Banksy tree mural that sprouted in London is fenced off after apparent vandalism

Banksy tree mural that sprouted in London is fenced off after apparent vandalism

LONDON (AP) — It was nice while it lasted.

An environmentally themed mural by elusive street artist Banksy that appeared last week on a London street has been encased in plastic and surrounded by fencing after an apparent act of vandalism.

The work is on a four-story wall near a public housing project. Beside a real and severely pruned cherry tree, the artist stenciled a small figure holding a pressure hose. Swathes of green paint across the wall stand in for the tree's absent leaves.

The work quickly attracted crowds including Banksy fans from around the world. Two days later, it was splashed with white paint.

MPI lowers speed limit on tech upgrade with ‘IT roadmap’ following Project Nova debacle

Manitoba Public Insurance is now using an “IT road map” and phasing in new technology and systems after pulling the plug last year on its failed $164-million overhaul known as Project Nova, its annual report says.

Band keeps plight of MMIWG close to heart on new track

Gabrielle Fontaine won’t stop talking about them and neither will her bandmates.

As a teenager, the Winnipeg songwriter — whose late father Vince was the passionate leader of musical projects including Eagle & Hawk — would volunteer at Wiping Away the Tears, an annual gathering hosted by Ka Ni Kanichihk that offers space for healing, ceremony and support for relatives of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

Though Indigenous people make up less than five per cent of the Canadian population, Indigenous women make up 16 per cent of all female homicide victims and 11 per cent of missing women, according to the Assembly of First Nations.

Seeking a way to help in the community, Fontaine regularly volunteered as a child-minder during memorial events, an experience she says shaped her outlook as a musical storyteller.

‘Amazing honour’: Winnipeg distribution centre continues award-winning ways for McKesson Canada

After a three-year absence, the trophy is back in Winnipeg.

Last week, McKesson Canada named its 120,000-square-foot pharmaceutical distribution centre in the northwest part of the Manitoba capital its Distribution Centre of the Year. The award recognizes the facility’s role in helping essential medications reach communities across the province and some of Canada’s remote regions.

This is the fourth time the Winnipeg facility has earned the company-wide award since it opened five years ago. McKesson previously honoured the centre in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The recognition comes with a trophy, as well as a banner that was hung from the rafters on Thursday.

More than 100 employees work across the centre’s day-and-night operations, processing between 80,000 and 100,000 medication units daily. Last year, the centre distributed more than 21 million medication units while maintaining more than 99 per cent accuracy.

Pimp sentenced to 11 years in prison

A man who picked up a vulnerable 17-year-old child-welfare ward on the streets of Winnipeg and coerced her into providing sexual services for several months has been sent to prison for more than a decade.

After a trial, Hassan Kargbo, who’s in his early 30s, was found guilty of sexual exploitation, making child sexual abuse and exploitation material, receiving a material benefit from sexual services provided by a person under 18, procuring a person under 18 and advertising sexual services.

Provincial court Judge Julie Frederickson sentenced him to 11 years behind bars late last month.

“Mr. Kargbo picked up a young Indigenous girl walking over the Osborne Street bridge and quickly got her involved in drug use and escorting,” Frederickson said in a written decision.