Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
Image Description: grainy footage of an unidentified aerial phenomenon. November 14, 2004 was no ordinary day for Commander David Fravor. During a routine training mission off the coast of California, he was sent to investigate the most unusual of radar contacts. For two weeks, the US Navy cruiser USS Princeton had been detecting unknown aircraft […]
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Image description: Houses of Parliament and Big Ben Since the Brexit referendum British politics has become more volatile. Increasingly, it resembles a Shakespearean play; there is betrayal and tragedy. The electorate has been the patient, dutiful audience, witnessing the many stage characters arrive and disappear: Corbyn, the Brexit Party, Change UK and Theresa May. Yet […]
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Image description: The Union chamber at the start of the debate The Oxford Union passed a motion of no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government on Thursday night by a resounding majority of 228 to 95. The vote is a stinging rebuke to Boris Johnson, a former president of the Union. The ‘no confidence’ debate is […]
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Image description: An offshore wind farm The announcement of the government’s uncharacteristic success in raising £10 billion to fund green projects in the UK in the form of “green gilts” is one that is welcomed. Many schemes that benefit the environment on both a small and large scale simply require the necessary funding: a gap […]
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Image description: Protestors marching in Cuba holding Cuban flags and signs reading “Freedom to Cuba!” On Sunday 11th July, in the town of San Antonio De Las Banos on the outskirts of Havana, historic protests erupted against the Cuban government. In the following days the protests spread throughout the country, with protestors chanting ‘freedom’ and […]
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Image Description: a closed bar front with ‘Roddy’s Bar’ written on it and graffiti reading ‘stay home, thank you NHS, save lives’ PROPOSITION (Ciara Garcha) A 1918 Red Cross advert in the Washington Times recommended the use of “gauze mask(s) to halt the spread of the plague.” At the beginning of what would turn out […]
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CW: mention of eating disorders, calorie counting. The UK government have this week confirmed their plans to make it mandatory for restaurants with over 250 employees to display the number of calories in each meal on their menus. This is a bid to curb obesity crisis as the government estimates almost two-thirds of English adults […]
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Image Description: An open Redbull can, displaying the blue bull logo on an orange background In the light of energy drink consumption being linked to heart failure in a 21-year-old student, is this the new health problem for a new generation? Instead of kids from the age of eleven going behind the bike shed and […]
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Image Description: A picture of the Radcliffe Camera. Colleges have begun to respond to the letter sent by the Minister of State for Universities yesterday, in which a “pause” of the return of students until the 25th January was advised. The University today updated its Coronavirus Status and Response page and a full announcement is […]
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Image Description: Collage of some of the OxCGRT coders in a Zoom-like format. COVID-19 has undoubtedly wreaked havoc upon the world as we know it, with not a single individual unaffected. From travel, work, uni, everyday activities, to even face-to-face interactions, so much of what was once familiar and ‘normal’ has been taken away from […]
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Image Description: Image of a Quit India protest Often debates about politics can get obscured by semantics. One of the words susceptible to creating this dilemma is branding something to be ‘extremist’ in nature. Usage of the word encompasses a broad spectrum, serving as a pejorative that could be foisted just as easily onto ISIS […]
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“I’m very, very glad that it has finally been sorted out”. These were the words of Boris Johnson on Wednesday, speaking to a group of students at a school in Leicestershire. Yet, it turns out (come on, someone at least pretend to be surprised) that this is complete and utter rubbish. 1900 state schools in […]
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Image description: an older man looking sadly into the distance When Number 10 first floated the idea of an over-50s lockdown, the reaction from those who would be asked to isolate was best described as indignant. Rarely has the phrase “ok boomer” seemed quite so apt. Many were furious, calling the policy ageist and unfair. […]
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The curve has been flattened. The peak has been passed. Life might soon, slowly begin to return to normal. There is no doubt that lockdowns imposed by governments across the world and social distancing guidelines followed by millions have strongly reduced the transmission of coronavirus and have prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths. But as […]
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In 1918, at the close of World War I, the first known cases of a deadly disease were recorded in the USA. It would go on to kill many more than the preceding war had done – more, in fact, than the next world war would too. The virus had actually been circulating amongst soldiers […]
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The University said on Tuesday that non-essential members of staff must work remotely and all UK-domiciled undergraduate students must return home absent exceptional circumstances. This was in response to Boris Johnson’s announcement of strict nationwide measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The fresh restrictions come as COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus […]
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By decriminalising the non-payment of TV license, the British Government would galvanise the erosion of British culture, a process begun during Thatcher’s Era. Over 90% of the licence fee is spent on BBC TV channels, radio stations, BBC iPlayer and other online services (including education services). It is no doubt that if you were born […]
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Recently the UK government offered Nissan up to £80m to remain in the UK and continue to produce vehicles in their Sunderland plant, where it currently employs roughly 7,000 people. Government subsidies aren’t in themselves unusual – they ensure that significant amounts of innovation and production can take place in a number of sectors, or […]
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Image credit: Voice of America Imagine a world in which the British government monitored your life, controlling whether you could purchase the home you desired, judging your behaviour and rewarding and punishing you as they saw fit. This goes far beyond the dystopian world created by Black Mirror, in which tyranny of the crowd created […]
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