Oxford’s Salsa Society has fought allegations of
dissatisfaction with its President, while a hacker highjacked the
society’s mailing list with members receiving a torrent of
abusive emails. OUSS Committee members have rallied behind their President.
Eva- Maria Dimitriadis said that accusations made by Suraya Jina,
who recently resigned as Treasurer, that President Mark Vincon
had ruined the Society by running it as a dictatorship were
entirely false. Dimitritriadis in fact claimed that Jina had lost
power after the committee was re-organised to make it more
democratic. She said Vincon was popular within the society and
had been an “excellent and extremely accommodating”
President. But, in the fallout to the allegations, a hacker broke into
the society’s mailing list and sent members a series of
foul-mouthed messages under the President’s name warning
them not to read the article in The OxStu in which the
accusations were made. Responses to this resulted in members receiving almost 200
emails. After the society’s unsuccessful attempts to shut
down the list, Oxford’s Computing Services had to withdraw
it and are currently attempting to trace the computer from which
the hacker operated. A new mailing list is being set-up and
members have been sent a profuse apology.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

One in five burglaries in Oxford occur as a result of owners
leaving their doors and windows open, according to newly-released
figures. Thames Valley Police are urging all local residents to avoid
making themselves prey to burglars by locking up. According to a
police spokesperson, “Over the summer months even more of us
are tempted to leave windows open all day when we are out.” This term alone, thefts have been reported at Merton, New,
Brasenose and Jesus colleges. The robbers have mainly targeted
laptops. University College is so concerned at the threat posed
by intruders that it now offers free alarms for all women living
in a ground floor room. One victim of crime, second year historian Sanam Mirza, warned
other students to buy a tether to secure their laptop. “Back
up all your bloody work,” she added.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

A former Oxford student has written in The Telegraph about his
return to Oxford to “put the fizz back into finals”.
Despite the new code of conduct, Freddie Sayers decided to spray
his friend, who had just finished finals, with champagne. The
police released him when they realised that he wasn’t a
member of the University. The Proctors’ Office have since written to The Telegraph
defending the University’s current policy. Several students
have been fined up to £70 this year.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

An Oxford backpacker is fighting for her life in hospital
after plunging 65 feet in the Australian rainforest. Queensland
Police are investigating the accident. Lucy Keen, 24, was visiting Cape Tribulation in Queensland
when she fell from a viewing platform. She had been about to
embark on the Flying Fox ride when the accident happened. The
ride involves people being attached to a harness and then gliding
across a rope connected between two points in the forest,
enabling people to ‘jungle surf ’. Queensland police
said that Keen’s condition was “very serious.”
“If she does survive,” said Dt Sgt Trevor Perham,
“we don’t know what lasting injuries she will
incur.” The Flying Fox ride, which was launched last August, had a
100% safety record until the accident on Saturday. Keith Chegwin
and his television crew are among the many British tourists who
have taken advantage of the opportunity to see the rainforest at
such close quarters. The Jungle Surfing Canopy Tours is run by a
group of biological scientists who use the ride to look at the
flora and fauna of the forest. They charge £27 an hour for the
experience, promising tourists they can “feel like Tarzan or
Jane.” Keen has broken her pelvis and all her ribs in the fall and
remains unconscious in hospital. Her parents have flown from
their home in Oxfordshire to Australia to be at their
daughter’s bedside. Keen was brought up in Oxford and
studied at universities in Leicester and Cardiff.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

The Prime Minister of Turkey delivered a speech at St
John’s College on ‘Why the European Union Needs
Turkey’, last Friday. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been premier since March 2003,
arrived twenty minutes late after being held up in traffic. His
speech, which was delivered in Turkish, attracted the attention
of the international and national media. European leaders will
have to decide in December whether Turkey can begin negotiating
for entry into the EU. Erdogan, who seemed eager to present himself as a modern
European leader, stressed that Turkey “will try to make
‘European values’ Ankara’s values.” The PM
acknowledged that Turkey still had pressing economic and human
rights issues to confront. The problems surrounding the Kurdish
minority and the presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus also remain
unaddressed despite EU instructions to resolve them. Erdogan’s speech was organised by the South East European
Studies Centre based at St Anthony’s College, and was
preceded by a conference on “The Continued Rapprochement
Between Greece and Turkey: Still Genuine?”ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

Police are appealing for information about an Oxford student
who was mugged at knifepoint on Friday 26 March. The attack took place after the student had spent a night out
in the city. She was sitting with a friend on a wall in St Giles
when the incident occurred. The hooded male crouched down in
front of her and demanded, “give me your bag and what you
have if you don’t want to get hurt.” He then grabbed
hold of the student’s handbag before running down Woodstock
Road. Chasing the offender, the student shouted that she had been
robbed to members of the public. A man in his fifties with short
curly grey hair joined the chase, and continued to pursue the
mugger after the robbed student had fallen. He finally returned
to the student having been threatened with the knife. The police have decided not to reveal the identity of the
student. They wish to hear from the four members of the public
that the student passed while chasing the mugger. They are also
particularly eager to contact the good samaritan, or anyone who
may know the identity of this man. It is believed that his
evidence could be vital in bringing the offender to justice. Anyone with information should contact the police on 0845 8
505 505.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

A man has been stabbed outside the Marks and Spencer store on
Banbury Road, Summertown. The man was standing outside the store with his bike when a
car with three men pulled up alongside him. The attacker got out
of the car and immediately stabbed the victim in the leg, before
returning to the vehicle and driving off. The car set off towards the city centre. The incident occurred
between 9 and 9:30 pm, Monday 24 May. The victim suffered a deep
stab wound which required several stitches. A 36 year old man,
Ian McFayden, from Cowley, has been charged in connection with
the incident.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

Saudi Arabia was left reeling this week after Islamist
militants stormed a smart residential compound and an oil company
headquarters in Khobar, taking more than 50 people hostage. 22
people, including nine of the hostages, were killed before Saudi
troops stormed the compound where they were being held. This incident raises new concerns about the Saudi
government’s ability to combat Islamic terrorism, and the
security of foreign workers in the country. The militants, who
are thought to have Al-Qaeda links, were said to be specifically
targeting foreigners. They were reported to have asked people in
the compound, “Are you Muslim or Christian? We don’t
want to kill Muslims.” The Oasis residential compound, one
of the most luxurious in the city, is home to many oil company
executives. Fears over the safety of its citizens have led the US
to request that all its nationals leave the country immediately
and the UK to issue travel advisory warnings. The recent attacks have had an adverse effect on the price of
oil with investors fearing that it is part of a sustained attempt
to disrupt oil supplies from the world’s largest exporter.
The recent events in Khobar follow gun attacks at a petrochemical
plant in Yanbu which killed five foreigners, and a suicide bomb
attack on a residential compound in November last year in Riyadh
which left 17 dead.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004 

A 14-year-old boy has appeared in court, charged with plotting
his own murder. John, 14, used multiple personalities on the internet to
convince Mark, 16, to stab him when they met up in Greater
Manchester last June. The boys’ real names have not been
disclosed to the press. John used a number of different
characters on the internet and became friends with Mark after
meeting him in chat rooms. One of John’s false personas
– a 42 year-old woman claiming to work for MI5 – told
Mark he had to murder his friend. He was told to say, “I
love you bro” as he carried out the attack and was promised
sexual favours and money if he was successful. After the stabbing
John was left critically ill in hospital, although he has now
recovered. He is said to have been having difficulties in school
and was unsure about his sexuality. Both boys have been put under
supervision orders.ARCHIVE: 5th week TT 2004