عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Banksy's Last COVID-19 Tags Scrubbed from London Tube Train

This undated photo issued on July 14, 2020 by JBPR, shows Banksy's latest work sprayed on the inside of a London Underground tube carriage. (AP)
This undated photo issued on July 14, 2020 by JBPR, shows Banksy's latest work sprayed on the inside of a London Underground tube carriage. (AP)
TT
20
TT

Banksy's Last COVID-19 Tags Scrubbed from London Tube Train

This undated photo issued on July 14, 2020 by JBPR, shows Banksy's latest work sprayed on the inside of a London Underground tube carriage. (AP)
This undated photo issued on July 14, 2020 by JBPR, shows Banksy's latest work sprayed on the inside of a London Underground tube carriage. (AP)

Even if you are Banksy, tagging is forbidden on London's Underground.

Transport for London, the transportation agency for the greater London area, scrubbed the acclaimed street artist's latest work on the subject of COVID-19 from one of its trains, erasing a visual warning on the dangers of skipping face coverings.

Banksy uploaded a a 59-second video to his Instagram and YouTube pages on Tuesday that showed him spray painting on a Circle Line train.

Clad in a white boiler suit, mask, goggles, and an orange jacket with the words “stay safe” on the back, he climbed on the train under the guise of being a maintenance worker.

He then stenciled his trademark rats in discreet corners of a train car. One memorable image shows a sickly rat with a runny nose that sneezes and spreads a spray of droplets across a window.

Transport for London officials say the works were removed because of a strict anti-graffiti policy. But they are hoping Banksy might be persuaded to tag again.

“We’d like to offer Banksy the chance to do a new version of his message for our customers in a suitable location,” the agency said in a statement.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Expedition Organizers Say 2 Climbers Have Died on Mount Everest

(FILES) This photograph taken on April 26, 2018 shows a general view of Everest base camp, some 140 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on April 26, 2018 shows a general view of Everest base camp, some 140 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
TT
20
TT

Expedition Organizers Say 2 Climbers Have Died on Mount Everest

(FILES) This photograph taken on April 26, 2018 shows a general view of Everest base camp, some 140 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph taken on April 26, 2018 shows a general view of Everest base camp, some 140 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP)

An Indian and a Filipino climber have died while climbing Mount Everest as hundreds of climbers are attempting to scale the world’s highest peak, expedition organizers said Friday.

The Indian climber, identified as Subrata Ghosh, died on Thursday just below the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit of the peak while he was returning from the top.

The other climber, identified as Philipp Santiago, 45, from the Philippines, died Wednesday while he was headed to the summit. He had reached Camp 4, which is the highest camp on the mountain, and was preparing for the final bid to reach the summit, The Associated Press reported.

Bodha Raj Bhandari of the Nepal-based Snowy Horizon Trek and Expedition, which equipped and organized the expedition, said the bodies were still on the mountain and it was yet to be decided if and when they would be brought down.

Retrieving bodies is both expensive and difficult as it takes many people to drag them down the icy slopes of the mountain.

The spring climbing season began in March and ends at the end of May.

May is the best month to climb the peak and climbers get only a few opportunities when the weather conditions improve, allowing just time for them to try attempt scale the peak.

Everest was first climbed in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay. More than 300 people have died on Everest since then.