Poor thing

Following the 2008 earthquake in China, this terrified giant panda grabs the leg of a policeman

Two weeks after the earthquake, the panda still needs some comforting. Follow the link for the picture.

Some good news, and a wondeful reunion

'Emotional' reunion: Mom embraces baby she thought died in Haiti quake: Girl burned before temblor gets life-saving surgery in wake of disaster
One of the charities I contributed to in response to the Haitian earthquake was Doctors Without Borders. It was a doctor with this group that realised the little girl had a life-threatening condition and helped hook her up with another charity that sponsored her to Britain for treatment. Then a journalist went to Haiti to try to locate the child's family, and although some imposters claimed her at first, they found the mother, who had the admission card for the hospital her daughter had been in when the quake hit.

I am so glad that this little girl was saved and is now with her family. And I have to admit, even though the donation I made was fairly small, I feel good knowing that Doctors Without Borders helped save her life, so maybe I helped a tiny bit, too.

A bright spot in the aftermath

With China quake toll rising, an unexpected rescue

CHENGDU, China: As the death toll in the earthquake last week in southwestern China continued to rise - exceeding 40,000, with tens of thousands still missing - the state media reported Tuesday that 129 students and 10 teachers had been rescued in an isolated town in Sichuan Province.

I wanted to take a moment before I go to work

to remember the victims of the Chinese earthquake (and I haven't forgotten the Burmese cyclone). It boggles my mind that so many lives can be lost in such a short time. In China the latest figures are 40,000 dead, many children in their schools. Even 200 rescuers travelling to help were killed in a landslide; it's dangerous work to save others, but people are still being pulled out alive. In Burma it may be 200,000, although with the government's hold on the country, it's hard to be sure. Nature can be a harsh mistress, although she provides so much else for us.

China comes to a standstill in silent tribute to earthquake victims

My mercy mission into the cyclone zone with the Burmese heroes who put junta to shame