Greenpeace plant their Arctic flag at the North Pole, as Thom Yorke hoped

A Greenpeace team has planted a flag on the seabed about four kilometres beneath the North Pole, days after Thom Yorke backed the walk on Dead Air Space, the band's blog. They lowered it at the spot where a Russian submarine planted its own flag in 2007, and called for the area to be declared a global sanctuary. With the flag went a time capsule of glass and titanium carrying the signatures of almost three million supporters. It carries on the Save the Arctic campaign Radiohead took on tour with them last autumn.

By Greenpeace's account, the trek took about a week across the frozen Arctic Ocean at about minus 30C, each walker pulling an 80 kg sledge, with a helicopter from the Barneo ice base carrying them over the last stretch. The four young ambassadors who planted the flag include the actor Ezra Miller and Josefina Skerk, a Sami member of the Sami Parliament in Sweden. Sarah Batrisyia, 13, from Malaysia, designed it.

Yorke's post asked readers to follow the walkers and to sign the call for an Arctic reserve, free of oil drilling and overfishing. It is such a brave thing to take on!¹ He signed off with I really hope they make it..¹