Oxford's biggest student newspaper, produced by and for members of the University of Oxford, since 1991.
“It’s tricky to know where to start and what to say and whether to say anything at all. But it would also be to leave a gaping hole in this year abroad story if I were to keep silent and wait until I could write an entirely cheery, positive post.” This is how my latest […]
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Image description: Burning 5G towers in the UK. I have no flat-earth content on my Twitter feed. I have no anti-vac (anti-vaccination) content on my Twitter feed. But I do have a disturbing amount of 5G conspiracy content on my Twitter feed. Now, the majority of this article is in response to people who believe […]
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Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate political activist, is to start studying at Oxford in 2017. She met her offer to read Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) at Lady Margaret Hall, starting in October. She tweeted that she was “So excited to go to Oxford!!” on the morning of August 17th, as thousands of […]
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Ariana Grande is a name with brand new meaning this week. It conjures images of the devastated families of the twenty-two victims who were killed in the Manchester attack, the suicide bomber involved, and a community who are fighting through fear to become strong and united against terrorism. But can anyone remember what we used […]
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‘London Bridge attack, in pictures’, appeared as the headline on the front page of most news organisations on Sunday morning. In the wake of the horrific incident on Saturday evening which killed 7 people, and left many seriously injured, the media’s response was notably focussed on images of the attack, and profiles of the dead […]
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The sights and sounds of the aftermath of a terror attack have become horrifically familiar over the past few years. ’22 dead, and hundreds injured’, the news reporters chime in with grim expressions. And then there are the photos of distraught family members clutching bouquets, then the messages flooding social media of grief, anger, and […]
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At one point in time, when beginning a conversation about flash-points in the world, one would turn immediately to Kashmir. That time is now gone. The conflict remains, but we don’t speak of it too much. It’s stale. The Line of Control (the result of the 1972 Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan) currently divides […]
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The National Union of Students (NUS) has today renewed demands for the government’s Prevent strategy to be scrapped. The fresh calls come following the publication of a Home Affairs Select Committee report on radicalisation and countering extremism. The report published this morning said that internet giants such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were “consciously failing” to […]
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In an interview given to Belgium’s national francophone broadcaster this week, Martyn Rush, an MPhil student at St. Anthony’s College and current Politics Officer of the Oxford University Islamic Society, strongly criticised the government’s Prevent strategy, which has been established in order to combat radicalisation in schools, colleges and universities across the country. Describing the […]
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The Paris November terrorist attacks have left the French political class in a state of turmoil. Since the suicide bombings and mass shootings at cafés, restaurants and the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris, the French have been divided as to how the government should react to protect its people without trampling on their fundamental […]
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The French village of Segré, a small town the Loire where I am teaching this year, is in mourning. Outside the town hall, the French and EU flags fly at half-mast, each tied by a black ribbon. The mood is still and sombre: we give each other sad smiles in the street; newspapers are emblazoned […]
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What can be said of the attacks on Paris? It is a horror beyond words. What can we offer but our total solidarity, our love? Friday night, as the tragedy unfolded in gruesome, gutting real-time before our eyes, Parisians offered their homes to those who needed shelter. The morning after they lined up outside hospitals […]
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Warning: this piece contains graphic description of torture and reference to self-harm. The recent report from the US Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) into the CIA’s post-9/11 torture programme has shocked the world. In the 480 page summary released on Tuesday, the SIC details not only the extent and ineffectiveness of torture carried out by the CIA, […]
Continue ReadingThe War on Terror is moving into its second decade, the War on Drugs its fifth. In the fields of Afghanistan, however, they have reached an impasse. Afghan opium production was recently announced to have increased for the third year in a row. It has now returned to a 75 per cent share of the […]
Continue ReadingAt last, an American drama that has escaped the clutching talons of Murdoch. Homeland has returned to Channel 4 for a second series, and, by all accounts, we’re in for a treat. For those new to Homeland (catch up on Season 1 or you’ll end up uncomfortably disorientated), here’s some background. Based upon the Israeli […]
Continue ReadingSam Iles tells us why we can no longer afford to ignore the plight and potential of the country of Somalia.
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