Author: James Broun

Russia’s leading liberal economist, Sergei Guriev, stated his belief that Russia will one day be a prosperous and democratic country, in giving a mixed picture of the future of the Russian economy at an event hosted by the Oxford Guild at Trinity College. Mr Guriev, who will take up a new role as chief economist to […]

Yiftah Curiel, chief Spokesperson and Press Officer of the Israeli Embassy, cancelled his speaking engagement with the Oxford International Relations Society on Tuesday of this week due to heightened threats of security. Curiel, whose previous position with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem saw him dealing with issues such as the Iranian nuclear programme […]

Despite concerns over the size of bus bays at the £5.8m Frideswide Square redevelopment, Oxfordshire County Council is not taking any immediate action. Bus companies claim that the bays are too short and narrow for buses to safely pull into. However, the Council is not proposing any changes to the bays at this time, and […]

The Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG), a research group within the Department of Paediatrics at Oxford University, is developing an immunisation against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV, a cause of viral chest infections, is the second most dangerous global health hazard in infants after malaria. The trial of a first RSV vaccine candidate was successfully conducted […]

The Oxford Union will host Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg next Monday at its debate ‘This House believes that Britain and the EU are better together’ The UKIP leader and the former Liberal Democrat leader will go head to head on opposing sides of the debate a year on from their televised debates over Britain’s […]

The new Oxford Parkway station opened this week providing the first brand new link between a major British city and London for over 100 years. The station, located near Kidlington on the Northern outskirts of Oxford, was constructed as part of a £320million investment conducted by Chiltern Railways and Network Rail. The new station offers […]

Oxford University students have written and launched a new mobile application in support of survivors of sexual assault. The free app, which is called First Response and is available for both Android and Apple users, is designed to be used by both survivors and friends of survivors at Oxford. According to its description on the […]

An extremely rare map of Middle Earth, annotated by JRR Tolkien, has been recently discovered and is now on display in Blackwell’s Oxford. The copiously annotated document reveals a wealth of new detail including the unsurprising fact that Hobbiton is assumed to be on the same latitude as Oxford. The map is actually the working […]

Students wore red as they matriculated on Saturday in protest at what they say is the University’s continued celebration of colonialism and lack of diversity. The protest, organized by Rhodes Must Fall in Oxford, was said by the group to have included around 1000 people, who protested by incorporating red into their sub-fusc for matriculation […]

New plans to ban “aggressive begging”, anti-social public alcohol consumption and other “nuisance behaviors” in Oxford centre were approved by the Council last week. Known as a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), it will cover a number of persistent activities from intrusive busking and cycling in restricted areas, to aggressive begging and public defecation. Contravening […]

Oxford University Press has unintentionally waded into a dispute with Ukraine following a letter sent on 13th October by the Ukrainian embassy, which complained that the fourth edition of its Geography for Key Stage 3 textbook presents Crimea as a part of Russia. In the letter, Igor Kyzym, the Charges d’Affaires of Ukraine to the […]

Keble College has received the largest donation in its history for a major new development. The £25 million donation will go towards a £60 million development being conducted by the college at its Acland site, which is located between the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter and the university’s science departments. The development will provide accommodation for 230 […]

The Vitality Half Marathon has run annually since 2011 and this year the race drew together large crowds and an impressive number of participants. Fortunately for the runners, the weather was a pleasant 10°C and bright, affording them not unpleasant running conditions and picturesque views of the host city. The start of the event did […]

Several Oxford colleges are presently working towards offering places to academics fleeing Syria. Christ Church, Merton and St John’s have been working with other colleges and with CARA, the Council for At Risk Academics, to offer places at Oxford colleges to those needing to escape the present situation in Syria. The academics that are placed […]

A chemical leak broke out at the Physics’ Department Clarendon Laboratory last Wednesday evening, causing the building to be evacuated. The laboratory in Parks Road was evacuated around 10pm after reports were made of a smell later identified as ammonia gas. Two fire engines from Oxford City station, a specialist Hazardous Decontamination Unit and decontamination […]

A candidate for Ball President at Balliol College who launched a tongue-in-cheek ‘communist’ manifesto suffered electoral defeat this week. PPE student Xavier Cohen pledged to stage a ‘jokes ball’ following a Communist Revolution, and stood for the position in an attempt to argue that Oxford’s tradition of hosting balls, which Balliol observes annually, has strongly […]