Gair Rhydd 1185- October 31st, 2022

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Inside: Reflecting on Black History Month (Page 17)

BAFTA Cymru 2022: Gair Rhydd speaks with singer MACY

George Symonds Head of News

Before her amazing per formance at the BAFTA Cymru Awards 2022, Gair Rhydd had the privilege to chat to Welsh-singer, MACY. Describing her music style as ‘as dreamy, sometimes dark, sometimes funky pop or some times Nu-Disco Pop’ (macymu sic.online), MACY’s 2020 inspi rations herald the likes of Dua Lipa and Charli XCX. By describ ing herself within a wide range of musical genres, “because when I go into the studio I don't want to be put inside a box. If I'm feeling dark, I’ll write dark; if I’m feeling happy, I’ll write happy. That’s the freedom I need from music.”

Having over 180,000 listens on Spotify, ‘Pink Bandana’ reminisc es the 2010’s whilst “serving up a powerful message that not every one will love us like we love them with a side of a euphoric energy boost” (PopPassion.com). Grow ing up within the 2010’s MACY was always obsessed with music and performing, “I’ve been per forming ever since I can remem ber. My parents have too many videos of me putting on shows whenever I had the chance to jump around the living room or garden”. With original inspira tions of Girls Aloud, The Satur days and “of course, High School Musical”, MACY’s childhood is still impacting her music and sound today.

The summers of 2019 and 2020 saw MACY become one of the 10 acts to be selected on the Forte 10 project, allowing her to suc cessful slots at Focus Wales, Swn Festival and Hub Festival, in what was her debut Festival Year. “110 festival has been my favourite so far, obviously I loved the festival vibes but there were three boys in the crowd who knew every lyric to my songs which was crazy. I had travelled up there not know ing how nice it would be to have

The summers of 2019 and 2020 saw MACY become one of the 10 acts to be selected on the Forte 10 project ”

that love and support. It blows my mind that people are actually listening to my music and knowing the lyrics and lov ing it. Just wow!”.

After years in the music indus try with ever-growing success, Gair Rhydd asks for advice for students wanting to get into sing ing or song writing. “I would say don't give up. I’ve been doing this since I was 9 years old. I’m 22 in January so if you’ve got a dream just go for it. There’s nothing to lose. You don't want to be 60 sit ting in a rocking chair thinking oh I wish I did that! Just go for it. Also, make as many contacts as you can. Chat to everyone. Even if you’re at a gig, just get chat ting”.

Concluding with a quick-fire question round MACY answered the following. Go-to favourite song “Viscous by Sabrina Car penter”, favourite artist “Dua Lipa”, best concert you've been to “Beyonce obviously” and who would you most like to collabo rate with in the future “I would love to sing with Bruno Mars, I think that would be really cool”

With this interview taking place just a few days before her performance at the BAFTA Cym ru Awards, MACY described a blend of nervousness and excite ment for “one of the biggest per formances of my life. The room will be full of so many of my in spirations. And I just can’t wait”

You don't want to be 60 sitting in a rocking chair thinking oh I wish I did that! Just go for it ”

Rishi Sunak announced as new British PM

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

Rishi Sunak has become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following Liz Truss’ resignation.

Rishi Sunak was announced as the new leader of the Conservative party on Monday (24th October). The lead ership race was won somewhat easily with Boris Johnson backing out of the

Dathlu Mis Hanes Pobl Du

race on Sunday (23rd October) and Penny Mordaunt pulling out around 2 minutes before the announcement which declared which MPs would be on the ballot.. This left Sunak as the only MP who had received the 100 nominations required to get onto the ballot. Thus, he was automatically de clared as winner.

Sunak as Prime Minister represents a series of firsts for the country - the first ever British-Asian Prime Minister and the first practicing Hindu Prime Minis

Spook-tacular Ideas for Halloween

Stephanie Pfiffner Contributor

ter. Many pointed to the fact that he was elected on Diwali, a moment where just a year ago he made history by lighting Diwali candles outside of No 11 Down ing Street. He recalled that: “one of my proudest moments of the job that I had for the last two years” He is also the youngest Prime Minister since 1812.

To read Katherine's full article on the latest Prime Minister, turn to page 6

Iran to face World Cup Ban

Ryan Jewell- Harris Sports Editor

MisHydref yw mis hanes pobl ddu, mis pwysig lle rydym yn nodi cyflawniadau a chyfra niadau aruthrol pobl o dreftadaeth Af fricanaidd, Arabaidd, Asiaidd a Char ibïaidd i bob agwedd ar gymdeithas. Cafodd y digwyddiad ei gydnabod yn swyddogol gan Lywodraeth yr Unol Daleithiau ym 1976, a’i ddathlu yn y DU am y tro cyntaf ym 1987.

I ddarllen erthygl Lowri ar bwysi grwydd Mis Hanes Pobl Du, trowch i dudalen 10

In the sight of the Halloween season leering around the cor ner, we have put together an ideal day for you and your friends to get into the spooky spirits.

A great day activity to take part in with your friends is pumpkin picking. There are various pumpkin patches to grab your own personal favourite pumpkin from, with more information about locations avail able online.

To read Stephanie's article on how she spends Halloween , turn to page

AGroup

of Iranian sports per sonalities have called on FIFA to ban the Iranian national team from this year’s world cup in Qa tar.

The group sent a formal request to the international governing body, asking for it to suspend the Iranian football association due to female sup porters being denied entry into sta diums across the country.

To read Ryan's article on why a ban is being considered, turn to page 23

Cardiff

Lowri Davies Golygydd Taf-od

Gair Rhydd 2022/23

Coordinator Elaine Morgan Editor-in-Chief

Beth Alaw Williams

Deputy Editors

Jasmine Jones

Katherine Seymour

Nansi Eccott News

George Symonds

Shivika Singh

Lowri Powell

Luis Atkinson

Beca Dalis Williams Features

Ruhaab Khalid Grace Robson

Taf-od

Nansi Eccott

Lowri Davies

Anest Williams

Efa Ceiri

Megan Haf Davies

Millie Stacey Politics

Katherine Seymour

Francesca Ionescu

Jade Heath Comment

Clelia Frondaroli

Evan Johnson-Charteris

Frances Marsh

Advice

Megan Shinner

Lucy Matthews

Shaniece O’Keeffe Review

Alice Moore

Billy Edwards

Haris Hussnain

Science and Technology

Edward Sutton

Aditi Kallanagoudar Girish Sport

Jasmine Jones

Ryan Harris-Jewell

Eloise Martin

Social Media Editors

Emily Smith

Jack Darlington

Haris Hussnain Copy Editors

Alanya Smith

Alys Mai Walters

Charlotte Grant

Claudia Titcombe

Efa Prydderch

Elliw Williams

Lois Campbell

Lily Barry

Maisie Granger Katie Bowen

Scarlett Carpenter

Write to the editor gairrhyddeic@gmail.com

A note from the Editor Nodyn gan y Golygydd

Beyond Black History Month Tu- hwnt i fis Hanes Pobl Du

At Gair Rhydd we take seriously our responsibility to maintain the highest pos sible standards. We may occasionally make mistakes, however if you believe we have fallen below the standards we seek to uphold, please email gairrhyddeic@gmail.com.

You can view our Ethical Policy Statement and Complaints Procedure at cardiffstudentmedia.co.uk/complaints.

Opinions expressed in editorials and opin ion pieces are not reflective of Cardiff Student Media, who act as the publisher of Gair Rhydd in legal terms, and should not be considered official communications or the organisation’s stance.

Gair Rhydd is a Post Office registered newspaper.

Beth Williams Editor-in-Chief

Not only does 31st Octo ber mark Halloween, the date also marks the end of Black History Month. First celebrat ed in the UK in 1987, Black History Month aims to mark the contribu tion of Black people to society as well as recognize the injustices that black people still face today.

This year’s theme is ‘Sharing Journeys’, which explores the lives and stories of the people who came to Britain in the 19th and 20th cen turies and helped lay the foundations of today’s diverse society. While Black History Month aims to raise the visibility of organizations and individuals that continue to make a difference, is it enough?

Apart from October, most people’s understanding of Black his tory, and history in general, comes from what is taught in schools. At GCSE and A-level, I was taught about the history of racism in Amer ica. From the end of the civil war to Jim Crow laws, from segregation to freedom riders, black history was always taught as part of America’s history and racism as an American problem.

It wasn’t until the murder of George Floyd and the world-wide ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests that

conversations surrounding Britain’s own relationship with race became more prominent. I hadn’t heard of slave trader Edward Colston before his statue was pushed into Bristol Harbour, and we were never taught about the disproportionate amount of deaths of BAME individuals in the UK under similar circumstances to George Floyd.

So, does the curriculum adequate ly educate students on the contribu tion of BAME individuals to British and global history? In 2019, only 11% of GCSE history students stud ied modules that made any reference to the contribution of black people, with much of black history taught separately to other historical events. However, governments are slowly starting to alter their curriculum to address this.

Wales is the first country in the UK to mandate Black history lessons into its curriculum for all primary school children. The new curriculum aims to educate children on black and minority history across all sub jects, with teachers choosing which aspects to include. While Black His tory Month is important to address shortcomings in the teaching of black history, positive changes like this mean that awareness of BAME history will no longer be reduced to one month a year.

Beth Williams Prif Olygydd

Nid yn unig yw Hydref 31ain yn ddydd Calan Gaeaf, mae’r dyddiad hefyd yn nodi di wedd Mis Hanes Pob Du. Ar ôl cael ei ddathlu am y tro gyntaf ym Mhrydain yn 1987, bwriad Mis Hanes Pobl Du yw tynnu sylw at gyfraniad pobl du i gym deithas, yn ogystal â dangos fod pobl ddu dal i wynebu annhegwch heddiw. Themâu blwyddyn yma yw ‘Rhannu Teithiau’, sydd yn tynnu sylw at fywydau a straeon y bobl ddaeth i Brydain yn y 19eg ac 20fed ganrif ac adeiladu’r sylfaen i’r gymdeithas amrywiol rydym yn byw ynddi heddiw. Tra fod Mis Hanes Pobl Ddu yn ceisio cynyddu gweledigrwydd yr unigolion ac ymgyrchoedd sydd yn parhau i wneud gwahaniaeth, yw e’n ddigon?

Heb law am fis Hydref, mae deallt wriaeth rhan fwyaf o bobl o hanes pobl ddu, a hanes yn gyffredinol, yn dod o beth caiff ei ddysgu mewn ysgolion. Yn ystod fy lefelau-a a TGAU, cefais fy nysgu am yr hanes o hiliaeth yn yr Unol Daleithiau. O ddiwedd y rhyfel cartref i ddeddfau Jim Cro, o arwahanu i deithiau rhyddid, roedd hanes pobl du wastad yn cael ei ddysgu fel rhan o hanes America a hiliaeth fel problem Americanaidd. Doedd o ddim tan lofruddiaeth George Floyd a phrotestiadau ‘Black Lives Matter’ byd eang fod trafodaethau yng nghylch perthynas Prydain gyda hil

yn dod yn fwy amlwg. Roeddwn erioed wedi clywed amdan y masnachwr caeth weision Edward Colston tan i’w gerflun gael ei wthio i mewn i harbwr Fryste, ac roeddwn erioed wedi dysgu am y nifer anghyfartal o farwolaethau bobl ddu ym Mhrydain oedd wedi digwydd mewn amgylchiadau tebyg i George Floyd.

Felly, ydi’r cwricwlwm yn dysgu digon i fyfyrwyr am gyfraniad unigo lion du i hanes Prydeinig a byd-eang? Yn 2019, dim ond 11% o fyfyrwyr TGAU hanes oedd yn astudio modiwlau oedd yn gwneud unrhyw gyfeiriadau at gy franiad gan bobl ddu, gyda llawer o’u hanes yn cael ei ddysgu ar wahân i ddig wyddiadau hanesyddol. Ond yn araf, mae llywodraethau yn ceisio addasu eu cwricwlwm i gywiro hynny.

Cymru yw’r wlad gyntaf ym Mhry dain i wneud gwersi yng nghylch hanes bobl du yn rhan orfodol o’r cwricwl wm i blant ysgol gynradd. Bwriadai’r cwricwlwm addysgu am hanes bobl ddu a phobl o gefndiroedd lleiafrifol ar draws pynciau gwahanol, gydag athrawon yn dewis pa elfennau i’w gynnwys.

Er bod Mis Hanes Pobl Du yn bw ysig i wneud i fyny am y diffyg hanes bobl ddu sydd wedi cael ei ddysgu yn y gorffennol, mae camau positif fel hyn yn golygu na fydd ymwybyddiaeth am hanes bobl ddu yn cael ei gyfyngu i un fis o’r flwyddyn.

Sharing Journeys: This year’s theme hopes to celebrate the likes of Roy Hackett, an instrumental figure in the Birstol Bus Boycotts. (Image: Wiki media Commons)

Rhannu Teithiau: Mae themau blwyddyn yma yn dathlu unigolion fel Roy Hackett, a chwaraeodd rhan allweddol yn Boicot Bws Bryste (Llun: Wikimedia Commons)

Life as an International Student in the UK

Ruhaab Khalid Features Editor

The United Kingdom, due to its top-notch and varied edu cational offerings, is home to many international students from all around the globe. According to statistics from the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA), the UK hosts 485,000 international students, pursuing their degrees in different universities.

Upon asking fellow international stu dents on my course about their experi ence so far, I have noted some common aspects that played a key role in shaping their experience. I will share those fac tors and also reflect upon my journey as an international student in the UK.

Initial Honeymoon Phase

Most of the students usually arrive with an ambitious dream based on an "all rainbows and sunshine" mindset. They assume that a flight to the UK will se cure their future. However, all that glit ters is not gold. Once the honeymoon period ends and reality hits and they realise how disparate the real world is from their imagination; the vision they had was a fantasy. This realisa tion of actuality results in frustration amongst many students when they see how things are not going as smoothly as they expected. Thus, travelling to a different part of the world with an ex tremely optimistic mindset can lead you to a bottomless pit. With this in

Students shared how the no daylight factor makes depression almost inevitable"

mind, have realistic expectations and prepare to tackle hurdles along the journey to avoid disappointment.

Homesickness and Culture Shock

people sharing different cultural and social values widens your perspective and expands your horizon. This chal lenge results in your personal and pro fessional development.

FEATURES

Another notable factor dis cussed by a few students was the initial difficulty they faced in understanding the new currency and daily budgeta ry responsibilities which is even more problematic due to the rise of living costs. Students said they were clueless about how to deal with the financial hurdles and were unsure about how to find, apply and secure a part-time job. Speaking from my personal experience, the key is to keep applying, no matter how many rejections you have faced. Taking every rejection as an opportunity to learn from is vital to securing a job offer. A golden tip is to look out for temporary part-time job opportunities during Christmas break and find shifts that easily fit into the university timetable. As my journey has almost come

Some

students described their new beginning as their ‘first flight’, the first step towards independence. They faced trouble in starting everything from scratch. They struggled making new friends and fa miliarising themselves with the envi ronment, new currency and economy, social and language barriers, and unfa miliar food. It hits like a train – sudden and fast. These factors pile up and be come exceedingly overwhelming at the start. You feel alienated no matter what.

Different social norms and new sta tus as a 'minority group' or 'foreigner’ makes you feel like the odd one out in the new country. On the bright side, however, meeting and interacting with

Minahil shared her experience‘Moving abroad for university was something that excited me, however, I was also a bit worried about settling in, meeting new people, and making new friends. At first glance, it seems pretty intimidating to move to a for eign country, away from everything you know. I think it's really important to not be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone to meet people. Every thing about life and studying in England seemed a bit foreign at first, so I think it's important to ask if you don't under stand something - even if it's just a pop culture reference. People are happy to help, so you shouldn't be embarrassed’.

different teach ing style often leaves students perplexed. They question their understanding and knowledge of the course.

Sakinder, a second-year law student from Uganda, reflected on his state of bewilderment, ‘The grading system, I think, was a bit confusing at the start. In my country, where I was born and have lived all my life, we used to have very simple grading systems. So this was new to me and perhaps the biggest ob stacle I faced in my learning experience’.

AcompletelyDifferent Educational System Weather

The UK's gloomy weather is like rubbing salt in the wounds. Students shared how the no daylight factor makes depres sion almost inevitable, especially if they come from a tropical country. A few fi nal-year students suggested that a good friend circle can be an escape from all the worries.

Students need to think they are not alone in this journey. As an interna tional student, you should feel relieved that everyone is in the same boat, cruis ing through waves of similar obstacles and contemplating their decisions every day. It is worth highlighting that people help and assist, in fact, upon approaching them you will find them very accommodating and considerate. Another factor that can help to cope with loneliness is to explore places and nearby cities on weekends and during term breaks. It will provide the needed getaway and change of environment to keep you engaged.

485,000

international students study in the UK Business is one of the most popular degrees pursued by international students

Some students described their new beginning as their ‘first flight’, the first step towards independence."

The biggest life lessons taught through independence

to an end I can assure you all that this is just a process. Every inter national student goes through it.

As each semester passes by, you learn that this was a transitional period that made you self-aware. It familiarises you with the hid den qualities and attributes you never knew you had.

Mary shared, ’My constant 10 hour shifts made me realise how strong and capable I am. It gave me the motivation to keep con tinuing so that I can look after myself’.

You make a home with your university friends and flatmates. It takes time to completely adapt but in the end, you feel proud of the way you have changed. Every person or problem you interact with throughout the journey is shaping your personality and making you resilient. This is a

learning environment that gives you the confidence that you are strong enough to cope with any thing that comes your way.

Nooreh, a final-year student, described ‘I cannot imagine not living in the UK. It has become my home; I feel like I have always been here’.

Gibson said, ’The best thing about the UK is that they really look out for their international students, through society and clubs, a wide range of opportuni ties. They help you until you feel like one of them’.

Some days you will feel at the top of the world that this was the best decision you ever made and then other days you will find yourself wrapped up in a blanket in a dark room. But, in the end, you will appreciate how far you have come. It is all worth it.

Ruhaab Khalid

Grace Robson gairrhyddfeatures@gmail.com

Ruhaab Khalid talks with Cardiff's international students to discuss their experiences of university life

Image Wikimedia Commons (via Wikimedia Commons)

student Mary discusses what financal responsibility taught her about herself

A new home?: Nicolas Huk (via Flickr)

Two teachers’ union are asking members to vote on a strike over pay in Wales, England and Scotland

What is happening with UK strikes?

One of the biggest news stories dominating headlines since the summer has been the ongoing strike action across the UK. From rail workers to Royal Mail, this new wave of strike action cannot be avoided. But who is going on strike and why? With fur ther strikes yet to come, the demands of those threatening to walk out need to be listened to as the country is faced with a harsh winter ahead.

On the 3rd, 5th and 7th of Novem ber, Rail strikes are set to take place af ter National Rail performed a U-turn on an offer to improve pay and review job cuts across the RMT ( National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Work ers). Northern Ireland saw a wave of bin strikes last month, and the next few months will see various areas of Royal Mail on strike in the lead-up to Christ mas. BT workers voted to strike for the first time in 35 years, striking throughout autumn alongside Royal Mail workers. This renewed strike action mostly centres around pay. Inflation is at a 40-year high, energy prices are rising and the cost of living crisis is leaving workers struggling far more than ever before. Workers in in dustries with unions often leave the trade

unions to negotiate pay and conditions, but negotiations have not been produc ing the results workers want, leading to this current wave of strikes.

As we head into the winter it is sus pected that Doctors, Nurses and Teach ers could all be voting for strike action too. Junior Doctors were excluded from public sector increases and the RCN (Royal College of Nursing) recom mended its members vote for strike ac tion, which is currently being balloted. This would be the first-ever strike action held by RCN in England and Wales. The largest Union for teaching the NEU (Na tional Education Union) said that 86% of its members were in favour of a strike as

they prepared a formal ballot. The Insti tute for Fiscal Studies says that there has been an 8% fall in the wages of teachers in England since 2007.

Government intervention in July of this year introduced a new law to allow businesses to employ temporary staff during strikes and raised the damages cap that businesses can claim against a union if a court finds a strike unlawful.

This move has proved very unpopular for undermining the power of strikes, with eleven unions led by the TUC (Trade Unions Congress) seeking a judicial re view of the regulations. At the time the move led to opposition from some MPS and the TUC reported the government

How seaweed is curbing climate change

Caitlin Rider Contributor

It is believed that giant seaweed farms could be the solution to the ever-growing issue of climate change. Businessman John Auckland plans to use the properties of Sargas sum bales held in place by natural ocean eddies to recapture carbon di oxide that is emitted.

Sargassum is used for this pro cess because it is free floating and extremely fast growing, doubling in size every two weeks. The company Seafields plans to be the first to use Sargassum to promote the productiv ity of our oceans. The project is cur rently undergoing practice runs with its technology in the Caribbean and Mexico.

Scientists have revealed humans release fifty gigatonnes of carbon di oxide a year. The seaweed megafarm aims to recapture one billion tonnes

(one gigatonnes) and Auckland be lieves his seaweed farm will be effec tive enough at carbon recapture that climate changes impacts will be mod erated. Although this number sounds small in comparison to the immense emissions, the impacts would be great. In the past many attempts to recapture carbon have been low scale and of limited success. Many believe the project to be too large and too much of a risk but to that John Auck land says, “You can’t not take the risk, because if everyone -thought that way, no one would be working on so lutions of this scale”. For the project to be effective scientists say the farm will have to be extremely large, there fore Auckland is planning for it to be 55000 square kilometres.

The project is inspired by the marine biologist Professor Victor Smetacek who is said by Seafields to be their scientific founder. His focus is on the idea of growing seaweed in

gyres (rotation ocean currents). Be cause, Smetacek says, “They collect all kinds of stuff in the middle”. These eddies are also known for causing the accumulation of plastics in the ocean.

“The gyre just stops the sargassum from escaping” says John Auckland

“As long as we create the right condi tions for it, it will only grow there. If any escapes from our farm, it will just die off or just fail to continue grow ing”. The farm will be 169 miles wide and held in place by the South Atlan tic Gyre.

One concern about the plans is the impact of Sargassum on tourism in the Caribbean. In the past there have been many struggles because when washed up Sargassum rots on the beach and emits foul odours.

It is important that these plans are successful at keeping the Sargassum in one location as its escape could wreak havoc on the tourism industry in the Caribbean. Thankfully Seafield

COVID-19: What is happening now?

Ellie Baskerville Contributor

More than two years ago exPrime Minister, Boris John son, addressed the nation telling us to ‘Stay at Home’ in order to stop the spread of the coronavi rus and ‘Save Lives’. Gradually, we are returning to a sense of normal ity; with lockdown measures being lifted in the UK, we are now able to live our lives as we once did prepandemic. However, this is not to say that Covid-19 is no longer present in our lives. With an increase in hospi talisations and more daily cases, it is evident that the virus is not leaving us yet.

With the winter season approach

ing, it is no surprise that the virus is spreading more quickly than it did over the summer months. Sadly, it has been reported that over 191,681 people have passed away within 28 days of a positive test result. There has further been a rise in daily cases with over 1.7 million people testing positive last week: a 31% increase from previous data (BBC News). The amount of weekly hospitalisa tions has also escalated from 9,631 to 10,608 (BBC News). Although these figures certainly appear daunting, there is a lot of optimism to be taken from this data.

Firstly, the daily hospital admis sions have decreased from 2,000 to 1,275 since July (BBC News). Sec ondly, hospitalisations have not even

been close to replicating the devas tating figures of April 2021, where just under 40,000 people were hos pitalised with Covid-19 (NHS Eng land). This overall decrease indicates that the Covid-19 vaccinations and booster jabs have been successful in building up an immunity against coronavirus variants. It further shows that the effects of the Omni com variant are less serious than the original virus. Nevertheless, the vac cines have helped by making us more likely to experience ‘mild’ cold-like symptoms with the virus, as opposed to being critically ill. Currently, 88% of the British public have received both of their vaccinations, giving sci entists hope that death figures will eventually decline.

to the United Nations International La bour Organization.

One possible success of these strikes has been for barristers who have been staging strikes since June, after the gov ernment offered to improve their pay by 15%, although they asked for 25%. The Criminal Bar Association now has to ballot its members on whether to accept the pay offer and end strike action. There have been other successes too; London’s biggest bus operator, Go-Ahead, negoti ated a 10% pay rise benefiting 7,700 staff across the company with another 2,000 North London bus drivers with Arriva securing an 11% pay increase.

As we head into the winter months, with the cost of living crisis continuing and limited signs of successful negotia tions taking place for unions it is wise to be prepared for more strike disruption nationwide. Network rail strikes will take place in November, and London Under ground and Overground workers are set to strike on 3 November. 24-hour walk outs are planned for many Royal Mail workers on 25 October and 28 Novem ber alongside smaller groups striking within the company throughout the next two months.

Scientists have revealed hu mans release fifty gigatonnes of carbon dioxide a year. The sea weed megafarm aims to recap ture one billion tonnes (one gigatonnes)”

is confident that any stray seaweed will starve due to lack of the nutrients from the oceans depths that it will be provided with in the farm.

Not only will this help curb cli mate change, it will also provide em ployment opportunities for the 3000 members of staff that will be needed on site at operational capacity. It is hoped that the project will be up and running by 2026.

With the winter season ap proaching, it is no surprise that the virus is spreading more quickly than it did over the summer months.

In addition to this, over 40 million people have already received their booster jabs (BBC News). The sec ond booster is now available to 50+ year olds and those who are classed as high risk. The NHS are also in viting vulnerable people to receive a flu jab at the same time as their covid vaccine, in order to build up a stronger immunity during the winter months.

Shivika Singh

Luis Atkinson

George Symonds

Beca Dallis

Rubie Barker Contributor

Caitlin Rider explains an exciting new development in natural climate change defences.

One concern about the plans is the impact of Sargas sum on tourism in the Carib bean"

Ellie Baskerville details the recent spikes of Coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom.

Striking Action: As we head into the winter it is suspected that Doctors, Nurses and Teachers could all be voting for strike action too. Source: Roger Blackwell via Flickr

SHEIN’s breaking of worker’s rights.

After a recent Channel 4 Documentary, Michal Lewis anlayses working life within SHEIN.

Michal Lewis Contributor

SHEIN is a Chinese fast fash ion website valued at 84 billion pounds, making it the biggest, most successful online business in 2022. In her new investigative docu mentary, Channel 4 journalist Iman Amrani set out to find what is hap pening behind the doors of SHEIN’s factories.

A report made by Swiss watch dog group, ‘Public Eye’ the previous year (2021), found that the company was breaking several Chinese labour laws. This included going over the work-hour limit allowed and giving workers one day off a month. Follow ing the report, SHEIN posted a ‘sup plier code of conduct’, making com mitments to change their ways.

The documentary is split into two parts- firstly Amrani travels to Chi na, where for the first time an under cover journalist got into two of the company’s factories to find out what conditions the clothes are manufac tured in. Secondly, Amrani goes on to discover how the brand came to its popularity in the UK.

SHEIN: Labourers worked around 17-18 hours a day, making them work about 75 hours a week. Source Focal Project JP via Flickr

In China, the reporter under the pseudonym, ‘Mei’, gets a job in one of the factories. She discovers that, even after SHEIN’s commitments, workers are still heavily exploited. Conclusions of her investigation showed:

-Labourers worked around 1718 hours a day, making them work about 75 hours a week.

-At the end of their first monthworkers don’t get paid- the first pay ment is withheld until the month after.

-The daily base salary is only 130 yuan- equivalent to 16.5 British pounds- but is dependent on making

a minimum of 500 pieces of cloth ing a day. Making a mistake will cost a worker 100 yuan- 12 pounds- per piece.

‘Mei’ continued onto another fac tory to investigate, finding similar conditions there as well. Chinese la bour laws allow working a maximum of 40 hours a week, with an overtime of no more than 36 hours a week. It also declares that all workers are to have one day off a week.

Back in the UK, Amrani met with social media influencers, who work with the SHEIN brand. These in fluencers had small followings (a few thousand followers on average),

How Elon Musk is involved in Ukraine.

Megan Huws Contributor

In an effort to help with the crisis in Ukraine, Elon Musk has given Ukrainians access to Starlink to help support their fight against Russia. This technology is a satellite constellation using low Earth orbit to deliver broad band internet. This technology would typically cost £75 a month, with a hard ware cost of £460 and has been crucial to the Ukrainian war effort. It has been reported that it allows quick communi cation between troops on the ground and the headquarters and has helped the army operate the drones. On the 17th October Musk tweeted that ‘25,300 terminals were sent to Ukraine, but, at present, only 10,630 are paying for service.’ SpaceX is funding technol ogy for the Ukrainian Government

which is massively helping the Ukrain ian war effort.

However, whilst his involvement in the war through Starlink is extremely helpful for the Ukraininans, it can be argued that his involvement through Twitter may hinder rather than help.

In a Twitter poll on the 3rd of October Musk proposed a way to achieve peace between Ukraine and Russia, which in volved an election within the annexed regions, Crimea returned to Russia and Ukraine to remain neutral. This unsolicited political advice from Musk prompted a reply from Andrjj Melnk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany ‘“F*** off is my very diplomatic reply to you”. Whilst Musk’s help through Star link is helpful for Ukraine in the war, his advice and use of twitter polls is often perceived as unwanted. Mykhailo Podolyak, who is the adviser to the

President of Ukraine, Zelenskiy, also tweeted in response. ‘ @elonmusk you create rockets and dream of colonising Mars. Russia creates mobile crematoria and dreams of Ukrainians disappearing as a nation. It is not a “voting” issue.’

Soon after these responses from Ukrainian officials, SpaceX requested help from the Pentagon to fund the Starlink project. Yet, after criticism that Musk was only requesting help due to the response to his tweets, Musk tweeted that SpaceX withdrew this re quest on October 18th.

Despite the criticism, Musk contin ues to help Ukraine through the access to Starlink. The Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine has highlighted this on twitter. ‘Definitely @elonmusk is among the world’s top private donors supporting Ukraine. Starlink is an essential ele ment of our critical infrastructure.’

whom SHEIN gave favour too; giving them free clothes to promote with out pay, thus getting ‘cheap market ing’.

Venetia La Manna, a ‘Fair Fash ion’ campaigner is also interviewed by Amrani, stating that “One of the scariest things about SHEIN is just how addictive it is to spend time on their apps. It feeds us exactly what we want.”

After time, SHEIN responded to the findings. Claiming that the com pany works with third-party agencies and is committed to a specific time frame. With regards to the evidence of labour laws being broken, immedi ate actions have been taken.

Jack Seale from the Guardian re viewed Amrani’s expose, stating that, “One look at SHEIN’s prices tells you something is up with how the prod uct is made… The problem is not that people don’t know what they are buying. The problem is that they don’t care.”

As the documentary came to an end, Iman Amrani wondered whether this time the issues will be addressed properly, preventing the need of future exposes.

Welsh Government wants you to vote!

Beca Dalis Williams News Editor

The Welsh Government has an nounced proposals to ensure participation in Senedd and lo cal elections, especially among 16-17 year olds and young people.

The pilot proposal for Wales, cre ated by the Welsh Government, is an automatic voter registration. Last year in the Senedd election, less than half of Wales’ population voted. Cur rently people have to register to vote, but with this new pilot scheme, any one who is eligible to vote would be added by their local authority to have the right to vote and be on the register.

Mick Antoniw, Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, stated that the Welsh Government ‘want to create political structures that are more representative of the people they serve’.

Local authorities will work with the Government to trial several pilots to focus on the best ways to collect data and register people with existing data.

In an effort to help with the crisis in Ukraine, Elon Musk has given Ukrainians access to Starlink”

Whilst his involvement in European politics over twitter is deemed as un helpful by many, Musk has assisted Ukraine through SpaceX’s allowal of access to Starlink.

Musks’ involvement through Twitter may hinder rather than help.”

Anti-Racism training for all welsh teachers.

Lowri Powell News Editor

Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories and experiences are now a mandatory part of Wales’ new curriculum rolled out in classrooms this term. To accompany the new curricu lum, Betty Campbell’s granddaughter, Rachel Clarke, and one of her former pupils, Chantelle Haughton, have devel oped anti-racist training for teachers in Wales.

Chantelle, principal lecturer in early childhood education at Cardiff Met ropolitan University, is the project di rector of the new Diversity and AntiRacist Professional Learning (DARPL) , launched by the Welsh Government. Chantelle is driving a national approach to empower all educational staff with the knowledge, skills, empathy, and con fidence to celebrate and value diversity.

For Rachel and Chantelle, it was more than tackling the insults and at tacks between pupils. They said racism

was present in the school textbooks, syl labus, and in the topics taught. They did not want the content to be removed or changed, instead taught in context.

“There is lots of fear around antiracist training, but it’s not about taking away, more about making sure what is there is balanced so that people with one history are not seen as more or less important,” said Rachel, who is deputy head at Mitchell Brook Primary School in London.

Set GCSE texts like Of Mice and Men, a 1937 novella by John Steinbeck, uses inappropriate racist language along with teaching about the Atlantic slave trade in isolation. Rachel and Chantelle

propose that other texts and histories of diverse communities should be taught alongside the novel.

Speaking to the BBC, many students recalled their experiences of facing rac ist bullying. Even one teacher spoke of feeling alone and hoped that the training would bring a positive change.

Ifan, a pupil at Ysgol Glantaf in Car diff who said he faced racism, told the BBC that he thought it was more about lack of education than being cruel.

“If we can educate the teachers and the younger pupils, it will reduce – it will make a huge difference I believe,” he added.

What’s next?

50 years ago Betty Campbell be came Wales’ first black head teacher at Mount Stuart Primary School in Bute town, Cardiff. She who pioneered a curriculum that included Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories, would be pleased Wales was launching such an initiative, said Rachel. “She would say this is amazing, but disappointed we are still having these conversations in 2022.”

BBC has cited figures to report that in Wales’s schools, only 35 teachers identify as black and 75 as Asian while nearly 26,000 as white.

Launching the anti-racist training, the Welsh Government said it was a crucial part of the new curriculum: “The Welsh Government is committed to creating an anti-racist Wales by 2030, which calls for zero tolerance of racism in all its guises.

“In order to achieve this our educa tion system must broaden pupils’ under standing and knowledge of the diverse cultures which have built our past and present. This new professional learning will help achieve our ambition.”

In 2019 the law changed to enable 16 and 17 year olds to vote at local council elections. This was an effort to get a cross section of the views and hear the voices of the people of Wales. Data from the Welsh Govern ment shows that 40-45% of eligible 1617 year olds registered to vote in the Senedd election in 2021. In the Scot tish Parliamentary election in 2021 where the 16-17 year olds were able to vote the registration rate was nearly 70%.

Research by The Electoral Commis sion made apparent that about 1 in 5, 16-17 year olds in Wales registered to vote by the local election in May and the turnout was the lowest amongst younger age groups. Rhydian Thomas, Head of The Electoral Commission noted that the shortage of young vot ers is due to the education system in Wales. To develop understand ing, Thomas mentioned that they are working with the Government, ‘to develop our education resources to ensure they can effectively support the delivery of democratic education in schools through the new curriculum’.

In a discussion with students from Cardiff University they mentioned that they haven’t voted before, as some saw the process of registering compli cated.

Former member of Welsh Youth Parliament, Betsan Angell said ‘if eve rybody doesn’t vote, everybody’s opin ion doesn’t get reflected in the result’, she also noted ‘the new scheme is a good plan to engage people in politics as it requires less steps and this may interest more people that aren’t as in volved in politics’.

Local authorities will work with the Government to trial several pilots to focus on the best ways to collect data and register people with existing data.”

Teacher Training: The Welsh Government is committed to creating an anti-racist Wales by 2030, Source: gdsteam via Flickr

Rishi Sunak becomes new UK Prime MinisterPOLITICS

with the cost of living crisis should take priority.

Rishi Sunak has become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following Liz Truss’ resignation.

Rishi Sunak was announced as the new leader of the Conservative par ty on Monday (24th October). The leadership race was won somewhat easily with Boris Johnson backing out of the race on Sunday (23rd Oc tober) and Penny Mordaunt pulling out around 2 minutes before the an nouncement which declared which MPs would be on the ballot.. This left Sunak as the only MP who had received the 100 nominations re quired to get onto the ballot. Thus, he was automatically declared as winner.

Sunak as Prime Minister repre sents a series of firsts for the coun try - the first ever British-Asian Prime Minister and the first prac ticing Hindu Prime Minister. Many pointed to the fact that he was elect ed on diwali a moment where just a year ago he made history by light ing Diwali candles outside of No 11 Downing Street. He recalled that:

“one of my proudest moments of the job that I had for the last two years”. He is also the youngest Prime Min ister since 1812, one year younger than Tony Blair when he took office in 1997.

Many pointed out that he wasn’t seen publicly during this brief con test and argued that he shouldn’t have been able to become Prime Minister without speaking once to the public beforehand. However, it can be raised that he spoke on poli cy during the summer, although cir cumstances have notably changed. Regarding his vision for Wales, he made his vision clear in an article

which he wrote for WalesOnline over summer. He has emphasised that he will be thinking of Wales during his premiership writing: “I want Wales to thrive, and I promise that a government led by me would be the most active UK Government in Wales in history”. He also em phasised that he wanted UK minis ters held accountable to the Senedd more robustly and vice-versa. How ever, he also pointed out his support for a Wales-based inquiry into the country’s handling of covid-19 and took a swipe at Welsh Government plans for more MSs and Senedd re form at a time when he says dealing

ELSEWHERE IN POLITICS

- Sunak brings back fracking ban in first PMQs

The ban on shale fracking in England has been restored by th new Prime Minister during his first PMQs

Rishi Sunack will not commit to raising the state pension in line with inflation ahead of a statment by his chancellor next month.

Speaking outside of 10 Downing Street, he tried to instill hope in the people watching, saying: “We will create a future worthy of the sacri fices so many have made” and also said that he will fix Liz Truss’ mis takes while in office. In the words of the BBC’s Chris Mason, September’s loser has become October’s Prime Minister. At turbulent times such as these, he tried to emphasise stabil ity and unity - and reinforced the fact that the Conservative Party has the mandate to lead and that no one person owns that mandate. Refer encing those that claimed only Boris Johnson could have the top job (as the man who led the party into the 2019 General election), Sunak said that even Johnson himself would agree that 2019’s mandate “didn’t belong to one person”.

Sunak has said that the work in fixing the mistakes made under Truss will begin immediately - and made clear that he will stick to the Party’s 2019 manifesto in his leader ship.

Sunak as Prime Minister represents a series of firsts for the country - the first ever British-Asian Prime Minister and the first practicing Hin du Prime Minister.”

Liz Truss’ downfall, how does it compare in history? Adam Dunstan asks: How historic was Liz Truss’ resignation?

Liz Truss became Prime Minister on 6 th September 2022. Just 45 days later Truss announced her intention to resign, meaning she is ex pected to become the shortest serving Prime Minister in British history.

The current holder of this title is George Canning, who was in the job for 119 days in 1827. Like Liz Truss, Canning was the leader of a divided government. Upon his appointment by King George IV, five members of the Cabinet and 40 junior ministers chose not to serve under him due to their unwavering loyalty to Canning’s prede cessor, the Earl of Liverpool.

This is not dissimilar to the divisions within the Conservative Party as a re sult of the summer election campaign, when supporters of Rishi Sunak chose not to serve under the new Prime Min ister such as former Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab.

However, Canning died while in of fice whereas Truss has been forced to resign by her parliamentary colleagues.

There’s no doubting that Truss’ res ignation, after her short time in office, was unprecedented. But how does her downfall compare with the previous residents of 10 Downing Street?

Anthony Eden, like Liz Truss, was Foreign Secretary before becoming Prime Minister in 1955.

He was forced to resign in January 1957 due to his handling of the Suez Crisis. The Suez Crisis refers to when the UK government hatched a plan with France and Israel to invade Egypt, as a result of Egypt’s decision to na tionalise the Suez Canal. The invasion failed and Britain’s reputation as an in dependent world power disintegrated, as was the UK’s “special relationship” with the United States. Because of the Suez Crisis, Eden is generally ranked among the least successful Prime

Ministers 1 . Time will only tell if Truss will join him due to her U-turns in eco nomic policy which resulted in a simi lar destruction of the UK’s standing on the world stage.

Although Liz Truss’ seven weeks as Prime Minister is incomparable to Margaret Thatcher’s eleven years, there’s a similarity in their downfalls.

Both Thatcher and Truss lost their chancellors towards the end of their premierships, Geoffrey Howe in 1989 and Kwasi Kwarteng in 2022. This exposed deep divisions within both governments. For Thatcher, Howe’s resignation showed the divisions in

the Party over whether to become more integrated with Europe. Whereas Kwarteng’s resignation on Friday 14 th October showed the divisions over Truss’ controversial economic policy to cut taxes which meant that he had to go as the man who delivered the mini-budget. Conservative MPs know that divided parties do not win elec tions, hence leading to the resignation of Thatcher in 1990 and Truss in 2022.

The speed of Truss’ downfall is com parable to Boris Johnson’s turbulent fi nal week in office just this year. Truss lost her Home Secretary and Chancel lor within a week and Johnson lost his Health Secretary and Chancellor in one day. Both situations resulted in the Prime Ministers resigning by exposing the weak points within the govern ment.

Nevertheless, despite attempts, it is difficult to find a Prime Minister’s resignation that is comparable to Liz Truss’. Her downfall was sudden and deadly, following U-turns, resigna tions and allegations of violence in the House of Commons. Normally, one would say it is unlikely we will see any thing like it again, but the last 4 months have shown anything can happen in British politics.

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

Rishi Sunak becomes UK PM following a contest lasting under a week

Francesca Ionoescu

Jade Heath

Katherine Seymour

Former Chancellor back in Downing Street :Rishi Sunak has expressed his leadership role during the pandemic Source: Number 10 (via Flikr)

Adam Dunstan Contributor

he wasn’t seen publicly during this brief contest “

-Downing Street refuses to commit to pensions triple lock

Change at the top: Liz Truss has become the shortest serving Prime Minister in modern British history. Source: Number 10 (via Flickr)

Suella Braverman’s resignation- and reappointment

Francesca Ionescu Politics Editor

A s part of the on-going cab inet crisis at Westminster, Suella Braverman resigned from her role as Home Secretary on the 19th of October. In her resignation to now-former Prime Minister, Liz Truss, Braverman admits to accidentally sending ‘an official document’ to a col league in Parliament - a breach of Ministerial Code. A charged statement followed her admis sion, demanding the government take responsibility as well. She states: ‘I have made a mistake; I accept responsibility: I resign.’

The 42-year-old politician put herself forward for the role of Prime Minister in the leadership contest after Boris Johnson’s res ignation. Upon losing the second round, she expressed her support for Truss. Carrying on Priti Pa tel’s mission, she stated during a Conservative party conference that it is her ‘dream’ and ‘obses sion’ to see a flight of migrants to Rwanda on the front pages. These statements came despite the flight on the 14th of June that saw detainees physically re strained to stop them from selfharm. While Truss vocalised sup

port of the Rwanda scheme, she contradicted it by promising eco nomic growth, even if it involved more foreign workers. The Home Secretary often lacked support from the PM, such as when she expressed reservations about Indian citizens having an easier time working and studying in the UK- whileBraverman’s parents are both of Indian origin- and en tertaining the idea that cannabis could become a Class-A drug.

Braverman only fulfilled the role for 43 days, which makes her the shortest serving Home Secre tary since 1834. Her legacy seems to lie in various controversial statements, regarding her area of work in immigration and border control. In her letter she express es ‘serious concerns’ as to how much the Government honours their manifesto, with an empha sis on ‘reducing overall migration numbers and stopping illegal mi

The week that ended the Truss premiership

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

The week beginning the 17th October has been a turning point for Liz Truss’ pre miership. New chancellor Jeremy Hunt allegedly holding the reins in her policy movements.

Monday was a day of twists and turns with an early morning announcement that Hunt would make a statement on the growth plan which would aim to calm the markets. He announced that the government would U-turn on al most all of the ‘growth plan’ poli cies which were announced other than the reverse of the rise on na tional insurance and the changes to stamp duty. Before the state ment on these changes to parlia ment, Keir Starmer was granted an urgent question and asked why the Prime Minister had sacked for mer chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. Most agreed that the question was designed to get Truss to come to the House of Commons but the question was instead answered by Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt. She had to clarify that the Prime Minister was not hiding under a desk. Towards the end of the question, the Prime Minister came into the house to hear Jere my Hunt’s statement to the sound of boos from opposition mem bers. Later on that day, she took an interview with Chris Mason from the BBC where she vocalised a much anticipated apology for the economic results of her previ

ous policy.

Tuesday was seemingly less eventful. A morning cabinet meeting saw Hunt aiming to in form the cabinet of the cuts which he wants to make over the com ing months. Reportedly, much of the cabinet left with grim-faced expressions, not answering ques tions on whether the Prime Min ister had their backing while Busi ness Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg seemed cheerful in nature.

Wednesday was a huge day with a change of Home Secretary fol lowing Suella Braverman’s breach es of the ministerial code. Grant Shapps replaced her and put an emphasis on safety and security of the British people. Wednesday is a big day in parliament with the weekly rendition of PMQs. Keir starmer began with a blow to the longevity of the Prime Minister making a joke that a book was written about Truss’ time in office and it will be out by christmas, he asked “is that the title or the re lease date”. Liz Truss retaliated that she is a “fighter not a quitter”.

With it being Opposition day in parliament, the day where the opposition party leads the debate, the opposition brought in a mo tion for a ban on fracking - which was then made a three line whip by the government and said to be treated as a vote of confidence in the Prime Minister. The use of a three line whip meant that Con servative MPs had to vote in the government’s way (against the motion) or risk losing the whip,

meaning that they would have to sit as independent MPs in parlia ment. However, MPs were later confused as to whether this was the case. There were also ques tions as to whether Conservative MPs were “manhandled” or “bul lied” into voting with the govern ment as strongly suggested by Labour MP Chris Bryant (who re leased an image from the no lobby on his twitter).

On Thursday, Liz Truss made a Downing Street statement in which she resigned as Prime Min ister after a month and a half. Her premiership is the shortest ever in British History. Follow ing the statement, speculation grew as to who would put them selves forward with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirming that he wouldn’t run for the leadership. The day was dominated by the question: who would replace Liz Truss? Chair of the 1922 Commit tee of Conservative backbench ers Sir Graham Brady announced that the leadership contest would be over by October 28th and lat er made a statement to the press along with Party Chairman Jake Berry explaining the official work ings of the contest.

The contest was to be held re quiring 100 nominations from MPs to be considered a candidate (resulting in no more than 3 can didates). This would then be fol lowed by a ballot by MPs on Mon day. If multiple candidates were present, it would then go to party membership in an online ballot

gration’. She goes on to men tion that the British public de serve the policies they voted for instead of laws that serve ‘selfish protesters’.

The politician’s last full day as Home Secretary saw her ridiculed by the opposi tion. She also caused confu sion within the Conservative party as she addressed the Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil protests. Braverman stated in the House of Commons: “It’s the Labour party, it’s the Lib Dems, it’s the coalition of chaos, it’s the Guardian-read ing, tofu-eating wokerati (…) the anti-growth coalition” that were causing traffic disrup tions.

Suella Braverman’s short time in office was plagued by on line mockery and constant com parison between her and her pre decessor, Priti Patel, as well as a general awareness that she lacked her party’s support. She was re placed by Grant Schnapps, prior to Liz Truss’ departure.

US ask for a delay to Saudi Arabia OPEC decision

Alys Jones Contributor

Last week the US asked Saudi Arabia, a highly influential fig ure in OPEC, and its allies, to delay its decision on oil output un til November. Saudi Arabia rejected this request, fearing the delay would lead to negative economic conse quences. Oil prices worldwide have increased dramatically in recent months due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, lead ing to high inflation rates across the globe, including in the US. The ap proaching American midterm elec tions on the 8th November appear to be influential in Biden’s request, as a delay could prevent a further spike in prices for US consumers. This could strengthen the Democrat’s chanc es of success, although the White House has refuted this theory.

with the result announced on the 28th October.

Friday was a day of question ing. The press wondered who would put their hat in the ring as a candidate. The top 3 names were Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson. Speculation swirled around the return of Bo ris Johnson with MPs coming out strongly for or against the idea. Some said that they would forfeit the Conservative whip and sit as an independent MP if the previ ous Prime Minister returned. Pen ny Mordaunt became the first MP to announce that they were run ning, saying in a tweet “I’ve been encouraged by support from col leagues who want a fresh start, a united party and leadership in the national interest.”

Though now Rishi Sunak has been announced as the new Prime Minister, this will be by no means an easy recovery for the country or the Conservative party. The new Prime Minister will be faced with the challenges which came out of Truss’ budget - including the spending cuts (which have been considered a given on the Conservative benches) and unit ing the party. This article took a day by day approach, reporting the events as they happened and the pace at which this week has gone has made a day in politics feel like a month. It is hard to see that pace slowing down anytime soon.

In response, the White House ex pressed that it felt Saudi Arabia was undermining efforts to isolate Russia and reduce its benefits from high oil prices. A spokesperson for the Na tional Security Council stated, “We (the US) are re-evaluating our rela tionship with Saudi Arabia in light of these actions and will continue to look for signs about where they stand in combating Russian aggres sion”. Saudi Arabia responded by say ing that “any attempts to distort the facts about the Kingdom’s position on the war in Ukraine is unfortunate” and referred to their votes in favour of condemning Russia’s actions in the United Nations resolutions.

OPEC, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its 13 member countries have his

Oil prices worldwide have increased dramatically in recent months due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, leading to high inflation rates across the globe”

torically prioritised price stability and long-term oil demand. In recent years prices per barrel have fluctu ated between $60 and $80 but as of last week, prices were approaching $100. Following this price increase, OPEC decided to cut output which threatened to push up prices, even more, worsening existing inflation ary pressures.

When asked about his response to Saudi Arabia’s rejection of his request, Biden offered an ominous forecast: “There’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done, with Russia (…) I’m not going to get into what I’d consider and what I have in mind. But there will be — there will be consequences.” Despite Biden’s words of warning, the situa tion itself symbolises the change in dynamic between these two pow erful nations. The US, which once was a powerful influence in Saudi decision-making, has seemingly lost some of its strength and the future of this relationship will remain a key fo cus for many as international conflict continues.

prices per barrel have fluctuated between $60 and $80 but as of last week, prices were approaching $100”

How Suella Braverman was fired, the re-hired, as home secretary within a week

Seasoned in cabinet:Braverma has served in cabinet during Johnson’s pre miership Source: Number 10 (via Flickr)

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford hit out at Welsh Conservative leader Andrew R T Davies in the Senedd on the 18th of October.

Mark Drakeford was overcome by anger in the Senedd following criti cisms of ambulance waiting times in Wales by Andrew R T Davies. Both men had raised their voices dur ing First Minister’s Questions. Elin Jones, Presiding Officer, called for members to calm down following the outburst.

Events played out with Prof Drak eford saying it was “shocking that you think that you can turn up here this afternoon with the mess that your party has made, to the budg ets of this country, to the reputation of this country around the world”. Seeming to angrily flip through his briefing notes, he told Mr Davies: “You think you can turn up here this afternoon and claim some sort of moral high ground? What sort of world do you belong in?”

After Prof Drakeford finished, Elin Jones (who chairs proceedings) intervened stating tat “I understand that the arguments and the feelings run high on these issues from a va riety of perspectives”. “I understand some of the shouting taking place but I won’t have people pointing in anger and gesticulating in anger at other people. Can we just take a mo ment just to calm down.”

Following this, Mr Davies said in a statement: “Rather than take re sponsibility for Labour’s poor run ning of the NHS, Mark Drakeford looked to pass the blame onto the UK government, despite the fact that health in Wales has been under Labour control for 25 years.”

However, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted in support of the First Minister saying: “100% with @MarkDrakeford @PrifWei nidog in his anger and frustration at Tories who take a sledge hammer to the economy and public services, and then try to pretend that the consequences have nothing to do with them. They do just the same in Scotland”.

Though it is not unreasonable for the Leader of the Opposition to want to criticise government handling of waiting times and staff shortages when there seems to be no solution in time. Welsh Ministers are said to be fearing cuts after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that there will be hard decisions to make on depart ment budgets (which will undoubt edly impact budgets in Wales).

Katherine Seymor investigates previous Prime Ministerial downfalls owing to chancellors When Prime Ministers lose their chancellors

Katherine Seymour Head of Politics

Following Kwasi Kwarteng’s exit from Liz Truss’ cabinet, many commentators discussed paral lel situations where Prime Ministers lost their Chancellors and, eventual ly, their premiership. From Macmil lan and his “night of the long knives’ to the recent resignation of Rishi Su nak, losing a Chancellor has proven fatal to some Prime Ministers of the past.

On Macmillan’s night of the long knives, he sacked a third of his party and shocked many given it was un precedented but also many saw it as out of character for Macillan as Prime Minister. Macmillan’s lack of personal attitude seemed justifiable to some at the time because the Con servative party was seen to have been in a state of meltdown. Conservative peer Lord Hailsham said in 1989: “I did feel strongly that Macmillan was losing his grip on public opinion and the party in general,”. The decision followed defeat in the once-safe Tory seat of Orpington in a by-election in April 1962. This was said to have shown MacMillan the need to act.

The ‘night of the long knives’ par ticularly targeted his Chancellor at the time (Selwyn Lloyd). MacMillan noted in his diary at the time that the Chancellor “did not have the appear ance of a man with fire in his belly.” The plan to cull his chancellor and others was leaked on the front pages after MacMillan schemed with Iain Macleod (Leader of the House of Commons) and Rab Butler (Home Secretary) - who had spoken to jour nalists of the plan. The leak forced Macmillan’s hand and forced him to act and remove a third of his cabinet from office - it did not go down well with the public or with opposition politicians. In Parliament the fol lowing week, Lloyd was cheered by

MPs. Macmillan was greeted with silence. In some regards, a parallel is found in the reporting of Kwarteng’s departure. Many felt that he was sac rificed for plans which he made with the Prime Minister (ironically, part of her own leadership campaign), and though he was also deeply unpopu lar, many still perceived the move as unjustified.

1989 was the year in which Mar garet Thatcher lost the grip on her premiership as her chancellor Nigel Lawson resigned. Documents later released, written by Thatcher, showed her utter shock at his insistence he would resign if she didn’t sack his ad visor, Alan Walters. Though the res ignation in itself wasn’t exactly what toppled her leadership, it certainly sparked the events which later led to a coup in her party.

Chris Collins, of the Margaret Thatcher Foundation, said she had written the note for her memoirs and that in it she “came close to professing outright mystification”. “She knew obviously it was a very

big event,” he said. “She wrote these things down for the Falklands War, for the European budget argument and for (Soviet President Konstantin) Chernenko’s funeral so she’s putting Lawson’s resignation up there with those events. “And she’s right – I think it was absolutely fundamental for her career.”

In Thatcher’s case, it was clear that losing her Chancellor undermined her authority within the Conserva tive party - and, as has been noted, the Conservative party is highly ruth less when it believes a leader has lost control. In the contemporary, Truss’ lack of authority over her party is accommodating the kinds of plots circulating in the news media. These have been referred to as an MP ‘coro nation’ of a unity candidate without going to party members. This was seen following Truss’ resignation as Sunak was ‘crowned’.

The most recent case is the resig nation of Chancellor Rishi Sunak - a turning point in taking down Boris Johnson as Party Leader. He and

Sajid Javid (Health Secretary at the time), resigned on the same night. Boris Johnson announced that he would be resigning just 2 days later. These resignations exposed the gov ernment’s weaknesses as many more lost confidence in Johnson. At that stage, it was clear that his position as Prime Minister had become unten able.

Similarly, in her resignation speech, Liz Truss admitted that her inability to deliver on the economic policy (which she had promised Conservative members) was her main reason for resigning. Following Kwasi Kwarteng’s sacking, Jeremy Hunt’s announcement of essentially scrapping all of the promised minibudget and tax cuts were hugely damaging to the Prime Minister’s au thority. Following the economic Uturns, it was clear that she no longer had control of the government. Since many believed Hunt had the govern ment’s reins, Truss was Prime Minis ter in name only.

The UK private renting crisis

Jade Heath Politics Editor

The housing crisis has been an ongoing issue in the UK, ex acerbated by issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, mount ing inflation, and the cost of liv ing crisis. In the year leading up to September 2022, the Office for National Statistics documented that private rental prices had risen by 3.6% - the largest annual growth rate since 2016 (when they started recording this data). UK homeless ness charity ‘Crisis’ have reported that more people now privately rent from landlords rather than a hous ing association or the council, which

Despite the expenses involved in private renting, it is an option which offers little to no security for those who do not own a home”

is potentially linked to the scarcity of affordable social housing, as well as the often lengthy waiting times to access these. Furthermore, the amount of actual council houses in the UK has declined since the 1980s, ever since Thatcher’s govern ment introduced the Housing Act of 1980. This growing ‘rental crisis’ is mainly concentrated in larger UK cities. In London, advertised rent prices have increased by 15.8%, and in Manchester, the increase in rent has reached 20% (over a 12 month period). Nonetheless, this problem is becoming increasingly inescap able all across Britain.

Despite the expenses involved in private renting, it is an option which offers little to no security for those who do not own a home. Many landlords only offer tenancy agree ments which last 6-12 months - an issue which, Crisis UK have argued, is a major cause of homelessness. Furthermore, a lot of privately rent ed homes are in unfit conditions. Almost a third fail to meet govern

ment standards. The government Department for Levelling Up, Hous ing and Communities have found that 1.6 million people are living in houses with damp, cold and mould, which are considered dangerously low-quality. Many, including Cri sis UK, are calling on the govern ment to ensure that landlords must be registered in order to rent out a home. This would arguably make it easier for the council to tackle the issue of poor living conditions.

The Guardian have reported that private renters now spend at least 30% of their income on rent, making saving for a home deposit increas ingly difficult. Evidently, many may find themselves caught in a cycle. Private rent is increasing, as is the cost of owning a home. Meanwhile, UK wages remain stagnant. The av erage cost of a UK home in 1985 was around £30k - in 2020, the average cost was nearly £250k. ‘Property In dustry Eye’ have reported that, since 1980, house prices have increased by 1010%, (almost 25 times the rate

at which people’s annual salaries have grown). This crisis is arguably hitting young people the hardest, who, without help (a luxury most cannot access), are unable to get onto the property ladder. However, according to research undertaken by King’s College London, 48% of UK adults agreed with the state ment that young people cannot af ford homes due to their spending habits, with Netflix subscriptions often being the centre of this debate. Though, 76% of adults do agree that it is harder for young people to buy homes compared to their parents’ generation - arguably a statement that the statistics agree with.

Chancellors holding the Prime Ministerial ship together: Kwasi Kwarteng’s ‘;mini budget’ was seen as a catalyst for Truss’ downfall Source: Number 10 (via Flickr)

Drakeford’s anger at UK government in the Senedd

76% of adults do agree that it is harder for young people to buy homes”

Hurricane Ian causes death and destruction in the U.S

NASA looks to increase inclusivity within space exploration with its latest program

Dilichi Dieobi Contributor

On the 28th of September, the ninth hurricane of this year hit the Gulf Coast of Florida, not only causing landfall and destruction, but also killing 125 people as it tore through the state. The many displaced and now home less residents of Florida, North and South Carolina have been combing through the wreckage, desperately searching for loved ones and belong ings.

The hurricane hit Florida on the 28th of September, the centre of the storm roared inland near Cayo Costa, an island west of Fort Myers, a popular tourist destination within the state. Its final landfall was near Georgetown in South Carolina two days later as a category 1 storm. As a category 1 storm, the winds of hurricane Ian ranged between 74 to 95 miles per hour when it reached Georgetown. However, the peak speed the storm’s winds reached was 150 miles per hour, classing it as a major category 4 storm.

Floridians are no strangers to hur ricanes though, suffering their ruth less destruction since the first major storm recorded in 1851, the landfall intensity reaching up to 100 knots in Panama City. The record for the

most destructive and fatal hurricane to have ever hit Florida is the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 with a landfall intensity of 160 knots. Altogether, Florida has suffered approximately 500 hurricanes since 1851.

Hurricane Ian has had devastating effects, costing the residents of the state a collective total of 40 billion

dollars in property damage. Many of the residents have described their homes as having “nothing” left, and over 255,000 have no access to elec trical power. The city of Sanibel Is land official Vice Mayor Richard Johnson has described every home as being damaged in “some way”. In a hope to raise morale amongst the distraught and lost Floridians, Presi dent Joe Biden visited Fort Myers, which bore the brunt of the damage, and received a brief from Governor Ron DeSantis.

The President has been meeting with business and homeowners, re assuring them that the federal gov ernment will help them recover from this tremendous blow. In his address to the residents and population af fected by the storm, President Biden made a pointed comment about the effects of climate change in America, drawing a contrast with Gov. De Santis who has avoided the topic, describing people’s concerns as “left wing stuff”.

SCIENCE

The Nobel Prize 2022: Th winners of the prestigous awards

Aditi Kallanagoudar Girish Sciene and Tech Editor

TheNobel Prize committees have announced this year’s winners.

The awards, which are consid ered the most prestigious honour and are only granted to “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

Physiology or medicine: Dr. Svante Pääbo

Dr. Svante Pääbo, a Swedish geneti cist won the 2022 Nobel Prize for his discoveries in human evolution. He ac complished the impossible by sequenc ing the genome of the Neanderthal, the extinct evolutionary relative of humans. He produced a full Neanderthal genome by extracting the genetic material from bones that are 40,000 years old, mark ing a huge milestone in ancient DNA studies.

Physics: Alain Aspect, John F.

Clauser and Anton Zeilinger Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and An ton Zeilinger’s work in quantum tech nology, landed them the Nobel Prize in Physics this year.All three scientists are from different places with Aspect beingfrom France, Clauser from the U.S.A, and Zeilinger from Austria but all the three experimented with entangled photons, established the violation of Bell inequalities and made groundbreaking advancements in quantum information science.

Chemistry: Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless, another trio won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their work in the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. They created a functional form of chem istry - click chemistry which is described as a straightforward route to building molecular functions. The trio made other landmark achievements with

Dr. Bertozzi being the eighth woman chemist to be awarded the prize, while Dr. Sharpless is the fifth scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for the second time after winning it back in 2001.

Littérature: Annie Ernaux

The Nobel prize for Literature went to French novelist Annie Ernaux who, at 82 years old, has been writing auto biographical stories centred around feminism, womanhood and the human experience for over 50 years. Ernaux, who considers writing to be a political act, writes to open people’s eyes to social inequality. Her work is run by themes of both her struggles as a woman and as someone from the working class.

Peace work: Ales Bialiatski, human rights organisations Centre for Civil Lib erties and Memorial

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize is shared by a trio once again, Ales Bialiatski, a human rights advocate from Belarus, Ukrainian human rights organisation Centre for Civil Liberties and Russian

human rights organisation Memorial. Bialiatski, founder of Belarus human rights organisation, Viasna was arrested in 2020 after participating in protests against Lukashenko. Despite still be ing detained without trial he has not stopped his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.

Economics: Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig

The Nobel Prize in Economic Scienc es this year was awarded to Ben S. Ber nanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig for their research on banks and financial crises. Bernanke was the chair of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, while Diamond and Dybvig are active professors. They studied the history of American economics, particularly the Great Depression of the 1930s and improved coherency on how we understand the role of banks during times of hardship as well as the impact a bank can have on societal functions.

Google unveil new Pixel 7 and 7 pro smartphones and watch

Megha Roy Contributor

In a world where technological in novations get born every day into a product saturated marker, very few new launches get the attention they crave. It is the big names of the game that create the buzz when they drop new items and one such technology ty coon has given the world a glimpse of their latest gadget innovations.

On October 6th, Google unveiled its Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones, as well as the awaited Pixel Watch. The devices were first teased at Google’s de veloper event in May, but the company used an event in New York City to share details about each new product, includ ing its specs and price.

The $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro are the first smartphones to fea

ture Google’s new Tensor G2 chip. This shows that Google continues to build its chips, rather than using the Qualcomm chip, which it dropped with the launch of last year’s Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Ten sor processors help enable advanced camera features, on-device translation, and other features Google says it can’t provide otherwise. Google says the Pixel 7 has a 6.3-inch screen, which is 25% brighter than last year’s model and im proves outdoor visibility. The camera of the phone has been amped up to fifty megapixels which should provide sharp er images compared to its predecessors.

The total impression seems positive with improvements from Google and varying price ranges of the phones.

The Pixel watch will incorporate health tracking from Fitbit, which Google acquired for around $2.1 bil lion. Using Fitbit on the watch can track

workouts, sleep quality, steps, and more. It also has a smartwatch function and runs the company’s Wear OS software and lets people download apps from the Google Play store. Alongside that, it also integrates seamlessly with other Google products such as Wallet, Gmail, Cal endar, and Google Home. Overall it looks like a well-finished smartwatch that will show elements of fitness tracking similar to apple watches. The launch date is currently set for Octo ber 13th .

The Pixel watch will incorporate health tracking from Fitbit, which Google acquired for around $2.1 bil lion. Using Fitbit on the watch can track workouts, sleep quality, steps, and more. It also has a smartwatch function and runs the company’s Wear OS software and lets people download apps from the Google Play store. Alongside that, it also

The $599 Pixel 7 and $899 Pixel 7 Pro are the first smart phones to feature Google’s new Tensor G2 chip ”

Lab Grown Brain Cells Learn To Play Pong

integrates seamlessly with other Google products such as Wallet, Gmail, Calendar, and Google Home.

Overall it looks like a well-fin ished smartwatch that will show elements of fitness tracking similar to apple watches. The launch date is currently set for October 13th .

The Pixel watch will incorporate health tracking from Fitbit, which Google acquired for around $2.1 billion.”

Over

the years, scientists have made many important discov eries through brain cells, such as creating a more realistic model of Alzheimer’s. Yet only in the realm of sci-fi movies did we initially think it pos sible to teach living brain cells to play a video game. A team of scientists at Cor tical Labs in Australia have made this thought a reality, by teaching a dish of living brain cells to play the 1972 arcade classic Pong.

The team used human and mouse cells and put them onto the “Dishbrain”, an array made of multiple electrodes that senses cell activity and stimulates them, giving the cells feedback on whether the paddle hit the ball or not. Within five minutes, the cells started to learn how to play the game through the feedback. The scientists used electrical stimulation to ‘motivate’ the cells to hit the ball back and forth, giving an organised burst of electricity whenever the paddle hit the ball and a chaotic stream whenever it missed. Over time, the cells were able to strike the ball more often than they missed, with the human brain cells do ing significantly better than the mouse brain cells at the same task.

The cell groups played 486 games with different stimuli or none at all, lead ing to the cells with stimuli and feedback learning from their experiences and be ing able to rally the ball for longer and longer. Now, the team plans to see how the cells play when they are drunk or given medicines, further using the inno vative “Dishbrain” to learn more about conditions such as epilepsy and demen tia.

Dr. Brett Kagan, the lead scientific officer of Cortical Labs, has said that by manipulating the neurons and showing they change behaviour based on stimuli and feedback, they have shown some thing that resembles intelligence. “This is the new way to think about what a neuron is” states Dr. Kagan.

Aditi Kallanagoudar Girish

Edward Sutton gairrhyddscience@gmail.com

Category 4: At least 125 people have been killed dur ing the storm. Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife (via Flickr)

the peak speed the storm’s winds reached was 150 miles per hour ”

President Biden made a pointed comment about the effects of climate change in America.”

Ben McElfatrick Contributor

TAF-OD

Mis Hanes Du: Beth yw e a pam ei fod yn bwysig?

Mae mis hanes pobl ddu yn cael ei gynnal yn flyny ddol ym mis Hydref yn y DU, a’i ddiben yw cydnabod, cofio a dathlu cyfraniadau unigolion du.

Mae hanes pobl du wedi’i esgeuluso a’i dangynrychioli ers canrifoedd, a’r un yw’r stori hyd heddiw.

Mae mis hanes pobl ddu yn ffordd o ddarganfod a dathlu’r hanes, y

dreftadaeth a’r diwylliant hwnnw. I bawb ledled y DU, waeth beth fo’u hil, mae’n gyfle i gael addysg am gy flawniadau unigolion du a’r effaith y maent wedi’i chael, yn ogystal â dat blygu ein dealltwriaeth o ddiwylliant du. Yn 2020, bu twf ym mudiad Black Lives Matter, lle ymrwymodd llawer o bobl i ddeall mwy am hanes du fel ffordd o frwydro yn erbyn hiliaeth. Caerdydd yw un o gymunedau aml-ethnig hynaf y DU gyda chy munedau cyfoethog o ran diwylliant a threftadaeth, mae cymdeithas gryf o bobl ddu wedi bod yng Nghaerdydd ers dros ganrif bellach. Roedd dociau Caerdydd yn un o’r prif allforwyr glo yr 20fed ganrif ac roedd yn un o borthladdoedd prysuraf y byd. Mu dodd pobl o wledydd megis Somalia, y Caribî a Yemen er mwyn gweithio

yn y dociau ac ymgartrefwyd yng Nghaerdydd yn Tiger Bay neu ardal Bute a elwir erbyn heddiw.

Yn flaenorol, credir bod y dociau yn cynnwys hyd at 50 o wahanol genhedloedd gydag amrywiaeth o ieithoedd gwahanol. Erbyn heddiw, mae cymuned tref Bute yn parhau i fod yn gymuned fywiog ac amlddi wylliannol sy’n gartref i gymysgedd o gymunedau amlhiliol. Roedd hefyd yn gartref i enwogion gan gynnwys cyn-seren rygbi Billy Boston a’r gan tores Shirley Bassey, a gafodd eu geni yn Tiger Bay.

Nid yw cysylltiadau bob amser wedi bod yn gytûn, yn 1919 roedd llawer o aflonyddwch a thensiynau wedi’r rhyfel byd cyntaf a arweiniodd at derfysgoedd hil yng Nghaerdydd, Casnewydd a’r Barri gyda llawer o

ymosodiadau ac ysbeilio yn erbyn pobl o gefndiroedd lleiafrifoedd eth nig. Yn anffodus, mae hiliaeth he fyd wedi parhau i fodoli o fewn ein cymdeithas dros y 100 mlynedd di wethaf. Dyna pam ei bod mor bwysig cofio ein hanes lleol, cynnal perth nasoedd rhwng gwahanol grwpiau a dathlu amrywiaeth.

Y thema ar gyfer mis hanes pobl ddu 2022 yw ‘Amser i newid: Gweithredu nid geiriau’. Mae Undeb Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Caerdydd wedi mynd ati trwy gydol y mis i ddod a’r ymgyrch hon yn fyw trwy ddathlu cyflawniadau a chyfraniadau pobl ddu yng Nghaerdydd a ledled y byd i hyrwyddo cynhwysiant a chryfhau cymuned myfyrwyr.

Gwrthdaro rhwng y Prif Weinidog a’r Ceidwadwyr

Efa Ceiri Golygydd Taf-od

Mewn

dadl yn seiliedig ar y gwasanaeth iechyd yng Nghymru ddydd Mawrth 18 o Hydref, fe welwyd Mark Drakeford yn colli ei dymer gydag arweinyddd y Tori aid Cymreig, Andrew RT Davies.

Heriodd Andrew RT Davies y Prif Weinidog am berfformiad y gwasana eth iechyd yng Nghymru, gan nodi’r achosion lle’r oedd cleifion yn cael eu gorfodi i aros oriau am ambiwlansys. Ymatebodd Mark Drakeford yn gandryll i feirniadaeth Andrew RT Davies gan gyhuddo plaid Andrew RT Davies o ef feithio enw da y Deyrnas Unedig.

Gofynnodd y Prif Weinidog: “Ry dych chi’n meddwl eich bod chi’n gallu troi fyny yma y prynhawn yma i hawlio rhyw fath o dir uchel moesol. Pa fath o fyd ydych chi’n perthyn iddo?”

Wrth i densiynau godi, gorfodwyd Llywydd y Senedd, Elin Jones i annog

Mr Drakeford ac Andrew RT Davies dawelu.

Arweiniodd hyn at sylw manwl yn y cyfryngau, gyda Gohebydd Seneddol BBC Cymru yn San Steffan, Elliw Gwawr yn nodi nad ydyw erioed wedi gweld y Prif Weinidog mor flin a hyn.

Ymatebodd Prif Weinidog yr Alban, Nicola Sturgeon i’r digwyddiad ar Twit

ter gan nodi ei bod hi “100% gyda Mark Drakeford yn ei ddicter a’i rwystrediga eth tuag at y Torïaidd sydd yn ceisio rhoi morthwyl yn yr economi a gwasana ethau cyhoeddus, ac yna yn ymddwyn fel nad oes gan y canlyniadau ddim i’w wneud â nhw. Maent yn gwneud yn un ion yr un peth yn yr Alban.”

Daeth y gwrthdaro yn y Senedd yn di

lyn Rhybudd y Canghellor Jeremy Hunt ddydd Llun, 17 o Hydref am y toriadau gwariant. Nododd Mr Hunt na fydd trethdalwyr incwm yn cael toriad i’r gyfradd sylfaenol ac bydd cymorth ynni cyffredinol yn dod i ben ym mis Ebrill. Yn ôl y Gweinidof Cyllid Cymru bod y Llywodraeth Lafur yng Nghaerdydd yn hynod bryderus ar ôl i Mr Hunt ddweud bod mwy o benderfyniadau ar doriadau gwariant i ddod. Fe all hyn gael effaith ar gyllideb Lywodraeth Cymru sydd yn ariannu’r GIG, yn ogystal âg ysgolion. Ymatebodd Prif Weinidog Cymru i rybuddion Jeremy Hunt gan ddweud ar Twitter y bydd gweithredoedd y cang hellor yn “crebachu’r economi gan acho si dirwasgiad dyfnach a hirach. Byddwn i gyd yn gorfod talu’r pris am eu methi annau. Er na ydym yn gallu eich amddif fyn yn llawn yn erbyn y toriadau yma, byddwn yn parhau I wneud popeth a allwn i’ch helpu trwy’r argyfwng hwn.”

Dathlu mis hanes pobl ddu a’r her denu athrawon o leiafrifoedd ethnig

dangos yng Nghymru yw’r niferoedd isel o athrawon o leiafrifoedd ethnig. Mae’r gweinidog addysg yn dweud bod yna her wrth geisio denu rhagor o athrawon o gefndir du, Asiaidd neu leiafrif ethnig i ddysgu yn ysgolion Cymru.

Mae’n dod wrth i Lywodra eth Cymru arwain y ffordd yn y Deyrnas Unedig trwy fod y wlad gyntaf i gyhoeddi bod hanes a phrofiadau pobl o leiafrif ethnig yn hanfodol a gorfodol i’r cwricwlwm yn ysgolion Cymru.

ethnig cymysg/lluosog, 75 o athrawon Asiaidd/Asiaidd Prydeinig, 30 athrawon o gr wpiau ethnig eraill a 220 yn anhysbys.

M

is Hydref yw mis hanes pobl ddu, mis pwysig lle ry dym yn nodi cyflawniadau a chyfraniadau aruthrol pobl o dreftadaeth Affrica naidd, Arabaidd, Asiaidd a Charibïaidd i bob agwedd

ar gymdeithas. Cafodd y digwyddiad ei gydnabod yn swyddogol gan Lywodraeth yr Unol Daleithiau ym 1976, a’i ddathlu yn y DU am y tro cyntaf ym 1987. Mae hefyd yn gyfle i edrych ar yr hyn sydd angen eu newid hyd heddiw a’r problemau yngh lych y pwnc.

Un her sydd wedi ymd

Yn mis Mehefin 2022, cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru arolwg sy’n dangos bod cyn lleied â 305 o ath rawon yn ystried eu hunain yn dod o gefndir ethnig lleia friol i gymharu â 25,915 o athrawon sy’n ystried eu hu nain yn dod o gefndir gwyn. Mae’r arolwg yn dangos bod 165 o athrawon o grwpiau

Yn ogystal â hyn, bydd athrawon yn cael hyfford diant gwrth-hiliaeth yng Nghymru. Daw hyn wrth i ddisgyblion siarad am eu profiadau â hiliaeth yn yr ysgol. Bydd y cwricwlwm newydd yn seiliedig ar chwech maes dysgu a phro fiadau ond nid yw’r cynnwys wedi cael ei nodi yn union eto. Fodd bynnag, bydd y newidiadau hyn yn golygu y bydd angen i’r chwech maes dysgu adlewyrchu profiadau a chyfraniadau amrywiol cymunedau ac unigolion i Gymru’r gorffennol a’r pre sennol. Mae Llywodraeth Cymru yn rhoi pwyslais ar greu newidiadau i Gymru trwy geisio gwneud Cymru

yn genedl wrth-hiliaeth erbyn 2030 ac yn gobeithio bydd addysg yn chwarae rhan fawr yn y cynllun hwn. Yn ystod y mis, mae’r Brifysgol wedi paratoi dig wyddiadau gan gynnwys 3 digwyddiad ar y 14eg o Hy dref gan gynnwys ‘meet & greet’, lolfa goffi i fyfyrwyr rhyngwladol a dathliadau Caerdydd. Mae digwyddia dau eraill yn cynnwys trafo daethau panel ‘Black British Music and Me’ ar y 18fed o Hydref a dangos hanes hili aeth y digwyddiad cerdyn coch ar y 21ain o Hydref.

:(Tarddiad: Wicipedia)

Nansi Eccott

Lowri Davies

Anest Williams

Ceiri

Lowri Davies Golygydd Taf-od

Millie Stacey Golygydd Taf-od

Megan Haf Davies

Millie Stacey

Mae mis hanes pobl ddu yn ffordd o ddarganfod a dathlu’r hanes, y dreftadaeth a’r diwylliant hwnnw,”

Un her sydd wedi ymddangos yng Nghymru yw’r niferoedd isel o athrawon o leiafri foedd ethnig.

Ddaeth y gwrthdaro yn dilyn dadl am y GIG Tarddiad: Wojtek Gurak (Via flickr)

Prisiau tai yng Nghymru ar eu huchaf erioed.

Nansi Eccott Pennaeth Taf-od

parhau i gynyddu hyd at 2.2%.

Yn

ôl Cymdeithas Adeiladu Principality, mae pris cyfartalog tŷ yng Nghymru ar ei uchaf erioed- ffigur o dros £245,000.

Adrodda’r Gymdeithas Adeiladu bris cyfartalog tŷ yng Nghymru ar gyfer trydydd chwarter y flwyddyn (Gorffennaf 2022 – Medi 2022) fel ffigur swyddogol o £245,893. Ym mis Gorffennaf eleni adrod dwyd bod y pris tŷ cyfartalog yng Nghymru ar ei uchaf wrth fwrw £240,000 am y tro cyntaf ond ers hyn gwelir bod y swm hwn wedi

Ym mis Gorffennaf eleni adroddwyd bod y pris tŷ cyfartalog yng Nghymru ar ei uchaf wrth fwrw £240,000 ”

Gwelwyd cynnydd ym mhrisiau tai ym mhob un o 22 awdurdod lleol y wlad ers y llynedd gyda 16 o’r awdurdodau hyn yn adrodd cynnydd sydd uwchben y gyfradd chwyddiant (9.9%). Torrwyd record am bris cyfartalog tŷ mewn 9 o awdurdodau lleol Cymru a gw elwyd cynnydd o dros 15% mewn prisiau tai ym 5 o’r awdurdodau hyn (Sir y Fflint, Ceredigion, Bro Morgannwg, Rhondda Cynon Taf a Blaenau Gwent).

Dros y flwyddyn ddiwethaf, gwelwyd cynnydd o 12.4% yng nghyfartaledd prisiau tai ar hyd a lled Cymru. Roedd y cynnydd ar ei uchaf ym Mro Morgannwg gyda’r pris cyfartalog presennol 17.6% yn uwch na’r llynedd. Golyga hyn bod y tŷ cyfartalog yn y sir hon ar werth am bris o £355,590 gyda phris cyfartalog am dŷ ar wahân yn benodol yn codi i £573,141. Er y costau uchel, Bro Morgan

nwg yw’r trydydd ar y rhestr o ran cyflog cyfartalog trigolion siroedd Cymru wrth gofnodi cyfartaledd o £29,187 tu ôl i Sir Fynwy (£33,340) a Sir y Fflint (£32,771).

Yng Nghaerdydd, bu cynnydd o 7.4% wrth i bris cyfartalog tŷ godi i £299,592 yn gyffredinol. Gwel wyd cynnydd ym mhris cyfartalog tŷ ar wahân (£502,533), tŷ pâr (£328,464,) tŷ teras (£280,548) a fflat (£151,891) yn y Brifddinas. Y Dreth Cyngor Cyfartalog yng Nghaerdydd yw £1,416 gyda phreswylwyr cyfartalog y ddi nas yn ennill cyflog blynyddol o £27,707.

Mae gan dai Cymru pris cyfar talog is o gymharu â’r Deyrnas Unedig gyfan. Ym mis Awst 2022, adroddwyd gan Lywodraeth y DU mai £295,903 oedd y pris cyfarta log am dŷ ledled y DU (cynnydd o 13.6% ers y llynedd). Yn wahanol i Gymru, mae’r ffigur hwn yn is na chynnydd Gorffennaf 2022 a

Pryd o Daf-od Ben Davies

gyrhaeddodd 16%.

Dyma bwnc sy’n peri gofid i nifer o bobl ifanc a’r rheiny sy’n ystyried prynu tŷ am y tro cyntaf. Dywedodd Llywodraeth Cymru wrth BBC Cymru Fyw ei bod yn ymwybodol o hyn ac “yn gwneud newidiadau i’r dreth trafodiadau tir fel na fydd y rhan fwyaf o bobl sy’n prynu eu prif gartref, gan gynnwys y rhai sy’n prynu am y tro cyntaf, yn talu unrhyw dreth ar y pryniant -

“Mae ein cynlluniau fel Cy morth i Brynu, yn darparu cy morth ariannol i bobl sydd eisiau prynu cartref.”

Yng Nghaerdydd, bu cynnydd o 7.4% wrth i bris cyfartalog tŷ godi i £299,592 yn gyffredi nol ”

Barn Y Bobl-Ydy Gŵyl Calan Gaeaf yn hybu arferion siopa drwg?

Angharad Samuel Blwyddyn 3 Cymraeg ac Newyddiaduraeth

Gyda Gŵyl Calan Gaeaf rownd y cornel, mae nifer fawr ohonom wrthi’n cynllunio ein gwisgoedd ffansi blynyddol ac yn casglu ad durniadau o’r siopau mawr i lenwi’r tŷ unwaith eto. Ond ydy pobl wir yn deall y canlyniadau sy’n dod wrth ailadrodd yr un arferion siopa pob blwyddyn ar ddiwedd Hydref?

Roeddwn

i wedi synnu ar ba mor hawdd oedd cael gafael ar docyn i’r trydydd derby fwyaf yng Nghymru (Bydd o fyth yn dod yn agos i Fangor V Gaer narfon neu Llanberis V Llanrug) gan fod cefnogwyr o’r ddau ochr gwastad yn marchnata’r gêm fel un o’r fwyaf yn y pyramid pêl droed Prydeinig, ond cefais afael ar do cyn yn yr eisteddle gorllewinol, neu’r ardal i gefnogwyr crand yn ôl ffrind a oedd yn berchen ar do cyn tymor Abertawe.

rth drafeilio yn ôl ac ymlaen o Gaerdydd, dydw i ddim yn coelio mi wnes i gyfarfod ac un cefnogwr Caerdydd drwy’r dydd. Roeddwn i’n ymwybodol o statws y derby fel ‘Bubble fixture’ olaf ym Mhrydain ond mi wnes i ddim amgyffred ar y gwir ymdrech i gadw’r ddau grŵp o gefnogwyr ar wahân tan i mi fynychu’r gêm fy hun. Roedd y ffaith bod popeth wedi mynd mor esmwyth rhwng cefnogwyr drwy’r dydd wedi gwneud i mi bendroni pam bod rhai o osodiadau fwyaf

angerddol byd pêl droed ddim yn dilyn yr un patrwm.

Roedd y gêm ei hun yn un di fyr o’r cychwyn, gyda Chaerdydd yn cael cyfleoedd addawol yn y 5 munud cyntaf cyn i Callum Rob inson wthio pêl yng ngwyneb Ben Cabango a chael ei wahardd o’r cae yn y broses. Dydw i ddim yn coelio buasai’r penderfyniad wedi bod mor llym ar yr ymosodwr Gwyddeleg heb os nac oni bai am yr achlysur ei hun. Credaf bua sai dyfarnwr mewn gem arferol wedi cyhoeddi cerdyn melyn am y digwyddiad, ond bu gravitas yr achlysur yn chwarae mewn i’r penderfyniad, sydd yn un o’r rhesymau credaf fod y derby yma byth yn llwyddo i siomi o safbw ynt ei ffactor adloniant.

Bu colled Robinson yn glir i weld yn syth, gydag unrhyw gyfleoedd gan Gaerdydd yn cael eu hatal yn gyfforddus gan y tri chawr yn y cefn i Abertawe. Roedd yn braf gweld bachgen lleol; Ollie Cooper (asgellwr a ddylai yn sicr fod ar yr

awyren i Qatar gyda llaw) yn rhoi Abertawe ar y blaen gydag ergyd pwerus yn taro’r rhwyd oddi ar y croesfar.

Mae hanes y ddau glwb o gyn nwys chwaraewyr lleol y derby yma yn un o’r ffactorau sy’n gwneud i Abertawe/ Gaerdydd sefyll allan pan wedi eu cymharu â gemau derby arall ym Mhry dain. Wrth edrych ar osodiadau fel Lerpwl/ Everton a derby Man ceinion, lle bu efallai un chwarae wr lleol yn cael eu cynnwys yn y tîm, teimlaf fod y mewnlifiad o fechgyn lleol sydd wedi cael eu magu o amgylch y clwb ac yn deall be mae’r gêm yn golygu i’r cefnogwyr a’u dinasoedd yn gwel la lefel o angerdd y gêm.Enl y gêm yn gyfforddus o ddau gol i ddim, a gyda 83% o feddiant yn y broses, yr uchaf yn y bencampwriaeth blwyddyn yma.

Dydw i ddim am hawlio fy mod i’n hollol addysgedig ar y ddau glwb gan fy mod o’r Gogledd a byth wedi gwirioneddol dilyn naill

dîm, ond roeddwn i wedi synnu ar cymaint oedd y diwylliant a oedd yn bresennol ac o amgylch Clwb Pêl Droed Abertawe yn cofleidio’r fantell o ‘You Jack B*****d’. Allai ddim meddwl am esiampl arall ym myd chwaraeon ble mae cy nodiad negyddol fel ‘b*****d’ wedi cael ei chroesawu i fod yn rhan bwysig o ddiwylliant clwb i’r pw ynt lle bu chwaraewyr fel Jamie Patterson yn cynnwys yr hashnod “YJB” ar Drydar ar ôl gemau.

Roedd fy mhrofiad cyntaf yn gwylio Caerdydd yn erbyn Aber tawe yn bleserus a diddorol a by ddaf yn sicr yn ceisio dychwelyd i’r gosodiad yn y dyfodol, ond er ei ffactor adloniant o bersbectif niwtral, credaf dylai cefnogwyr y ddau glwb dod i ambell gêm yn y gogledd pe bai eisio gweld awyr gylch a buasai’n gwneud i Aber tawe/Caerdydd swnio fel llyfrgell.

Trafod gyda’r Taf-od Gruffudd ab Ieuan

Beth wyt ti’n astudio ac i le wyt ti’n dod?

Dwi’n astudio civil engi neering ac yn dod o Lanbed rog yn Mhen Llŷn

Vodka neu Gin? Vodka

Beth yw dy farn amhoblo gaidd? Mae films yn boring

Oes gen ti unrhyw arferion drwg?

Cerddad yn slo (yn ôl Cyn wal)

Hoff albwm? Sugno gola (Gwilym)

Beth wyt ti’n edrych ymlaen at wneud eleni?

Chwara rygbi efo gym gym a gwylio’r autumn interna tionals a chwpan y byd

Hoff jôc? Be tin galw iglw heb doilet? IG

Sut wyt ti’n gwella hango ver? Dwi just yn diodda

Beth oedd y ffilm ddiwethaf i ti wylio?

Dwi ddim yn cofio

Hoff gân carioci?

Rebal Wicend- Bryn Fon

Pwy yw dy seleb crush?

Liz Truss

Pwy fydd yn trafod gyda’r Taf-od wythnos nesaf?

Ben Scott

Beth ydy’r ŵyl yn golygu i nifer o deuluoedd yng Nghymru? Losin, gwisgoedd ffansi ac addurniadau ofnus bydd eu hateb siŵr o fod. Ond y realiti yw bod y gwisgoedd, addur niadau a phapurau gwastraff y losin yn mynd i gael eu taflu i ffwrdd ar ôl i ni groesawu mis Tachwedd, a daw hyn a goblygiadau negyddol i’n planed.

Wrth gwrs mae siopau yn man teisio ar y cyfle i wneud elw o’r ŵyl, ond cyn rhedeg i B&M ar ôl gweld haul Halloween rhyw influencer ar Instagram, meddyliwch, oes gwir angen prynu pethau newydd blwyddyn yma? Oes modd ailgyl chu deunydd llynedd? Mae newid hinsawdd yn bwnc digon brawychus yn ei hun, ac felly beth am helpu’r sefyllfa wrth fod yn fwy synhwyrol y Calan Gaeaf hwn?

Betsan Angell Blwyddyn 2 Cymraeg a’r Gweithle Proffesiynol

Hydref 31, Calan Gaeaf. Mynd mas mewn gwisg ffansi (sydd lot rhy oer i’r adeg yma o’r flwyddyn). Mae’n esgus am barti, am noson fawr ond o weld pawb yn ei polyes ter, codai’r cwestiwn: Beth sy’n dig wydd i’r gwisgoedd yma rŵan?

Mae’r rhan fwyaf o wisgoedd ffan si yn cael eu gwneud o ddeunyddiau synthetig sydd ddim yn bioddiradwy felly pan maen nhw yn y pendraw yn cyrraedd safle tirlenwi fydden nhw yno am oes. Heb sôn am ba mor wael yw polyester i’r amgylchedd gan ei fod yn cael ei greu gan gemegau (ethyl glycol ac asid therephthalic) sy’n dod o danwydd ffosil.

Dwi ddim yn erbyn calan gaeaf fel noson, mae hwyl i’w cael ond efal lai ei bod hi’n amser i ni ail feddwl beth ydym yn gwisgo. Creu gwisg o bethau sydd yn ein cwpwrdd yn barod neu fan bellaf cadw’r wisg i’w wisgo eto. Achos dydi un noson ddim gwerth dinistrio’r blaned drosto.

Ysgrifenna Nansi Eccott am y cynnydd diweddar yng nghostau’r farchnad dai

A yw enwogion yn fwy tebygol o ddianc rhag cyhuddiadau o drais rhywiol?

Ygwirionedd anffodus yn ein byd cyfoes yw bod trais rhywiol yn dal i fodoli, a gwelwn sawl achlysur yn y cyfryngau yn ddiweddar lle bu enwo gion yn derbyn honiadau yn eu herbyn. Mae’n deg i ddweud fod enwogion yn dueddol o gael sawl stori ffug wedi’u hysgrifennu amdanynt, ond i ba raddau y mae’n haws iddynt ddianc o sefyllfaoedd anodd oblegid eu cyfoethogrwydd?

Ceir lliaws o esiamplau ond y rhai sydd yn cylchu’r cyfryngau ar hyn o bryd yw Mason Greenwood, y chwaraewr Pêldroed a’r canwr Rex Orange County.

Mae Alexander James O’Connor, neu efallai yn fwy adnabyddus i’r cyhoedd fel ‘Rex Orange County’ wedi ei gyhuddo o sawl honiad o drais rhywiol dros yr wythnosau diwethaf.

Daeth y canwr i’r amlwg gyda’i albwm cyntaf “Bcos U will never B free” yn 2015 ac ers hynny cyhoeddodd sawl darn o gerddoriaeth a brofwyd yn boblogaidd gyda phobl ifanc heddiw.

Wrth ddilyn ysbrydoliaeth grwpiau fel ABBA a Queen wrth dyfu lan, roedd y byd cerddorol yn llwybr naturiol iddo felly.

Ond ar y 10fed o Hydref 2022, ym ddangosodd yn y Llys ar ôl cael ei gy huddo o chwe achos o drais rhywiol. Honnwyd bod yr achosion yma wedi

digwydd ym Mehefin 2021. Plediodd y canwr yn ddieuog a chafodd ei ryddhau ar fechnïaeth gyda threial yn cael ei gyn nal ar y 3ydd o Ionawr 2023. Tybed a fydd ei enwogrwydd o fantais iddo yn y treial hwn? Gyda llawer yn fwy tebygol o gydymdeimlo neu fod yn unllygeidiog oherwydd ei nifer o ddilynwyr?

Esiampl arall o hyn fydd Mason Greenwood, y Chwaraewr Pêl-droed adnabyddus, ‘Manchester United’. Un o Bowdon ym Manceinion yw Greenwood a ni allwn ddadlau ei fod yn seren o fewn y byd Pêl-droed. Cafodd ei gyhuddo ym mis Ionawr o drais rhywiol ar ôl cais o

dreisio.

Dechreuwyd cais yn ei erbyn yn di lyn honiadau, sbardunwyd gan luniau a fideos yn cael eu rhoi ar-lein. Y mae wedi bod ar fechnïaeth ers mis Ionawr, cytunwyd ar ei ryddhad o dan amodau llym a doedd dim hawl ganddo gyfath rebu gyda’r tystion neu’r achwynydd. Cafodd ei arestio eto yn ddiweddar am dorri’r rheolau yma.

Wrth sôn am yr achos yma, rydym yn sôn am y cyfnod rhwng Tachwedd 2018 a Hydref 2022. Dyma’r cyfnod o le dda eth cwynion am ei ymddygiad gormesol,

anaddas. Mae’r 3 cyhuddiad i gyd yn perthyn i’r un fenyw, ac ar sawl achlysur yr oedd ‘gwir niwed corfforol’. O fewn oriau o’r honiadau, cafodd y peldroediwr ei wahardd dros dro o chwarae am y tîm llwyddiannus, ‘Old Trafford Club’. Er gwaharddwyd erbyn y diwedd, ceir sawl cwestiwn am pam na chafodd ei wahardd yn gynt, oherwydd pasioddd 11 mis ers yr honiad gyntaf. A yw hyn yn gysylltiedig â statws Green wood o fewn y gymdeithas? Neu am harodrwydd y clwb i golli un o’i sêr ar y cae? Tybed a yw’n rhywbeth yn ym wneud a pheidio tarfu ar stereoteipiau pêl-droedwyr, a’r cyfryngau yn ceisio gwarchod enw da’r tîm?

Rhaid i ni ofyn y cwestiwn a fydd y se fyllfa yn wahanol os nad oedd platfform gyda’r bobl yma? Mae’r ymchwiliadau dal yn mynd yn eu blaen, a does dim penderfyniad parhaol wedi ei wneud eto ynglŷn â dyfodol y ddau trafodaf uchod. Dydyn nhw ddim wedi dianc rhag y se fyllfa yn gyfan gwbl, ond cwbl ddiniwed fydd meddwl nad oedd y ffaith eu bod nhw’n enwogion ac yn gyfoethog wedi eu helwa mewn rhyw ffordd. A fyddem yn ymateb yn yr un ffordd i unigolion yr ydym yn gweld o ddydd i ddydd? Did dorol yw gofyn y cwestiynau yma ac ystyried ein tuedd ein hunain, a’r dylan wad mae diwylliant enwog yn effeithio arnom yn ein byd cyfoes.

Adolygiad: Tylwyth

Penderfyniad munud olaf oedd hi i fynd i theatr y Sherman ddiwedd mis Medi i wylio’r ddrama hon, ac felly pan eisteddais yn y brif theatr y noson honno, doedd gen i ddim disgw yliadau uchel na syniad gwir o beth oedd am fy niddanu. O’r olygfa gyntaf, lledae

nodd gwefr trwy’r gynulleidfa. Dyma Simon Watts, sy’n chwarae’r prif gymeri ad, Aneurin, yn sefyll yn ei holl ogoni ant yng nghanol y llwyfan ac yn adrodd addasiad modern, ffraeth o’r Gododdin. Beiddgar, dros-ben-llestri a’n anhygoel o ddoniol yw ‘Tylwyth’ o’r olygfa gyntaf hwnnw. Mae moderneiddio’r Gododdin yn athrylithgar, ac mae’r cyfosod cyson hwn rhwng yr 21ain ganrif a’r 6ed ganrif yn arloesol gan ystyried bod pynciau’r ddrama hon yn torri tir newydd yn ni wylliant Cymru.

Hawliodd Tylwyth lwyfan y Sherman am y tro cyntaf yn 2020, er ei bod yn sioe ddilynol i ‘Llwyth’ a berfformiwyd yn 2010. Serch hyn, saif y ddrama hon yn hyderus ar ei phen ei hun. Mae gallu Daf James, ysgrifennydd y ddrama, i blethu pynciau dwys i sgript ffraeth yn grefft yn ei hun ac yn gyfraniad sylweddol i lwyddiant y ddrama. Ffocws y sgript hon

yw portreadu bywyd dynion hoyw yng Nghaerdydd, gydag Aneurin yn cysylltu’r holl gymeriadau. Cyflwynir sawl safbw ynt ynglŷn â phynciau sydd wedi corddi’r byd ers degawdau bellach : trais domes tig, HIV, godinebu, cyffuriau. Ceir sawl cic a chweryl trwy gydol y sioe wrth i Aneurin amau pob cyfeillgarwch yn ei fywyd, wrth iddo feirniadu penderfynia dau ei ffrindiau a throi’n ôl at gyffuriau. Yn ei boen a’i benbleth, mae Aneurin yn cwympo i we pry cop o gwestiynau dwys am y byd, ac yn datgan ‘na ddylai’ cwpl hoyw gael plant. Er yn newid ei feddwl yn hwyrach, dyma un o’r ffyrdd y mae’r sgript a’r cast yn medru corddi’r gynul leidfa a’u cwestiynu nhw.

A’r ddrama a’r gynulleidfa ar daith: o gartref Aneurin a’i deulu, i glwb nos Pulse ac i’r ysbyty, gyda pherthynas An eurin a Rhys yn ganolbwynt iddi. Er yn ddigon tymhestlog, mae’r gynulleidfa’n

cyraedd y cyrchfan yn teimlo rhyddhad bodlon. Yn fy marn i, Aled ap Steffan yw un o’r rhai sy’n serennu fwyaf ar y llwyfan. Yn actio cymeriad Gavin, ll wydda Aled i gyflwyno cymeriad bregus, dinistriol sy’n dioddef o drais domestig mewn modd adfywiol, aeddfed a ffraeth. Cymeriad agos i Gavin yw Dada, wedi’i actio’n wych gan Danny Grehan. Dyma gymeriad cymhleth arall, un sy’n dioddef o HIV ac yn byw er mwyn helpu eraill. Mae pob cymeriad yn y ddrama hon yn haeddu drama eu hunain: profa bob un ohonyn nhw ddatblygiad personol uni gryw erbyn diwedd y sioe.

Dyma ddrama ffantastig o unigryw, ac yn sicr un o’r goreuon dw i ‘di eu gweld erioed. Cast anhygoel a sgript hyd yn oed gwell. Comedi pur gyda phynciau pwysig sy’n rhaid eu trafod yn y Gymru gyfoes.

Megan Haf Davies

Golygydd Taf-od

Anest Williams

Golygydd Taf-od

Yn fy marn i, Aled ap Steffan yw un o’r rhai sy’n serennu fwyaf ar y llwyfan .”

Megan Davies sydd yn trafod yr honiadau yn erbyn y canwr sydd yn cael ei adnabod fel ‘Rex Orange County’

Rex Orange County yn perfformio cân o’i albwm diwed daraf. Tarddiad: Tarddiad: Skyler Pradhan (via Wikimedia commons)

Roedd Aelwyd y Waun Ddyfal yn perfformio fel rhan o’r cast yn Theatr y Sherman. Tarddiad: Aelwyd y Waun Ddyfal

Beth Alaw Williams

Jasmine Jones Deputy Editor

Katherine Seymour

George Symonds Head of News

Shivika Singh News Editor

Lowri Powell

Luis Atkinson News Editor

Ruhaab Khalid Features Editor

Grace Robson Features Editor

Anest Williams Golygydd Tafod

Efa Ceiri Golygydd Tafod

Nansi Eccott Pennaeth Tafod

Lowri Davies Golygydd Tafod

Alanya Smith Copy Editor

Charlotte Grant Copy Editor Claudia Titcome

Editor

Efa Prydderch

Elliw Williams

Lois Campbell

Lily Barry

Megan

Stacey Golygydd

Alys Mai Walters Copy Editor

Billy Edwards

Haris Hussnain

Alice Moore Head

Jack Darlington Social Media Editor

Harris Hussnain Social Media Editor

Emily Smith Head of Digital

Jasmine Jones Head of Sport

Ryan Harris Jewell Sport Editor

Eloise Martin Sport Editor

Katie Bowen Copy Editor

Masie Granger Copy Editor

Scarlett Carpenter Copy Editor

COMMENT

Is progression in sports destroying the bodies of young athletes?

At 22 years old, Kevin Pearce suffered a trau matic brain injury whilst training for an upcoming snow boarding championship. After a season of winning consecutive titles in various competitions, noted as the prime competitor to Shawn White, the injury marked the end of his professional career. Pearce’s injury however was not an isolated incident; over the last 20 years sport-related inju ries (especially in those labelled ‘extreme sports’) have become more and more frequent, despite major improvements in safety equipment and technical gear. What has facilitated this increase in sports-related injuries? What does this mean for the future of young athletes?

One reason for this rise in inju ries can be linked to the idea that progression in sports has evolved much faster than the human body can cope. Mike Douglas, a professional skier, has argued that the rise in injuries such as TBI (traumatic brain injuries), is a result of the intensification of outdoor sports. He argues the heights and velocities that ath letes are frequently competing at are unsustainable for the human body. For instance, at Olympiclevel snowboarding, the standard height for a half pipe is 22 feet (7 metres) whilst elite snowboard ers typically perform stunts at

least 20 feet over this pipe. Con sidering a fall from even 10 feet is enough to fracture the skull, snowboarders are in danger of sustaining multiple injuries dur ing competition if they are un able to land correctly. This is an issue that is mirrored across all kinds of sports. Skiers regularly reach speeds of 100 mph during a downhill descent, meaning that crashes are frequent and the inju ries they sustain are catastrophic.

However, the intensification of sports did not always exist. In the 80s, half pipes were about four feet tall, and snowboarders performed very basic stunts. Al though technology in the form of safety equipment was less devel oped, the stunts themselves were not dangerous enough to cause major injury. It is important to question, therefore, how have sports reached a point of pro gression beyond the capabilities

of the human body? In his docu mentary ‘The Crash Reel’, Pearce noted that he had felt pressure from sponsors to perform in creasingly daring stunts in order to garner media attention. Sports broadcasting was (and still is) a multi-million form of entertain ment, drawing in viewership from a broad range of audiences. However, it is also a highly satu rated field, meaning that spon sors must use a degree of ‘shock factor’ (that arises from danger ous stunts) to draw in viewers. This can also be seen in brands such as Red Bull, where extreme sports athletes are shown con suming the drink before embark ing on an off-road venture.

Furthermore, sport has reached levels of competition never seen before. In a field were landing a triple axel (a stunt that requires three full rotations midair) in competitions was unheard

Has Halloween shut off the Bonfire night lights?

As the culmination of the spooky season has come and we have all planned, designed and partied in our fancy dress, we are beginning to enter the run up to Christmas (as shown by Cardiff Winter Wonderland beginning to be built). Cardiff Students Union’s Yol loween and every nightclub/venue across the city have hosted events for the big holiday. But how many of us actually have plans for Bonfire night? We’ll be discussing how the different holidays have taken differ ent priority, if Halloween has truly washed out the flames of the bonfire or if there are more factors like glo balisation in play.

Despite popular belief, Halloween is not actually an American holiday, as it instead finds its origins over 2000 years ago where the Celts lit town bonfires to ward off the evil spirits of the undead on October

31st. However, starting during the 20th century, the USA has massively driven the holiday to be the capital ist extravaganza it is today. It’s not uncommon to see houses decorated in sequenced lighting and decora tions as you drive up any American suburb and increasingly the same in the UK as well. Meanwhile, we are seeing Bonfire Night events can celled across Britain (including in Cardiff) - but why is this? Why is Bonfire night dying out, when Hal loween is thriving?

Well part of the answer could lie in the nature of Bonfire night, espe cially with how it was a historically unique British event. Therefore, there isn’t an international incentive to care or to celebrate it across the world, as it doesn’t have the same party appeal as Christmas, Hallow een or even Mardi Gras have. On top of this, Bonfire Night used to be a unique/special occasion, ten, twenty, thirty years ago, the pros pect of seeing fireworks in the night sky was a spectacle; but as the years

have gone by we have all seen them standard fireworks a dozen times now (as well as been kept up awake by them), so the charm has certainly been lost too.

Another reason can be found in the loss of community that has hap pened with globalisation. If you look at any community in the UK you can

see local community organisations are in dire straits, with over 800 li braries/community centres shutting since 2010 according to the New Statesman. As the internet has taken these shared spaces away from the real world into the virtual landscape, community events such as fireworks

of even four years ago, figure skaters now find they must land quads (four full rotations) to even have a chance of reaching the leader board. This intensification of competition has meant that athletes are now having to per form more complicated routines in order to achieve medals, yet with detrimental consequences to their minds and bodies. It is important then, that we must find new ways to progress sports without driving athletes to limits beyond their capabilities.

Sports broadcasting was (and still is) a multi-million form of entertainment, drawing in viewership from a broad range of audiences”

at Bonfire Night have also suffered as people simply know their local communities less and less well.

So has Halloween killed bon fire night? It’s hard to say as due to their proximity and Christmas be ing round the corner, Halloween has certainly engulfed Bonfire Night in the minds of the public. Yet it has also been a victim of the modern globalised world taking its shine to it. Whether it should be consigned to the flames of history or not is up for debate, after all do we save Bon fire Night like Sir Thomas Knyvett saved the Houses of Parliament all those years ago?

Halloween...finds its origins over 2000 years ago where the Celts lit town bonfiresto ward off the evil spirits of the undead on October 31st.”

Clelia Frondaroli Head of Comment

Snowboarding stunts are becoming progressively more dangerous. (Source: Stephans02, Via Fickr)

Halloween night continues to thrive. Source: Petr Kratochivl (Via Public Domain Pictures)

Clelia Frondaroli

Evan Johnson-Charteris

Frances Marsh

Evan Johnson-Charteris

Clelia Frondaroli writes about how the intensification of extreme sports is harming athletes

Personalisation gone too far? How TikTok’s algorithm is changing social media

Frances Marsh Comment Editor

Social media has long been known to use algorithms to tailor its content, this is by no means a new phenomenon. Howev er, TikTok has taken this concept to a whole new level. The social media platform is notorious for its incred ibly specific ‘for you page’ feature, which shows users content based on their interests, political views, lifestyle and more. This feature is so specifically tailored that it’s possible for two people using the platform to have entirely different experiences; trends which might seem to be eve rywhere for one person can com pletely pass someone else by.

This is largely praised as a posi tive thing; it allows users to never see content that they find boring or disagree with, and it pushes creators’ content out to people who actually want to see it. This means that even someone who has a very minimal fol lowing can have their video blow up unexpectedly, as people who have a genuine interest interact and push it onto more people’s feeds. This largely eliminates the need for com mon things on other social media platforms such as hashtags, instead, the app does the work for you. This is particularly useful for small busi nesses that may have previously struggled to reach their intended market, as they can now advertise their products or services to the peo ple who actually want to see them.

Furthermore, many musicians have found that their music is reaching hundreds of thousands of people on the app, even if they’re relatively un known.

Whilst of course pushing the mu sic to a larger audience is always a positive thing, it is also difficult to keep this momentum up, as the al gorithm is often unpredictable in which videos it pushes the most. For instance, whilst one video could have millions of views, the next one the artist posts might not get as many. This is worsened by the fact that Tik Tok is in many ways eliminating the need to follow creator’s pages. Many users will solely stick to their ‘for you page’ since the videos are all things TikTok thinks they’ll be interested

in anyway, and people don’t feel the need to follow creators as their vid eos will eventually pop up on their feed if it’s something they would be interested in. This has subsequently created a trend of one hit wonders, who have one song top the charts and are never able to reach the same success.

Another slightly more sinister problem with TikTok’s algorithm is its ability to reinforce the opinions people hold. When you’re only see ing videos that are tailored to your worldview, it’s easy to think that eve ryone agrees with your way of seeing the world. This becomes particularly problematic when it comes to things such as politics, where a balanced and fair view of the information is

Many musicians have found that their music is reaching hundreds of thousands of people on the app, even if they’re relatively unknown”

crucial to making informed deci sions. It’s also concerning when con sidering that many of TikTok’s users are children, who are particularly susceptible to being influenced. For example, when a teenage boy inter acts with a video that expresses mi sogynistic views (such as an Andrew Tate video), the algorithm assumes this is the content they want to see and keeps pushing it onto their feed. This can very quickly mean that this person’s entire ‘for you page’ is now filled with this kind of content, and it’s easy to see how someone could begin to agree with radical or dan gerous views, especially if this is the only content they’re seeing.

TikTok’s algorithm is groundbreaking in many ways, and it cer tainly allows creators who might nev er have been successful in the past to push their content more easily. How ever, it’s important to remember to step back and remind ourselves that often, we are being shown our own views bounced back to us in an echo chamber, and that listening to oppos ing views of our own can sometimes be beneficial.

A reflection on Black History Month

Rume Otuguor reflects on the impact of Black History Month

Rume Otuguor Contributor

BlackHistory Month is celebrat ed during the month of Octo ber here in the UK. It is a time used to celebrate and commemorate the remarkable individuals who col lectively carved out a better future for black people today- albeit one that is still a work in progress. All institu tions usually take part in this revelry from the media to schools to your lo cal Sainsbury’s. The usefulness of such a month is debated and I don’t mean in the culture war, anti-multicultural kind of way. It’s more a question of, is Black History Month doing Black His tory justice? Is it inspiring change? Or is it just another excuse for a mufti day where students donate a pound to the school’s purse.

The theme for this year is – Time for Change: Action not Words. We’ve seen strides in the right direction as of recent with the toppling of the Edward Colston statue – a former slave mer chant- by a group dubbed the Colston four. The Benin Bronzes are also stead ily making their way back from London museums to their home in Nigeria. Al though primary and secondary school

is now a distant memory, it is only my hope that the black history they choose to teach in this month, situates the events of the past in the context of the inequalities that still persist today.

Learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks in Year Four is some thing, but how about who Colston was and how the Benin Bronzes ended up in Britain in the first place? It would arguably be better to start the conver sation at home and assess the things being done to make amends if BHM is

to be useful in UK schools today. When you really think about it, just a month seems like a huge disservice to such a rich and complex history. When you’re working within a 31-day time frame, many important occurrences are sure to be glossed over whereas the moments that do make it are flattened, and stripped of its nuance to fit neatly into an hour history lesson. My point is, it’s not enough. The curriculum at all levels of education needs to be re formed to include black history. When

Are students drinking as much as they used to?

The curriculum at all levels of education needs to be reformed to include black history”

University students have long had the reputation for being some of the heaviest drinkers in the population, but is that still the case? In a study by UCL it was found that 36% of young people in full time education are non-drinkers. There has been a move away from alcohol for a variety of reasons; some students find they don’t have the time or money with rising living costs, while others choose to prioritise their health and studies.

There has also been an increase in alcohol free events run by societies and as part of freshers weeks across the UK. Cardiff’s SU is running a Sober Social week to encourage all societies to run non-alcoholic social events. These events mark significant change and could make coming to university as a non-drinker much less intimidating. It is vital that all students feel like there is space for them, and a chance to be social and engage in the community.

While there is a reduction of peer pressure, with 41% of students saying they never feel that their friends expect them to drink, is it enough? We are all aware of the risks that alcohol can pose but many students overlook its effect because it is such a normalised part of university life. It has been estimated that 10-15% of all drinkers will become dependent and there’s no exception for students. In a NUS survey, 38% of students reported that they found it difficult not to drink too much.

inevitably learning about the world wars, highlighting the contribution of Black servicemen would be a good place to start. In doing this, you’ll find that Black soldiers would fight coura geously on their homeland but weren’t allowed to on the Western Front with White Europeans because the British believed it would undermine their co lonial rule.

Ultimately, the history is there, and in this day and age very accessible. At two opposing ends of the spectrum, we have institutional versus individual responsibility. In schools, the former should lead, so that when the pendu lum eventually swings in the other di rection, the youth of today are better equipped to handle the ongoing chal lenges of racism. Then their actions, not words, will form the basis of fu ture history lessons and black history month celebrations.

Only 1% of students said that they had been part of a responsible or safe drinking campaign at their university. Students need to be given reliable information and support to enable them to make responsible decisions and keep themselves safe. Cardiff has a student led service called STASH that provides information and support for students around alcohol and substances. An expansion of these services and campaigns about responsible drinking could help students who are at risk of developing dependencies or substance abuse issues.

Drinking culture is still going strong in UK universities and that comes with its own unique set of issues. But the new wave of students is making changes and normalising staying sober in a move that could revolutionise what it looks like to be a university student today.

In a NUS survey, 38% of students reported that they found it difficult not to drink too much”

Freya Johns Contributor

Tictok has become a global phenomenon (Source: Kim Alaniz, Via Flickr)

Is Black History Month doing Black History justice? (Source: Marina Shemesh Via Public Domain Pictures)

ADVICE

How to engage with Black History Month

Black History Month; an impor tant month of recognising and celebrating the achievements and historic contributions made by those of African and Caribbean her itage, often overlooked in today's society. Throughout our education or (certainly mine,) the traditional curriculum of white history has of ten been taught in schools alongside books by white authors, like William Shakespeare and J.B Priestley. This can have a negative impact on children's learning as they are not being exposed to the vast number of incredible black authors or their historical impact and instead are left with no positive repre sentation.

This is why this month of appre ciation is an important one; It's an op portunity to really immerse yourself in black history. Being a white woman who loves to read and learn about his tory, I personally will be doing my best this month to really engage with black female authors. Books on my reading list include, ‘Black England’ written by Gretchen Gerzina which tells the story of pre-1945 Black England, a time of misconception. This is a great book for

history lovers like myself and which offers brilliant insight into eighteenth century England, looking at the stories of black lives during the century. ‘Peo ple Person’ written by Candice CartyWilliams tells the story of a thirtyyear-old woman whose seemingly uninteresting life takes a turn when she is reunited with her 5 half siblings. This book seems to be getting great reviews and it's also a chance to make a conscious effort of reading books by black authors; something I believe isn't exposed enough to people throughout

A spooky Halloween day-in-the-life

Stephanie Pfiffner Contributor

In the sight of the Halloween season leering around the cor ner, we have put together an ideal day for you and your friends to get into the spooky spirits.

A great day activity to take part in with your friends is pumpkin picking. There are various pumpkin patches to grab your own personal favourite pumpkin from, with more information about locations avail able online. They're versatile in that they serve as both decor and food.

(Side note: If you are currently seeing a fellow someone, this could also be a very fun and romantic date with that person and if you want to take the next step, you can immor talise your initials in your pump kins.)

Before you get to crafting your pumpkin into a scary face, carve out the insides of the pumpkin and keep it along with the seeds safe for later.

Make sure you carve the scari est-looking grimacing face into the pumpkin shell in order to keep out the evil spirits as the dead spill over into the living world at midnight. This will also be a great opportunity to post your work of art on your story and show your ex that you are having a splendid time without them.

My go-to comedy Hallow een movie Casper will always have my heart and I am sure it will have yours too. The adorable young love between Casper and teenage daughter Kat is impossible not to swoon over."

It is a chance to take responsibility for your own learning and knowledge; learning for yourself instead of relying on other people for information"

her education, having studied at some of the most prestigious universities; the University of Oxford in the UK and Harvard University in the states. Her youtube brings joy to people who watch her journey but also educates us about certain adversities that peo ple have due to skin colour, economic backgrounds and gender through the schooling system and life.

their learning.

Another way to engage with Black History Month is to learn from others.

A good way to start learning the strug gles of being a black woman or man is to listen to the experiences of other people. One of my favourite youtubers is called Vee Kativhu. She shares not only her incredible life on Youtube but also advocates for so many causes and injustices that happen in society today.

Her main focus is the education sys tem. As a black woman she has over come so many hurdles regarding

Black History Month is something that all people should engage with. It’s a month to learn and to understand that there are problems within our so ciety of discrimination and racism. It is a chance to take responsibility for your own learning and knowledge; learn ing for yourself instead of relying on other people for information. Around black history and educating someone who may not have learnt about this at school is also really useful. Read, watch and make notes to take accountability for your own learning. Black History Month gives you a great opportunity to learn and understand black history and culture, encouraging you to con tinue learning and educating well after the month has ended.

Next, return to the pumpkin in sides and seeds and make a whole

some pumpkin soup with your friends. My favourite recipe can be found on the BBC Good Food web site.

This is also a great point to in troduce some Halloween-themed cocktails such as vampire’s kiss and poison apple as they say being slightly intoxicated makes you a much better cook (I’m sure they do say that). Bonus points to those in

the friend group who do manage to steal a vampire’s kiss on Halloween. If you are feeling extra adventur ous in your cooking journey, you can also attempt to cook caramel ised chestnuts. I promise it’s not as difficult as you think! I can assure you that they taste great, and I am sure the picture you will send to your mom of the result will make her incredibly proud.

A great day activity to take part in with your friends is pumpkin picking"

As the soup is bubbling away, it is time for you and your friends to decide on the path your movie marathon will take. Will you be ven turing into the comical stories of Scary Movie, or diving into the pop culture world of American Horror Story? Personally, I think you can never go wrong with Tim Burton classics such as Corpse Bride and the Addams Family. My go-to com edy Halloween movie Casper will always have my heart and I am sure it will have yours too. The adorable young love between Casper and teenage daughter Kat is impossible not to swoon over. Or, my personal favourite for a girl’s night: Jennifer’s Body. Megan Fox eating boys will never not be iconic, I’m afraid. Hap py Halloween!

Make sure you carve the scariest-looking grimacing face into the pumpkin shell in order to keep out the evil spirits as the dead spill over into the living world at midnight."

Shaniece O'Keeffe shares some ways you can get involved with Black History this October.

Stephanie Pfiffner presents some spook-tacular ideas to get into the halloween spirit with friends and family.

Shaniece O'Keeffe Advice Editor

Black History Month: Source: Enokson (via Flickr)

Halloween: . From carving scary faces or making a pumkin pie, pumpkins will always be a staple in households during the Halloween season. Source: Pedro Ferreira (via Flickr)

It's an opportunity to really immerse yourself in black history. "

Megan Shinner

Lucy Matthews

Shaniece O'Keeffe gairrhyddadvice@gmail.com

Musings with Megan Advice Column

Looking on trend this Halloween

Lucy Matthews Advice Editor

An intergalactic alien rock star sent down from Mars to save the human species through solar melodies. Now this, my fellow frantic last-minute Hal loween shoppers, is an outfit to be remembered. Fashion week has just passed, and alongside Bella Hadid’s spray painted Coperni catwalk mo ment, the trends that appeared on the runway for Autumn/Winter 2022 can guide us towards a leg endary and trendy Halloween out fit, just like Bella’s dress.

The prominence and influence of the LBD this season on the runway reminded us again why it is a ma jor staple within the wardrobes of many. Take your LBD out this Hal loween and transform yourself into a stylish witch. You can play it cool with a hat to finish off a bewitching look or you can get fully ghouled, by throwing a cape over the top to truly channel your inner Elphaba.

The 'Third Year Panic': life after university

Megan Shinner Head of Advice

Myfirst experience with the third-year panic was when I received an email the other day notifying me of a Postgraduate open day. Surely it wasn’t that long ago since I got the “Congratulations!” email from UCAS and I moved into my first-year flat?! Turns out, it’s been a while. Much to my shock and sur prise, the first month of the term has passed in the blink of an eye, with the dissertation meetings and assessment deadlines already looming too close for comfort. After two-and-a-bit years of watching lectures in Cardiff’s many coffee shops and pulling overnight study sessions in the ASSL, it’s time to start thinking about what I’m going to do with my life once I’ve walked across the stage at St David’s Hall and thrown my cap in the air. For those who have a ten-year plan in place, those who don’t have the faintest idea about life outside of education and all those in between, here are some things to consider about life after university.

This may seem like the most obvi ous question to ask yourself, but I re ally want you to think about it. What do you actually want out of life? Most of you will be in your 20s as of now – that’s a hell of a lot of life left ahead of you! There is no rule that says you must have it all figured out by gradua

As tempting as a panicmaster’s may seem, it's not always the best decision in the long run"

tion. Throughout our lives, we’ve been encouraged to go further and further with education until we have finally reached the end, but we seem to be more clueless than ever. You may not be able to answer this question, and that’s okay. Maybe that’s telling you something in itself. You have to go and find the answer!

As tempting as a panic-master’s may seem, it's not always the best de cision in the long run. A masters may seem like an easy option to stay in education for another year or two and keep your life familiar, but is this just a way of delaying the inevitable? By all means, a master’s is a great way to ex tend your qualifications, convert your undergraduate degree, increase your employability and further explore an area of interest. Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. The last thing you want is to be another 15k in debt and no further forward than you were at your undergraduate gradua tion.

On the other hand, sometimes a master’s is essential for eventually at taining your dream career. There’s this rumour that once you leave education, you’ll never come back. You may think this will never apply to you, but it is something to seriously consider. Once you get a taste of life outside of exams and assessments and every month you’re moving further away from the overdraft, it can be quite difficult to re turn to an academic atmosphere and mindset. Additionally, life may sweep you in a completely different direction based on the opportunities presented to you and the people you meet. You may never find the time to pursue studies in something you are interest

ed in again. I’m not saying that if you get an amazing job offer you must turn it down because your original plan was to return and complete some form of postgraduate study. If you want to do a master’s but won’t have the discipline or freedom to return to education at a later point, then completing an ad ditional year at university now may be the best use of your time.

Aside from postgraduate study, there are so many other options that are now accessible to you. For exam ple, you may want to travel if you’ve managed to save a little, work abroad with a holiday company for a year, or enter a graduate internship scheme.

The opportunities are endless. Many of us graduating this year would have started university when the COV ID-19 pandemic was at its peak, caus ing massive obstructions to plans that involved anything other than Netflix and your own 4 walls. So why not go ahead and reclaim the experiences you may have lost? We lost too much time over the pandemic – don’t lose any more! You don’t have to enter your final career straight after graduation. There are so many options for us these days, far more than you think, which can be a blessing and a curse. Howev er, try to see the positives, in the sense that you can explore so many different things. Some things may work out bet ter than expected or job opportunities you thought you’d love may be an un comfortable fit. This is a time for trial and error, so don’t be scared of that.

Finally, let's strip this reality check back to basics. You still have one year left to enjoy the student experi ence! Yes, it’s a very good idea to think ahead. But, don’t let the future distract

You still have one year left to enjoy the student experience! "

you from the nights out with your friends, hungover morning strolls for coffee before your Thursday 9ams, Christmas shopping trips, and picnics in Bute Park. The reason we feel the third-year panic is because we are en joying the present so much and don’t want it to change. Just don’t worry the year away! Although it may sound a little harsh, if you spend too much time applying for postgraduate oppor tunities and forget to do your disserta tion research, you may be coming back anyway! Keep your priorities in line –academic and social. You can never get this time back, so try and absorb the present as best as you can.

Ultimately, you may feel a little out of control of your life right now and that time is running away faster than you can fathom, but graduation is re ally just the beginning. The world has much more out there than Cardiff can offer, believe it or not. Yes, Cardiff is brilliant and may have become a home for some of you, however, it isn’t going anywhere! If you decide to stay, then we will welcome you back with open arms. One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was that whatever de cision you make at the time will be the right one. We make our decisions for a reason, potentially unknown to us for now. Trust the process and trust yourself. Deep down, you are the only person who knows the best step for you to take, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.

Finding a Halloween outfit is stressful especially when you are a university student who has been invited to multiple spooky seshes. Reusing outfits is hot this season especially with the comeback of the preparatory school look which fea tured on both Chanel and Prada’s runways this A/W. Everyone has a school uniform lurking at the back of their wardrobe and whether you want to be a schoolgirl murderess or a suave Patrick Bateman in a dash ing suit, the time is now to get back to school this ghoulish season.

The white vest. A simple crea tion made by man. Hugh Jackman wore one when he conquered and captured our hearts on screen as Wolverine. Buffy the Vampire slayer star Faith Lehane was never without her vest and neither should you be this Halloween. A Buffy the Vam pire Slayer look can be easy and af fordable when you have a white vest on hand and will also look on trend with this season’s big clothing play ers.

The 80s were an iconic time in fashion, catapulting leg warmers, bright neon, and fingerless gloves onto our high streets. It comes as no surprise that the A/W catwalk reig nited this love affair with the dec ade. Shoulder pads and prom-style dresses, two key players of the 80s runway, this fashion season can be turned evil this Halloween through a corpse bride and groom iteration. Turn things up a notch and go for a full-blown Marie Antoinette look, with the added wig to make yourself stand out even more on the spooki est night of the year.

Reusing outfits is hot this season especially with the comeback of the preparatory school look"

Disclaimer – this advice is written by a student. This is not professional advice*

Source: Emily Ranquist (via Pexels)

REVIEW

Being Funny in a Foreign Language: The 1975 are back

After two years, The 1975 have finally released their newest album, Being Funny In A Foreign Lan guage. The pop-rock band aroused suspicion of new material after de activating their main social media accounts in February 2022 and re leased their single ‘Part of A Band’ in June to tease the release of their fifth album. Although the 11-track, 43-minute anthology has come un der criticism from fans for being too short (half the length of their previ ous pandemic title, Notes on A Con ditional Form), the content did not disappoint. The band has retained their infamous indie sound, mixing themes of the complexity of mil lennial life with optimistic, mellow tunes.

Being Funny In A Foreign Lan guage continues The 1975’s notori ous streak of deep lyricism reflect ing the modern age. While some songs, like ‘I’m In Love With You’, are quite self-explanatory, others carry cynical and somewhat dark themes. For instance, ‘Looking For Somebody To Love’ (my personal fa

vorite on the album) is a fun, upbeat 80s tune about a mass shooter com mitting crimes out of loneliness. I would expect nothing less from a band headed by Matty Healy, the 2020s’ biggest edge-lord.

A large amount of BFIAFL’s suc cess can be attributed to its pro ducer, Jack Antonoff. The Bleachers lead singer is widely known in popu lar music circles, working with art ists like Lorde, Fifth Harmony and Florence and the Machine. Coinci dentally, Antonoff also produced ‘Midnights’, Taylor Swift’s new al bum set to be released on Octo

ber 21st. Judging by the success of BFIAFL and the mass preordering of ‘Midnights’, Antonoff is in for a good week.

As with the rest of their discogra phy, BFIAFL is littered with sexual innuendos. From constant talk of ejaculation and porn to meaningless sex, the intertwining of this within the setting of the digital age cre ates a pessimistic yet sincere repre sentation of modern life, especially within the music industry. Although attempting to leave his pretentious lyricisms in the past, Matty Healy artistically conveys the problems

obsessed with this generation, and how he has been unhealthily per petuating “an aesthetic out of not doing well”.

Despite its similarities to previ ous albums, I do really enjoy the direction that The 1975 are tak ing their music with BFIAFL. The band prides themselves in diver sifying their style over the years to keep their content chart-topping. From the 2013 grunge aesthetic of their first album ‘The 1975’ to the tangling soliloquies of ‘Notes On A Conditional Form’, Healy never stays put in one genre. BFIAFL strikes the right balance between song varie ties, proving that an album doesn’t need to be linear to be well-made, and I can only hope that this will continue to be explored in their next album.

Now, if you’d excuse me, I’m go ing to relive my teen years and listen to The 1975’s discography non-stop.

BFIAFL strikes the right balance between song varie ties, proving that an album doesn’t need to be linear to be well-made ”

Amsterdam: “neither funny, entertaining or thoughtful”

Never before has such a cast amounted to so little. Am sterdam is the latest film from Oscar-nominated and sub sequently-Oscar-chasing director David O. Russell. It features three friends: a doctor, a lawyer, and a nurse, all linked by the First World War, who find themselves caught up in “the Business Plot” - a 1933 politi cal conspiracy in the States occur ring after a mysterious murder of a retired US general.

Sounds good? Think again. It’s lost 20th Century Studios $97 mil lion. Whoops. Its box office failure has done nothing to stifle industry

fears that the pandemic has done irreversible, catastrophic dam age to the cinema-going habit, and Disney’s apprehensions on how to market films under its latest studio acquisition.

I would propose this is at most a surprise to its very impressive cast – every role is recognizable by any body, with Robert De Niro, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington taking key roles. It has an extremely promising line-up of A-listers, to say the least. Yet, it feels as if each actor has such a different view on the oddball nature of the film that it renders most of the characters face less, particularly Washington, who seems utterly jaded. They too have decided the film is neither funny, entertaining, or thoughtful – just

oddly flavourless.

Christian Bale, who previously worked with Russell on The Fighter and American Hustle, is back play ing Burt Berendsen, an eccentric doctor and war veteran. It’s wel come that Bale is the most wellsuited actor to his character, which you may as well go in expecting due to an extensive roll call including the most emotionally unplaceable Batman, and Patrick Bateman - a cultural figure that still refuses to go down gently. The cast should be ringing their agents and asking for better work than this, especially Bale, already lambasted upon this year in the excruciating waste of time that was Thor: Love and Thun der. Taylor Swift however is surpris ingly decent, and surely a far more suitable popstar-turned-actor in the current filmmaking landscape than the depressingly unimpressive Harry Styles.

The film is lengthy at over two hours and the story is complicated, zipping back and forth between America and Amsterdam and the

war and 1933, while also concern ing a wider conspiracy that con cerns how we all know history went. Subsequently, if you aren’t following along closely, the sluggish moving pieces of the film become a set of strange, inexplicable scenes wiping the floor with the narrative. Taylor Swift is pushed under a car. Rami Malek is shot in the face, but then he isn’t. A fish-eye close-up of Bale wobbling around, high off pain killers. The predictable Nazi thing turns out to be a Nazi thing. How disappointing. Amsterdam is prob ably the best case of ‘Oscar-bait’ – a film that tries to include many

tropes of Academy Award winners in hope of winning a few for itself. I have seen. David O. Russell is clearly desperate for one: an unlik able character about who unsettling stories abound. There’s a good, clear difference between being ‘arty’ and ‘sophisticated’ and being plain talky, meandering, and self-indulgent. Amsterdam is firmly the latter.

The film is lengthy at over two hours and the story is complicated, zipping back and forth between America and Amsterdam”

“BFIAFL continues The 1975’s notorious streak of deep lyricism reflecting the modern age”

Alice Moore Head of Review

Billy Edwards shares his thoughts on what he belives to be a clear case of “Oscar-bait”

Billy Edwards Review Editor

Alice Moore

Billy Edwards

Haris Hussnain

Credit: Jasminewallis24 (via Wikimedia Commons)

The band has retained their infamous indie sound, mixing themes of the com plexity of millennial life with optimistic, mellow tunes.”

Credit: Leonard J Matthews (via Flickr)

“Never before has such a cast amounted to so little”. Credit: Ghaith baazaoui(via Wikimedia Commons)

A large amount of BFIAFL’s success can be at tributed to its producer, Jack Antonoff”

It’s welcome that Bale is the most well-suited actor to his character”

The cast should be ring ing their agents and asking for better work than this”

Halloween classics: Coraline

Katie Jones Contributor

Halloween is creeping closer and closer – and we all know what that means: grabbing some popcorn, making a hot chocolate, and putting on a Halloween classic. Everyone has that one Halloween film that really gets them in spooky spirits, and for me, nothing hits the spot quite like Henry Selick’s 2009 anima tion Coraline. For some people it sparked a love of horror films, for others it put them off buttons for life, but it’s always worth a re watch every October.

Coraline follows the adventures of an eponymous young girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who, while exploring her new house, discovers a secret door leading to an alternate world that mirrors her own. At first, the other world is a magical escape from Coraline’s workaholic parents and odd neighbours, but the more she visits, the more

sinister the inhabitants of the world become. These alternative versions of her parents are voiced expertly by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman (the “Other Father Song” still gets stuck in my head to this day), but it’s her other-worldly neighbours that really steal the show. Dawn French and Jennifer Saun ders are captivating as April and Miriam, two retired burlesque dancers obsessed with taxidermy dogs, and Ian McShane performs as the eccentric Mr. Bobinsky and his mouse circus. All of them aid Coraline in her jour ney back to her own dimension.

The film climaxes as Coraline battles against time to save herself and her family from the clutches of the increasingly arach nid-like Other Mother, with her sharp-wit ted cat to guide her. For me, Coraline was one of the first times that I’d seen a young girl be the hero of her own story, and it taught me the life-long lesson to be care ful what you wish for! So, if you want a bit of nostalgia for your Halloween spirits this year, give Coraline a watch.

The spookiest Halloween costumes from years gone by

Megha Roy Contributor

In recent times, whenever the word Halloween or “All Hallows Eve” is mentioned, people initially think about fancy costumes and spooky dec orations. But, if we look back, history has different stories to tell about the folklore aspects of Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, which marked summer’s end and the beginning of the year’s “darker” half in the British Isles. This was echoed with frightening Hallow een costumes to ward off evil spirits.

In the late 15th century, Halloween costumes were spooky outfits to dress up as spirits or demons. With the US experiencing its first wave of Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 18th cen tury, Halloween costumes saw a new transition where the spooky costumes were designed with the intent of ensur ing anonymity. People created these costumes and ill-fitting paper-mâché masks at home from whatever they could lay their hands on.

Now, centuries down the line, Hal loween costumes are about anything the heart desires. Though many styles of traditional Halloween costumes hit stores in Octo ber, including ghosts,

witches, and skeletons, women’s costumes have been inspired by some of the most beloved pop culture icons of each era to become a symbol of the moment. From the haphazardly made at home in the early 1900s to the sexy fast fashion ready-made commercial versions, Halloween costumes have evolved into a cultural phenomenon.

The commercialization of costumes was popularised around the 1920s when Ben Cooper, Inc. started making

costumes for the general public. Use and throw paper aprons with cats or little witches printed on them, or hats or paper masks were readily available. While spooky costumes like witches and skeletons continued to be popu lar, new licensing deals let people dress up as their favourite characters for the first time, as costume designing shifted from frightening to more fun elements. Walt Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Snow White became very

popular during this time.

If the 60s had people shunning their masks and celebrating a lighter side of themselves, the decades that followed witnessed bolder costumes as Hallow een-themed pin-ups featured models in cat and witch costumes made out of black leotards and bustiers. By the 1980s, as traditional Halloween cos tumes increasingly blended with pop culture-inspired disguises, people were able to dress however they wanted. Costumes went through another tran sition in the 2000s when celebrities started dressing up as each other, mak ing costumes more than just charac ters, but real people’s representations. After the 2010s, Halloween costumes became a combination of mass-pro duced outfits and outfits with home made slow-fashion.

The evolution of Halloween cos tumes gives one an idea about the con nection between cultural time trends and people. It will be interesting to see how cultural interests continue to in fluence the market with the rise of fast fashion. With Halloween almost here and the choice of costumes looking endless, it’s going to be a year reflec tive of a variety of personal inter ests, innovating the costume game.

Don’t Worry Darling: Olivia Wilde’s Psycological Thriller

Ella Dorman Contributor

Sparked by the stream of drama pre-empting the movie’s re lease, Don’t Worry Darling was highly anticipated.

Set in a glossy neighbourhood in a utopian experiment named ‘The Victory Project’, Don’t Worry Darling follows couple Jack and Alice (played by Harry Styles and Florence Pugh) as they embody the seemingly perfect husband and wife archetype in the sunny Palm Springs. Alas, the rosy dream of siz zling sausages, fried eggs, and black coffee on the table every morning,

along with the couple’s obsession with each other is soon cracked as Alice begins to question the world she has wound up in.

Director Olivia Wilde propels the aesthetic sensibility of Don’t Worry Darling with captivating visuals and thoughtful styling, emanating the 1950s picket fence ideal. Drawing references from contemporary art, the film entrances viewers with its striking colour grading, nostalgic soundtrack and captivating cin ematography. However, despite the movie’s notably cultivated style, there are gaping holes in the plot. Viewers are left wondering how the film jumps to the action-packed apex, with vague detail given to the

character progression which led Alice and Jack to The Victory Pro ject. The premise of the film ap pears similar to that of ‘and it was all a dream’ – arguably not the most ingenious trope. Although there are references towards incel culture, and Jack’s feelings of inferiority in his relationship prior to The Vic tory Project, there is vagueness that leaves the film feeling slightly unfin ished, despite its attempt to stress the reparations of loneliness. Don’t Worry Darling attempts to raise awareness of the dangers of incel culture, as well as promoting female empowerment and individualism, but requires a deeper insight into why people like Jack feel such des

peration that an extremist solution appears to be the only choice.

Despite the blips in the plot, Wilde’s avant-garde choices cer tainly distract viewers from the less-than-revolutionary narrative, and along with Florence Pugh and Harry Styles starring as the couple in question, the film is undoubtedly attention-grabbing. With the pres entation of cult-like communities and incel ideologies; blended with a mesh of rosy aesthetics and snip pets of horror scenes, the movie, in Harry Styles’ viral words, really does “feel like a movie.”

The Species A

Haris Hussnain Review Editor

s a horror fanatic, I’ve watched a lot of sci-fi mov ies. The Species, however, is by far one of my favourites. The film is scary and terrifying, but also makes you feel sorry for the main character, Sil. The Species, released in 1995, is a sci-fi film about contact with extraterrestrials. I personally have a passion for old horror mov ies so The Species caught my eye when I saw it on a DVD. The art on the DVD reminded me of the Alien from the video game ‘Alien Isola tion’ and this drew me to its interest. The film begins with scientists being sent a transmission from out er space involving a DNA sequence to mix with humans. Shockingly, this genetic experiment goes horri bly wrong and produces a half-alien child called Sil. Scared of what they have done, the scientists attempt to gas their creation, but Sil resists and escapes to terrorise America. The scientists assemble a team to track down and kill the alien. Sil takes the form of a young adult woman and goes looking for a mate, killing all incompatible men in the process. The scientists go through different places, even creating another alien in its pure form to learn more about it, but end up burning the lab in or der to kill it. The alien they are after takes on the form of a young adult woman and goes looking for a mate, killing all incompatible men in the process.

What I really like about the film is that it’s a perfect mix of sci-fi and horror being left on a cliffhanger at the end. It teaches us a lot of lessons about consequences and responsi bility. The character building of the alien hybrid is my favourite part of the movie. Sil is scared of herself and ends up doing what she can to survive. For the empaths out there, this film will have you in terrified, but also in tears - don’t forget to bring tissues.

In all, The Species is a piece of art and a jewel of the 1990s. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something to watch this Halloween.

Katie Jones writes about her favourite Halloween film to get into the spooky spirit

Source:Brickset (via Flickr)

Dorman unpacks all the action, on and off the screen

Source: Carole Pasquier (via Wikimedia commons)

Indonesia to demolish stadium where tragedy killed 133

Jasmine Jones Head Of Sport

The city of Malang is grieving after the worst stadium disas ter in years. The disaster oc curred on the 3rd of October, leav ing 133 dead. Arema FC supporters and football fans around the world are paying their respects to the vic tims and sharing outrage at the po lice and officials after fans streamed onto the pitch and were met with clashes by the police who fired tear gas to try and disperse them. Send ing mass panic through the crowds, thousands flocked to the exits.

Fans attempting to leave the sta dium after the defeat to away team Persebaya Surabaya were caught up in a stampede of bodies, with re ports of multiple exits being locked and chaos ensuing after the police fired teargas at the fans spilling onto the pitch.

547 fans were injured in the crush and 133 sadly lost their lives, mak ing it one of the world’s most deadly sports disasters.

Now President Joko Widodo has vowed to demolish and rebuild the stadium in an attempt to “thorough ly transform” the safety and moder nity of football in Indonesia. Speak ing to the head of FIFA, Widodo said “we will demolish it and rebuild

according to FIFA standards”, sug gesting that the safety of both play ers and fans in the nation was of top priority going forward.

However, many question why ac tion wasn’t taken earlier to renovate the out-of-date arena, especially as the country prepares to host the under-20s World Cup in 2023. FIFA has announced it is working closely with the Indonesian government to ensure every stadium and the com petition as a whole runs smoothly next year.

With this joint task force, as well as independent investigations ongo ing, there are growing calls for the individual police officers, league of ficials, and the head of the Indone sian football association to resign.

According to FIFA guidance, the use of teargas inside a stadium is forbidden hence the scrutiny to wards the police. Only six individu als including police and match of ficials are facing criminal charges, accused of criminal negligence causing death which carries a 5-year prison sentence.

Indonesia’s chief security min ister has since reported that 42,000 tickets had been bought by fans in a stadium with a capacity of 38,000.

For the victims’ families and the survivors of the tragedy, not enough is being done to ensure a disaster of this magnitude doesn’t happen again. The government has announced that each of the victims’ families will receive 50 million ru piahs (roughly £2900) in compen sation and those who were injured will be able to receive medical care for free.

Another investigation is now open to determine whether more lives could have been saved with a larger medical team on site. Local health officials have concluded that only

four paramedics were on standby in the stadium at the time of the dis aster as the match was deemed to be a “low-risk event” prior to kickoff. Away supporters were banned from the stadium in Malang due to previous violence between the two sets of fans, leaving Malang of ficials confident that there would not need to be heavy police or para medic presence.

Indonesia’s chief security minister has since reported that 42,000 tick ets had been bought by fans in a sta dium with a capacity of 38,000.

FIFA face dilemma over calls to ban Iran from World Cup

Ryan Harris-Jewell Sport Editor

Agroup of Iranian sports personalities have called on FIFA to ban the Ira nian national team from this year’s world cup in Qatar. The group sent a formal request to the international governing body, asking for it to suspend the Iranian football association due to female supporters be ing denied entry into stadiums across the country.

“Iran’s brutality and belliger ence towards its own people has reached a tipping point, demanding an unequivocal and firm disassociation from the footballing and sports world,” wrote the group.

“Women have been consist ently denied access to stadia across the country and system atically excluded from the foot ball ecosystem in Iran, which sharply contrasts with FIFA’s values and statutes”. A similar request was also sent last month by human rights group Open Stadium who claimed that the Iranian FA had breached FIFA statutes that prevent discrimi nation and government inter ference of national governing bodies.

Following the 1979 Islamic revolution, women were effec tively banned from stadiums where men played due to cleri cal disapproval under the strict Shia Muslim regime. However, after recent pressure from FIFA, a small minority of women have been allowed into some Iranian top flight games. Although they are still frequently denied entry by authorities.

The rights group claim that

women who have been barred from entry are often sent to de tention centres and tortured. Similar to the ones where Ma sha Amini, a 22 year-old stu dent, was recently killed. Amini died in custody after being ar rested by state morality police for wearing her Hijab incorrect ly. The young woman’s death sparked protests across the country, including the capital Tehran.

The crackdown from regime

Women have been consistently denied access to stadia across the country and systematically excluded from the football ecosys tem in Iran, which sharply contrasts with FIFA’s values and statutes”.

forces has been brutal, with over 200 protestors killed so far according to the Iran hu man rights groups. Despite the state’s heavy-handed approach, protests have carried on and have even engulfed the men’s national team, a source of pride for many Iranians.

Demonstrators, many hold ing pictures of Amani, were seen outside the BSFZ-Arena in Austria during Iran’s final in ternational friendly before the world cup. The game against fel low world cup side Senegal was played behind closed doors at the request of Iranian authori ties over fears of potential dis plays of protest from fans within the ground. Despite the lack of fans in the stands, the mood of the nation was made clear by the players on the pitch who

“No problem. I’d sacrifice that for one hair on the heads of Iranian women. This story will not be deleted. They can do whatever they want. Shame on you for killing so easily; long live Iranian women.”

Sadar Azmoun, Irainian Footballer

wore black jackets throughout the national anthems, covering their national emblems.

The following Sunday saw Sadar Azmoun, a player tipped by many to be Iran’s star man for the upcoming tournament, post a statement on Instagram condemning the government’s actions.

“At worst I’ll be dismissed from the national team,” said the striker. “No problem. I’d sacrifice that for one hair on the heads of Iranian women. This story will not be deleted. They can do whatever they want. Shame on you for killing so eas ily; long live Iranian women.”

Azmoun later deleted his post for a less strongly worded statement in support of Iranian women. Whilst also joining sev eral of his teammates in black ing out their profile pictures on social media.

Iranian authorities have been accused of enforcing a gagging order on players and staff in volved in the national team, pre venting them from commenting on the ongoing protests. Whilst it’s unlikely that FIFA will re move Iran from the world cup in Qatar, it remains to be seen whether or not players and fans will continue their protests on the biggest stage in the world.

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Qatar World Cup: Boycott of fan-zones across Europe

Thomas Mahoney Contributor

As sports fans across the world hurtle towards the twilight of 2022, a FIFA World Cup in Qatar is the last thing we expect to see on the horizon. Whether you view the decision to host the competition in Qatar with eagerly extended arms, or a stubborn scowl is, of course, down to each indi vidual. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that this World Cup will be shrouded in aberrations and controversy. This is underlined by the recent decision of ma jor French cities such as Paris, Lille, Marseille, and Bordeaux not to provide fan zones during the tournament this winter, with questions now arising about the ethics of fan zones in London.

Years before construction of the Qatari stadiums had begun, debates regarding whether the wealthy gulf state should host the tournament had engulfed the footballing world. Critics of Qatar 2022 cited an illegiti

The documentation of sub-standard conditions for stadium construction workers and unsustainable development have turned more fans and establish ments away.

mate decision-making process, an unsuitable climate for foot ball even in winter, unneces sary complications to top-level football’s notoriously inundated schedule, and the death of the footballing pedigree within the country. If these and oth er football-related criticisms weren’t enough to dampen the excitement, the documentation of sub-standard conditions for stadium construction workers and unsustainable development have turned more fans and es tablishments away.

Who could blame them?

So the question remains; how can football grow in the Middle East if the region isn’t given a chance with the World Cup?

Counter-arguments to these criticisms should be acknowl edged, however. Far fewer mor alistic concerns were raised over Russia in 2018, despite the fact the nation had recently invaded Crimea and since Ukraine in one of the most abhorrent mili tary invasions since World War Two. Many deemed partially impoverished South Africa unfit to host the 2010 edition – this went ahead regardless as a result of characteristic FIFA corrup tion. So the question remains;

how can football grow in the Middle East if the region isn’t given a chance with the World Cup?

Though all of these points de serve respect and acknowledge ment, they do little to erase the writing from the wall: the al location of such an unsuitable country to host the FIFA World Cup is yet another symbol of top-level football’s shameless, materialistic self-destruction.

WSX kickstarts in the Principality Stadium

Megha Roy Contributor

The World Supercross Championship 2022 has officially begun and kickstarted its first race at the Principality Stadium in Car diff. The sport is well known to motorcycle enthusiasts, with many starting by tear ing around trails on their lit tle 125ccs, and working their way onto the main stage of the WSX.

On Saturday 8th October, the FIM Supercross World Cham pionship took place for the first time under the lights at Princi pality Stadium in Cardiff with

the British Grand Prix. Aus tralian company WSX brought the show to Wales with over 40 of the world’s best riders battling it out in the dirt. The competition format consisted of three main event races in each class, with the individual results of each race combined to determine the winner of the round. The three back-to-back main event formats and short race duration greatly increased the overall intensity and un predictability of each round, making an effective start and electrifying the atmosphere in the stadium.

It was a momentous occa sion for the sport in the UK as

the fans flew from all over the globe to Wales to see their fa vourite riders in real-time ac tion.

Eli Tomac won the first race of the British Grand Prix, the first in the World Supercross Championship (WSX). In the three-race format, Tomac won across the board. With the new series seemingly gaining traction around the world, the British Grand Prix had many names that American SX fans will be familiar with, and it will definitely be interesting to see the impact that this momen tous WSX weekend has on the future of the sport in the UK.

English elite football in particu lar has sold itself out: Premier League oligarchs embrace war criminals (see Abramovich and Mansour), ticket prices are eye-

there is no doubt that this World Cup will be shrouded in aberrations and controversy

Perhaps elite football after Qatar 2022 will reevaluate itself, and opt to become more accessible worldwide to those both wealthy and poor.

wateringly high, and the top-six clubs fork out nine-figure sums in transfer windows whilst low er league clubs desperately cling onto their very existence.

Only around 10% of Qatari residents hold citizenship, with the majority of the population being expats and migrant work ers. The ethics are therefore extremely questionable when seven entirely new football sta diums and cities will be built for the apparent benefit of such a minute population. Whether the World Cup aids football’s popularity across the nation or not, the costs blatantly outweigh the benefits.

Perhaps the tournament will be an unequivocal success and will be cherished wholeheart edly by locals, travelling fans and players alike. Perhaps elite football after Qatar 2022 will re-evaluate itself, and opt to become more accessible world wide to those both wealthy and poor. Perhaps Qatar themselves will win, in admirable style.

How much would you be will ing to bet?

Team GB win three medals in the Cycling World Championships

Eloise Martin Sport Editor

The track cycling World Championships kicked off on the 12th of Octo ber and Team GB bagged three medals on the opening day in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The Championships ran for four days and saw historical wins for the men and women cycling teams.

The GB cycling team se

cured their first ever medal in the women’s team sprint. Lau ren Bell, Sophie Capewell, and Emma Finucane edged out the Netherlands to clinch the third

Lauren Bell, Sophie Capewell, and Emma Finu cane edged out the Neth erlands to clinch the third place spot and the bronze medal.

place spot and the bronze med al after a tense and dramatic race. They crossed the line just 0.008 seconds ahead of their Dutch opponents.

Jess Roberts also won her first ever World Champion ship medal with a bronze in the women’s 10km scratch race. The 23-year-old won silver at the European Champion ships earlier this year, and she dedicated her win to her late grandfather who passed away just before the commencment

The team had only been cycling together for six weeks and so a medal is a great sign of what the team has to offer.

of the championships. She ex pressed how much of a boost the medal was after a difficult few months for the athlete and her family.

The men’s sprint saw Jack Carlin, Ali Fielding, and Ham

ish Turnbull take home bronze in an equally close race as they finished a tenth of a second faster than Germany! The team had only been cycling together for six weeks and so a medal is a great sign of what the team has to offer.

Overall, a successful first day for Team GB, hopefully paving the way for an out standing Championship with more medals to come!

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