Today, the Court of Appeal ruled that Shamima Begum, the London schoolgirl who left the UK to join the Islamic State back in 2015, should be allowed to return to fight for her British citizenship. A threat to the nation, or a reformed woman? In 2019 when Begum attempted to return to the UK the response…
Category: Politics
Trump’s self-imposed brain drain: why immigration bans do not “free up jobs”
By Harriet Habergham It’s an innate sense of self-preservation that makes it easier for humans to blame others rather than themselves when things go awry. Whilst this may assuage temporary feelings of embarrassment, in the long run it changes nothing. Whatever caused the problem remains unchanged. Time and time again, this has been the case…
Glasgow stabbings reveal how the UK fails asylum seekers
By Iona Holmes Just a few weeks ago, reports concerning the appalling conditions that asylum seekers were being subjected to in Glasgow hotels started to trickle through media outlets. When a stabbing occurred at the city’s Park Inn Hotel on the 26th June, the news instantly hit the headlines. Following some initial misreporting, the facts…
Raab vs rights: What is going on with the UK’s new human rights sanctions?
On Monday, our beloved foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, dropped a bombshell of new human rights sanctions comprising of asset freezes and travel bans against human rights abusers in Saudi Arabia, Russia, Myanmar and North Korea. According to Raab, the sanctions will target 25 Russians involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, 20 Saudis involved in…
An Ode to Hong Kong(ers): Recent developments in the Hong Kong protests
By Natalia Slomczykowski Two years ago, I spent two and a half months living and working in Hong Kong. I was lucky enough to make many close friends who have been protesting bravely for the last year for freedom which they may never get to experience. Particularly, a recent discussion with my good friend Jeremy…