Three of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists have been jailed for their role in the ongoing protests. Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam, aged 24, 23, and 26 respectively, have all been convicted of “unauthorised assembly”. The activists were charged in court last month, for their participation in protests outside police headquarters in…
Negotiations break down over Mali political crisis
Negotiations regarding the ongoing political crisis in the African nation of Mali between the President and opposing movements have broken down. M5-RFP, the coalition moving against President Keïta have called for his resignation following accusations of corruption and an inability to control the fallout from recent elections. Protests over the past few weeks have also…
Russian dough for BoJo
A secret report on the threats to UK democracy, whose release was blocked by Downing Street, includes many concerns relating to Russian conspiracy. In the report, it’s said that the Conservatives have been handed more than £5.67m in donations, £642,000 being received from Russian donors. Oligarchs and wealthy people within business are at the heart…
This beef ban is udderly undemocratic
As a result of a union council vote, the sale of beef in uea(su) has been banned. Consequently, Unio, shop(su) and bar(su) will no longer sell products with beef in them in an attempt to reduce the university’s environmental footprint. Unfortunately, this decision was made without sufficient consultation to the wider student body. It’s an…
Not registering is worse than not voting
Concrete is moving from strength to strength. Last issue we had fantastic levels of engagement in the paper, and this week we’re hoping for the same with articles ranging from the argument around rainbow poppies (page 17), which is “juvenile”, apparently, to the hunt for dark energy (page 18). Have a flick through this issue…
Beef, Brexit, and how uea(su) does represent UEA students
After a hectic week within uea(su) largely focussed on Union Council’s decision to stop the SU selling beef, campaigns and democracy officer Sophie Atherton and I sat down to discuss what she’s been getting up to in her second year within the role. We met in a bookable room in Union House, away from the…
TV for the people!
Something has to change. I want you to imagine this: there is more of your product around than ever before, but it is less effective. That is what I think about Television. In the era of 24/7 news channels, there is less of what the media should be doing: holding politicians to account. Why has…
Oh independence of Scotland, when will we see a vote again
I am Scottish and live in Edinburgh, so it’s safe to say that I have my opinions regarding Scottish Independence. I vividly remember 2014, with the images of blue ‘Yes’ stickers on car windows and lamp posts, and people campaigning to stay in the UK regularly on the streets. That being said, do I want…
If you can’t enjoy sports without injecting politics, you need to chill out
The debate surrounding political signage at sports events was thrust into the public eye at the end of last month after Major League Soccer decided to include the Iron Front in a list of banners prohibited on the grounds of representing a political third party. Banners, here, is the important word. MLS has said that political…
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