International News
Written by Pranay Bhalla, BA International Relations and Anthropology. Three years after Hamas launched attacks on 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza, fighting has decreased, but violence persists. A ceasefire has been in place since 10 October 2025, yet Israeli strikes have continued, most of
International News
Written by Sylvie Topps, Staff Writer, LLB Law. Northern Ireland is living through one of its most fragile periods since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. This September, after the High Court quashed an earlier ruling, the Parades Commission approved a scaled-back Orange Order march of 35 people, along Portadown&
International News
Written by Rhena Kotecha, BA Politics and International Relations. President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan were personally welcomed by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Joint Base Andrews on 23 September, 2026. A ceremonial military display was unveiled before the two leaders headed to the
International News
Written by Samir Chowdhary-Fitton, MSc Politics and International Relations. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia, striking targets in Riyadh as fighting escalates along the Red Sea coast. The renewed conflict follows the breakdown of a fragile truce in July, ending several years of relative calm
National News
Written by Molly Gray, Lead Photographer, BA Politics and International Relations. Zack Polanski was elected leader of the Green Party over a year ago in September 2025. In that time, the party has tripled in size, growing from 68,000 members to over 220,000, and has had its two
National News
Written by Mohammed Arman Rahman, BA Politics and International Relations. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has faced scrutiny over his financial affairs following reports that he received an undeclared £5 million gift from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne in April 2024. The gift became a subject of public controversy in April
National News
Written by James Albero, BA International Relations. What happened at RAF Fairford remains unclear, with counter-terrorism officers continuing to investigate the incident and establish a motive as of 7 October. Meanwhile, officials have offered competing narratives: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio asserting on Fox News that a ‘clearly
National News
Written by Ayah Abu Mraheel, National News Section Editor, BA History and Politics. From 'Sir Kid Starver' to student encampments, the proscription of Palestine Action and the trial of the Filton 24, a genocide thousands of miles away has proved impossible to contain within the Middle East. Since
News
Written by Manal Husain, BA Politics and International Relations. Turnitin is an academic integrity service used by SOAS and 98% of universities in the UK, according to UniCompare. The company has faced severe backlash since July 2026, when it attempted to update its End-User License Agreement (EULA) to allow
News
Written by Anya Shah, BA Politics and International Relations. Once ranked as one of the best universities in the country, SOAS University of London has faced a rapid decline over the past 20 years in national league tables. Its latest results raise serious questions about where the university is headed.
News
Written by Anna Hamerow, SOAS News Section Editor, BA International Relations. On 18 September, a jury at the Old Bailey unanimously found former SOAS student Sarah Cotte not guilty of expressing support for Hamas during a speech made outside the university in 2023. The charges against her were Count 1,
Columns
Dear readers of the Spirit, Welcome to our final edition of the Spirit for this academic year. I never really know what to write in these notes because, unlike an academic essay, I don’t have to stick to a theme or a certain structure. I don’t have to