respond to the crisis.
Sargeant, who lives in southwest London, has been taking a selfie at each underground station he passes on his walks to prove that he has completed the full route, the newspaper reported.
It took the music teacher five and a half hours to complete walking the routes of the Circle and Victoria lines in the unusually hot weather experienced by London this month.
The UK witnessed its longest stretch of temperatures exceeding 34C this month since records began in the 1960s.
“Heat is definitely a challenge and navigating the routes. I’ve had some really nice people help me when I got lost,” said Sargeant, who will livestream his final walk, which will be the Waterloo & City line.
“Everyone has been very kind and it’s been wonderful to see friends of friends share the fundraiser.”
British music teacher to walk London Underground route to raise money for Beirut
https://arab.news/cnc6x
British music teacher to walk London Underground route to raise money for Beirut
- Sargeant has been taking a selfie at each underground station he passes on his walks
- Funds raised by his walk will be donated to the British Red Cross, which is working with the Lebanese Red Cross to respond to the crisis
Germany takes delivery of Israeli-made underwater drone
- "The army said the Blue Whale was the navy’s “largest and most advanced unmanned underwater vehicle to date“
- The device was tested in the Baltic Sea
BERLIN: The German navy on Wednesday said it had taken delivery of an Israeli-made Blue Whale underwater drone intended for reconnaissance and detecting “hybrid threats at sea.”
The autonomous underwater vehicle, developed by Israeli company IAI together with German submarine- and warship-maker TKMS, was received in the northern port of Eckernfoerde, the navy said in a statement.
The army on its website said the Blue Whale was the navy’s “largest and most advanced unmanned underwater vehicle to date.”
The device was tested in the Baltic Sea, a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and NATO since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the army said.
Military experts and European leaders say Russia has ramped up its “hybrid war” in the strategic region — now bordered entirely by NATO members, with the exception of Russia — through airspace incursions and suspected sabotage of undersea cables.
TKMS said the Blue Whale was capable of “conducting reconnaissance operations, detecting targets above and below the sea surface, collecting acoustic information, and locating sea mines on the seabed.”
Israel and Germany have upped their defense cooperation in recent months and in January signed a security pact to expand joint work on counterterrorism and cyber defense.
In December, Germany approved a $3.1 billion expansion of a contract for the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system, which is Israeli-made and developed with US support.
