PERSPECTIVES

The proscription of pro-Palestinian group Palestine Action earlier this year was met with a myriad of reactions, with some arguing that this was a reasonable response to the group’s high-profile disruption. However, I echo the popular condemnation of their proscription as an Orwellian attempt to quiet dissent to the UK’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The most recent development of eight prisoners, held in prolonged remand related to offences with the group, resorti

By Axel Mallet A lavish arrival awaited Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, at the steps of the White House in mid-November. A procession of soldiers on horseback carrying Saudi flags followed his ascension on the red carpet-laden steps of the presidential residence. Seven years after ordering the murder of a Washington Post columnist, MBS seemed to have little to worry about– except how ridiculously asymmetrical the ‘deals’ with Trump could become

By Will Gibson It’s no secret that the UK judicial system is under immense pressure. Cases are entering the system faster than they can be heard, and it’s clear that something must be done to address the seemingly endless backlog of cases awaiting judgment. The BBC notes delays caused by too few prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges and available courtrooms, with over 78,000 cases waiting to be heard in England and Wales alone, and projections suggesting the number could reach

By Onara Perera A wave of severe floods and landslides have swept across a number of Asian countries, claiming thousands of lives. The distressing effects have been witnessed in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines and even marked as some of the most devastating regional climate disasters in recent decades. These nations have experienced crippling infrastructure that has displaced entire communities, highlighting the growing vulnerability unde

By Kobika Dilipkumar Ten years since the world agreed on the breakthrough Paris Agreement, world leaders, NGOs, activists, and more gathered in the sweltering heat of Belém for COP 30. Many hoped that this would be the year that global climate diplomacy shifts from promises to action, and two weeks of heated negotiations culminated in the Belém Package, comprising 29 decisions aimed at accelerating climate action. Despite being adopted by 195 countries, the Package has made

By Noah Williams The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity, the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal has ruled. In a statement read out by the court, Hasina was found guilty of “committing crimes against humanity by her order to use drones, helicopters and lethal weapons against civilians,” in a crackdown against student-led protests across Bangladesh last year. Hasina, who was forced to flee Bangladesh

By Isabella Joseph ‘Ethical’ and ‘politics’ are two words that, when placed together, often feel oxymoronic – and President Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has become the latest figure to reinforce that perception. In a leaked audio recording from October 14, Witkoff is heard, as many have argued, ‘coaching’ Yuri Ushakov, Putin's foreign policy adviser, on how to appeal to Trump regarding the Russia–Ukraine war and a potential peace deal between the nations. Treason? Ha

By Charlotte Roff On 20 November, the US and Russia’s proposal of a 28-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine was leaked. This document comes at an important stage of the Russia-Ukraine War, as over one million have now been killed as a result of the conflict which will have lasted for four years as of February 2026. Subsequent diplomatic meetings and proposed plans have fostered some hope that President Trump is nearing a peace deal in Ukraine. However, the content of

By Charles Wawn Millions of people will be dragged into higher tax brackets for the rest of the decade as Rachel Reeves unveiled her second tax raising budget as Chancellor with a raft of new measures aimed principally at tackling the cost of living, reducing spending on debt interest and encouraging the Bank of England to reduce interest rates. The budget announced many measures – some new, others preexisting – aimed at easing living pressures in very tangible ways. These in

By Isabella Joseph From the moment he took office in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy found himself to be the subject of palpable public dislike. A hatred so irrational, in fact, that those who heard his policies without his name attached to them, supported them. This public aversion to Sarkozy’s personality soon translated into political sabotage. French voters delivered a definitive, almost personal, act of democratic spite; the electoral outcome was a testament to voter anger that sa