Banksy's Rats Mess Up Bathroom in Lockdown

Banksy's Rats Mess Up Bathroom in Lockdown
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Banksy's Rats Mess Up Bathroom in Lockdown

Banksy's Rats Mess Up Bathroom in Lockdown

Banksy, the British graffiti artist whose identity has never been publicly revealed, used his Instagram account to share pictures featuring a new mural he painted during self-isolation.
According to BBC, the mural shows rats wreaking havoc on what is assumed to be his bathroom's walls, and messing around the sink and the toilet.

Nine rats appear in the new pictures stepping on a tube of toothpaste and knocking the bathroom mirror to one side. A mischievous rodent was seen skipping on a roll of toilet paper which has rolled down and across the floor, while another is swinging from the light cord. And one rat was caught stealing a lipstick that belongs to his wife.

Banksy's last public artwork appeared on Valentine's Day in his home city of Bristol and showed a girl firing red flowers from a catapult.

Known for using graffiti to reflect the reality of society from a unique perspective, the British artist managed to change the common view about this art, which many societies describe as vandalism that distorts public places. He used his talent to communicate targeted social and humanitarian messages that turned graffiti into one of the most prominent forms of modern art.

In December, Banksy highlighted the matter of homeless people with a mural depicting two reindeer dragging a homeless sleeping on a park bench in Birmingham, central England.



‘Less Snow’: Warm January Weather Breaks Records in Moscow

A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
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‘Less Snow’: Warm January Weather Breaks Records in Moscow

A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)
A woman walks with a stroller near a pond during warm weather in Moscow, Russia, 28 January 2025. (EPA)

January 2025 is on track to be one of the warmest in Moscow on record, meteorologists reported on Wednesday, with two of the past days breaking all-time daily temperature highs.

Thermometer readings on Wednesday have not dipped below an "April-like" 3.8 degrees Celsius (38.8 Fahrenheit), much higher than the historical average below freezing, according to Russia's Phobos weather center.

Residents in the capital told AFP there was less snow for children to play with, and that there was "mud everywhere", making dog walks more challenging.

Experts warn more temperature records will be broken in the future as human-driven climate change disrupts global weather patterns.

"Of course, we don't like winter like this... Everything should be in moderation," 68-year-old pensioner Galina Kazakova told AFP in central Moscow.

"It is very bad for nature, because the snow should lie on the fields, so that it melts, so that everything grows well," she added.

Monday and Tuesday were the warmest of those dates since records started, while Wednesday is also set to beat its historical high, Russia's RBK news outlet reported, citing meteorologists.

"January, which is approaching a heat record, continues to surprise," meteorologist Mikhail Leus said on Telegram, posting a video of chanterelle mushrooms poking through patches of snow in the forest.

Central Russia's state meteorological service said Moscow was on track for its "second warmest January" since records began, beaten only by January 2020.

Russian state media reported January 2025 could be warmer than even that year.

Climatologist Alexey Karnaukhov was uncertain about whether this January would be the warmest.

"It's hard to say whether there will be a record. In 2020, there was no stable snow cover in Russia's midland either, and this year is not unique," Karnaukhov told AFP.

"We live in an era of global warming, warm years will become more and more frequent. Even if the current values turn out to be a record, it will definitely not be the last," he told AFP.

On the streets of the capital, residents expressed both joy and concern at the unseasonably warm weather.

"I like it all. It is very pleasant to walk," said 19-year-old student Olga Medvedeva.

"I like winter better the way it was," said Elena Aleksandrova, 73.

"We take the dog for walks, he likes to play in the snow too. Now where can you walk? There is mud everywhere."