Actors face social media storm for giving daughter ‘Muslim’ name

Bollywood actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have been subjected to hostile criticism on social media over their choice of name for their baby daughter.

Padukone gave birth to a daughter in September and the couple shared a picture of her online on the festival of Diwali, considered an auspicious day by the Hindus.

The post on Instagram featured just the baby’s feet. The caption read: “Dua Padukone Singh. ‘Dua’: meaning a Prayer. Because She is the Answer to our Prayers. Our hearts are filled with Love & Gratitude.”

The word “dua” comes from Arabic and means “prayer” or “supplication”. In Islam, dua refers to a prayer of invocation to seek help from God and is treated as a form of worship.

Shortly after the post went online, the couple were inundated with criticism of the name, with many questioning the use of a word associated with Islam as opposed to one associated with Hinduism.

“Why not prarthana and why duaa??? Why not hindi but urdu??” commented one user. Another said: “Just for your information (Prathna Means “Prayer”) I hope you might know these words also, as you are a Sanatani. By name, but as personal you are ????”

Sanatani is a follower of Sanātana Dharma, an alternative term used by some Hindus to refer to the Hindu religion.

The word “prathna” or “prarthana” comes from the Sanskrit language and also means “prayer” or “request.” In the Hindu religion, prarthana is part of the overall process of worship.

Padukone and Singh are Hindu. Singh said in a past interview that his paternal grandfather was Sikh. The couple had a traditional Hindu ceremony as well as a Sikh ceremony called Anand Karaj when they got married as a nod to their roots.

Several commentators, though, questioned the “absurd” reaction to the naming of their child. “Why are you pressed over a child’s name that isn’t yours???” one asked.

Earlier this year, data from US-based research group India Hate Lab showed that India experienced an average of two instances of anti-Muslim hate speech every day in 2023. The report also showed that there had been a “rapid growth of new Hindu nationalist groups and actors engaging in hate speech” in the country.

In 2023, India Hate Lab documented 668 hate speech events targeting Muslims. It recorded 255 of these events in the first half of 2023 and 413 in the second half, marking a 62 per cent increase.

The group said it used the UN definition of hate speech – prejudiced or discriminatory language towards an individual or group based on attributes including religion, ethnicity, nationality, race or gender.

Out of the 668 hate speech events, 498, or 75 per cent, took place in states and federal territories ruled by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, the group said.

Reports by Amnesty International showed that Indian authorities targeted the homes, businesses and places of worship of Muslims using bulldozers, adding that this came at a time when the Modi administration stood accused of trampling over the human rights of minorities and weaponising religious discrimination.

Australia ‘troubled’ by emerging axis of countries supporting Russia

The head of Australia‘s national intelligence agency said it was troubling to see an “emerging axis” of countries supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine emerge as allies of the Kremlin mounted a challenge for western countries supporting Kyiv.

Andrew Shearer, who leads the government’s Office of National Intelligence (ONI), said North Korea, Iran, and more significantly China, posed a “strategic challenge” for countries including Canberra as the war dragged on.

He said the emerging axis, which has China and Russia as its main pillars, had been underestimated since the war began as Beijing emboldened Moscow by providing dual-use goods as well as economic and diplomatic support.

“The massive provision by China of dual-use assistance to Putin, and economic support and diplomatic support is keeping Putin’s army in the field in Ukraine, killing innocent Ukrainians just as surely as if they were providing artillery ammunition and missiles,” Mr Shearer said at the Raisina Downunder conference in Canberra.

He said Iran supported Vladimir Putin by providing Shahed drones while North Korea built closer ties with cooperation expanding beyond weapons and thousands of troops have poured into Russian training grounds.

“This is a profoundly troubling strategic development and we are all grappling to catch up with it and put in place effective measures, but I think this is one of the strategic challenges of our time,” Mr Shearer said.

China has been accused of aiding Moscow’s war machine by providing critical components with over 70 per cent of the machine tools and 90 per cent of the microelectronics Russia import coming from Beijing.

In May, the US announced sanctions on about 20 firms based in China and Hong Kong for exporting consignments of drone components and electronics to Russia.

China has, however, denied the allegation of aiding war and said Beijing oversees the export of dual-use materials in accordance with laws and regulations.

An analysis of Chinese customs data by the Carnegie Endowment think tank showed that China exported more than $300m worth of dual-use items to Russia every month. It included the supply of both commercial and military applications items.

Adding to the concerns, the US, South Korea, UK and Ukraine have confirmed North Korea has said soldiers, numbering beyond 10,000, in Russia with president Volodymyr Zelensky confirming that the troops had entered the fight.

“The first battles with North Korean soldiers mark a new chapter of global instability,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address. “Together with the world, we must do everything to ensure that this Russian step toward expanding the war – this true escalation – becomes a loss,” he said.

Australia remains a close partner of the US, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand, the countries which are also part of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership.

The Albanese government has given more than AUD$1.1bn ($724m) since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China unveils new rocket that looks eerily similar to SpaceX Starship

China’s space agency has unveiled an updated design of its first super-heavy reusable rocket which looks eerily similar to SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle.

New images of the rocket, released at a major airshow in Zhuhai, China, indicate that the plan for the country’s Long March 9 rocket is a departure from the original design.

Instead of the initially proposed design of three stages and solid motors, the new model presented at the airshow is a two-stage launch vehicle closely resembling SpaceX’s reusable Starship rocket.

The design for the 114m-long rocket features a reusable first stage with 30 YF-215 engines that use methane and liquid oxygen as fuel, similar to the Raptor engines of SpaceX.

The engines are said to have a thrust of approximately 200tonnes, compared to Starship’s 33 Raptor engines that each offer thrust of about 280tonnes.

The second stage also looks like Starship’s with similar aerodynamic flaps positioned at a similar place on the rocket.

“China puts a Starship clone on its critical path for long-term settlement of the Moon,” American space journalist Eric Berger posted on X.

The airshow presentation suggests China intends to debut the rocket in 2033 along with a “heavy-duty launch vehicle system” and a return test at sea.

This isn’t the first time the Chinese space agency seems to have found inspiration from American designs.

In 2021, China unveiled a drone helicopter for future Mars missions that looked remarkably similar to Nasa’s Ingenuity chopper.

Last year, the Chinese agency revealed that its Mars helicopter design was a “foldable” quadcopter dubbed MarsBird-VI designed to have enhanced lift and performance in the thin Martian atmosphere.

Unlike Ingenuity, China said its chopper is even capable of collecting samples weighing up to 100g and returning them to its mission lander.

These developments come as China and the US are locked in a tight space race with both countries eager to set up bases on the lunar South Pole where there is likely to be water ice.

The US is teaming up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX for its upcoming lunar ambitions to put boots on the Moon.

Meanwhile, China is poised to use its conventional rocket for initial missions but is betting on its more powerful, reusable, Long March 9 for subsequent launches.

“We will work with our partners on joint demonstration of overall mission plans, joint design of the International Lunar Research Station, technical cooperation on projects, implementation of overall mission planning, and the sharing of scientific data,” Yang Xiaoyu, director of the system engineering department at China’s space agency, said.

Japan nominates ‘cat memes’, ‘too much rizz’ for buzzword of the year

Nominations for Japan’s buzzword of the year were released on Tuesday, revealing the trends and conversations that dominated the country in 2024.

The buzzword for 2024, along with the words that made it to the top 10, will be chosen from among 30 nominated words and will be revealed on 2 December at the U-Can Shingo Ryukogo Taisho competition organised by the publishing house Jiyukokuminsha, The Japan Times reported.

The 2024 Paris Olympics appears to have been a big draw as several top words centre around the event. “Bureikin” or “breaking” refers to breakdancing, which was included in the Olympics for the first time this year. Japan’s Ami Yuasa became the first woman to bring home an Olympic gold for breaking.

The competition also saw controversy after Australian breaker Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s performance led to viewers questioning her moves and her costume, followed by vicious bullying on social media.

Javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi’s frustrated statement, “Meigen ga nokosenakatta” or “I could’ve said something more quotable” after she won a gold at the Olympics too made it to the list, as did wheelchair tennis player Tokito Oda’s “Yabai, kakkoyosugiru, ore” or “Whoa, I have too much rizz” after he won a Paralympic gold in men’s wheelchair tennis.

Japan’s equestrian team, who brought back the country’s first medal in the sport since 1932, called themselves “Shoro Japan” or “past middle-aged Japan” because of the team’s average age of 41.5.

Japanese baseball pitcher Shohei Ohtani’s historic achievement of becoming the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season led to the inclusion of “50:50” in the list.

Political events dominated the national conversation.

After the revelation that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s campaign funds had been siphoned off into a secret slush fund led to the resignation of its leader Fumio Kishida, “uragane mondai” or “slush fund scandal” saw consistent use, especially as Japan went to polls later in the year.

“Kasuhara” or “customer harassment” too was a top mention after the Tokyo metropolitan assembly passed an ordinance to protect service workers.

“Shin shihei” or “new banknotes” — Japan introduced new banknotes on 3 July – and “Shin NISA”, an abbreviation of the Nippon Individual Savings Account, a tax-exempt investment programme launched on 1 January 2024 to encourage people to shift from savings towards investment, were also in the list.

Words that became popular on social media also made it to the list, like “Neko Meme” or “cat meme”, “BeReal”; a French social networking app that asks users to post unfiltered photos of themselves; and “Kaiwai” or “neighbourhood”, which refers to groups with a common interest.

“Konbini Fujisan” or “Mount Fuji convenience store” too was a heavily mentioned phrase, after frustrated locals in Fujikawaguchiko bemoaned the hordes of badly behaved tourists that flocked to the popular Instagram photo spot in front of a Lawson’s convenience store.

Food-related words were also nominated, such as “Asai Bouru” after açaí bowls saw a comeback in Japan as well as “Inbaundon”, a portmanteau of the words inbaundo or inbound and don or rice bowl, which is a fine-dining version of the popular Japanese recipe with expensive seafood.

“Reiwa no kome sōdō” or the “rice riots in the Reiwa Era” don’t refer to actual riots, but the shortage of rice in supermarkets the country saw this summer.

Other phrases like “Tokuryū” or “quasi gangsters” for makeshift groups set up to commit crimes and “Howaito Anken” or “white job,” a euphemism for illegal part-time jobs were also on the list, according to Tokyo Weekender.

Also featured were “Hidankyo” after the “Nihon Hidankyo”, a group representing survivors of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki atomic bombings who won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024, as well as “Nankai Torafu Jishin Rinji Joho” after the Japan Meteorological Agency’s first ever megaquake alert following a 7.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Miyazaki Prefecture in August.

Narendra Modi condemns ‘deliberate attack’ on Hindu temple in Canada

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi condemned a violent confrontation on Sunday outside a Hindu temple in Canada, where a consular event was underway.

Mr Modi described the incident, which took place at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario, as a “deliberate attack” and voiced concerns over “attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats in Canada“.

It comes amid a steep decline in the diplomatic ties between the two countries after Canada accused India of being involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied the claim.

Footage of the clash, widely circulated on social media, showed individuals wielding flagpoles and exchanging punches.

The brawl broke out during a consular camp organised by the Indian High Commission aimed at providing passports and other services to local Indian nationals. Some of the demonstrators were seen holding Khalistan flags, a symbol for those advocating for a separate Sikh homeland in Punjab, India.

While the exact cause of the violence remains unclear, the Peel Police responded to multiple demonstrations across the area on Sunday.

In a statement, local authorities announced that three men have been charged: a 43-year-old with causing a disturbance and assaulting an officer, a 23-year-old with assault using a weapon, and a 31-year-old with mischief. Additionally, police reported the suspension of an off-duty officer spotted at one of the demonstrations; his participation in the protests is under investigation.

“We are aware of a video circulating on social media which shows an off-duty Peel police officer involved in a demonstration. This officer has since been suspended in accordance with the Community Safety and Policing Act,” Richard Chin, Peel Police spokesperson, was quoted as saying by the CBC News. “We are investigating the circumstances in totality depicted in the video and are unable to provide further information until such time that this investigation is complete.”

The incident amplified existing tensions between India and Canada, which worsened after Canada expelled Indian diplomats in October. Canada alleged that Indian intelligence may have been involved in the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India has strongly denied these allegations, calling them politically motivated, and retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats.

Sikhs for Justice, a North America-based organisation that supports the Khalistan movement and is banned in India, claimed that “pro-Khalistan Sikhs who were peacefully demonstrating … were violently attacked by a group of Indo Canadians”.

Indian media reported that an Indian consular camp at the venue was targeted in the violence.

“Khalistan” refers to a proposed independent state for Sikhs that some activists seek to establish in India’s Punjab region. This movement remains a source of friction between India and segments of Canada’s Sikh community, some of whom openly support the cause.

In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Modi said: “I strongly condemn the deliberate attack on a Hindu temple in Canada. Equally appalling are the cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats. Such acts of violence will never weaken India’s resolve. We expect the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.”

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau similarly decried the violent events.

“The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely. Thank you to the Peel Regional Police for swiftly responding to protect the community and investigate this incident,” Mr Trudeau said in a post on X.

India has repeatedly called on Canada to take stronger measures against Khalistan activism on Canadian soil, arguing that such activities compromise the safety of the Indian diaspora. Canadian officials have maintained that the incident was under investigation.

Addressing the situation during a visit to Australia, India’s external affairs minister, S Jaishankar, echoed Mr Modi’s concerns, labelling the incident at the Hindu Sabha Mandir “deeply concerning”.

Referring to a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs, he added: “What happened yesterday at the Hindu temple in Canada was deeply concerning… you should have seen the statement by our official spokesperson and also the expression of concern by our PM yesterday. That should convey to you how deeply we feel about it.”

The recent violence has intensified calls for increased security around Indian community centres and temples in Canada, where tensions have spiked since the diplomatic row began. The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi urged the Canadian government to protect Indian nationals, calling the violence “perpetrated by extremists and separatists”.

“We call on the Government of Canada to ensure that all places of worship are protected from such attacks. We also expect that those indulging in violence will be prosecuted,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Monday.

The Peel Police have since stepped up patrols around religious and community hubs in Ontario in an effort to prevent further disturbances.

Meanwhile, a massive crowd of Indian-origin residents in Canada paraded through the streets of Brampton to protest against the local police force.

All the ways the Taliban are restricting lives of women in Afghanistan

Women in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are currently barred from most of the ordinary activities their counterparts elsewhere in the world see as their natural right – studying, working, going to a salon or the gym, and even speaking or praying in public.

The steadily increasing diktats on Afghanistan’s nearly 50 million women, imposed by the hardline Islamist regime which initially promised a progressive society, have been globally condemned as gender apartheid.

A female cat has more rights than a woman in Afghanistan, Hollywood star Meryl Streep said in September, speaking at an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“A cat may go sit on her front stoop and feel the sun on her face. She may chase a squirrel into the park. A squirrel has more rights than a girl in Afghanistan today, because the public parks have been closed to women and girls by the Taliban,” Streep said, shining a light on the depleted rights of Afghan women.

When the Taliban were last in power from 1996-2001 girls were not allowed to attend school and women were banned from work and education. Their rule today, decades later, resembles the grim reality of their previous time in power, says Zahra Joya, the founder of Afghan news website Rukhshana who runs the news operations with her team of women in exile.

Here is a list of activities from which Afghan women are banned or restricted:

Within a month of taking control of Kabul, the Taliban’s education ministry banned girls and women from schools. However, they announced the reopening of schools for all male teachers and students, leading to condemnation from the rest of the world. The Taliban leaders also announced that the girls were barred from studying beyond the sixth grade.

The ban was extended to colleges and universities in December 2022. Some of the female students were turned back from the doorstep of their universities at gunpoint by Taliban fighters when they attempted to return to their classrooms.

Taliban-ruled Afghanistan is the only country in the world with harsh restrictions on female education. Several local and senior officials, including chief spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, have said the Taliban authorities will reopen the schools inevitably with adherence to Islamic Sharia laws but have not announced any step to invite girls and women back to educational institutions.

The Taliban have banned women from government and private jobs, including working with NGOs, affecting international aid work.

Women workers under the Nato-led administration in Afghanistan were asked to go back to their homes in Kabul in September 2021, marking the first unofficial ban on women’s work. A senior Taliban leader told Reuters women would not be allowed to work alongside men in government ministries.

The Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry, which replaced the Women’s Ministry, ordered on 7 May 2022 that women will be required to stay in unless they have important work outside of their houses. It also required them to travel in the company of mehram – a male chaperone.

With the exception of nurses and midwives in the healthcare sector, Afghan women are generally barred from other kinds of work by the Taliban. Healthcare workers say even women serving in hospitals face the risk of harassment by the Taliban’s morality police who monitor the dress code and gender segregation for female workers.

The Taliban order that a woman has to be covered from head to toe when stepping outside of her house accompanied by a male guardian has severely curtailed women’s freedom.

The diktat officially requires any woman travelling more than 75km (46 miles) or leaving the country to be chaperoned by a mehram. If women break the dress code restrictions, it is the male relatives who would face punishment.

Taxi drivers would also be punished if they agreed to drive a woman without a suitable male escort, according to the new set of rules.

The Taliban have banned all sports for girls and women and intimidated former female athletes into silence after taking over control.

In November 2022, the Taliban officially ordered women to be banned from entering gymnasiums and parks.

Even before the Taliban took control, women’s sports faced opposition in Afghanistan’s deeply conservative society that viewed it as a violation of women’s modesty and of their role in society. However, sports was not banned and Afghan women athletes trained in the country and competed in international championships. Most of them are now part of refugee teams and training in exile.

Afghan women can no longer visit national parks and public parks. In November 2022, Taliban spokesperson Mohammed Akef Mohajer claimed the group “tried its best” not to shut down parks and gyms for women and allocated separate days of the week for male and female access. They later claimed the Taliban’s hardline rules were flouted and authorities had to order a complete shutdown of parks – but the rule applied only to women.

In August 2023, the Taliban government banned women from visiting the Band-e-Amir national park in Bamiyan province, citing improperly worn hijab or head covering by women visitors.

Afghanistan’s acting minister of virtue and vice, Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, said going to the park for sightseeing “was not obligatory”.

In August this year, clothes shops in Kabul were ordered to hide the faces of mannequins by order of the Taliban.

In July 2023, the Taliban banned women’s salons and parlours, shutting down their last places of recreation and relaxation. The Taliban said beauty salons had to be shut down because they offered services forbidden by Islam and inflicted economic hardship for the grooms’ families in wedding festivities.

For days, the Taliban’s fighters on the streets monitored the shutdown of salon and beauty parlour services.

Afghan women must completely veil their bodies, including their faces, in thick clothing in public spaces to prevent men from committing vice, according to the new “vice and virtue” laws by the Taliban last month.

This is an extension of the Taliban’s previous ban from May 2022 when it ordered all women TV news anchors in Afghanistan to wear face coverings while on air.

Afghan women are also banned from reading, singing, or speaking in public by the Taliban in their so-called bid to discourage vice and promote virtue. Women’s voices are deemed to be a source of temptation, according to the Taliban’s interpretation of Sharia law. If a woman is heard singing, even from within her own home, she will be punished for violating the law.

“Whenever an adult woman leaves her home out of necessity, she is obliged to conceal her voice, face, and body,” according to the new rules.

Women are also forbidden from looking directly at a man who is not their husband or blood relative.

Pakistan extends terms of powerful military leaders

Pakistan’s parliament has approved a bill that will extend the terms of the country’s military heads from three years to five, in proceedings rushed by the ruling coalition government amid strong protest from the opposition.

Monday’s measure means that army chief General Asif Munir, who has been in office for two years, will continue to head the country’s powerful military at least till 2027.

The parliamentary proceedings which were telecast live turned disruptive as angry protesters from former prime minister Imran Khan’s party staged strong opposition, tearing copies of the bills.

Lawmakers from the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), led by imprisoned leader Mr Khan, argued that the bill was hastily passed without proper debate and said amendments were an attack on the democracy of the country.

The key constitutional amendments from the government of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who leads a coalition of parties opposed to Mr Khan that took power after an election in February, are largely seen as aiming to shore up support from powerful military figures.

The amendment to The Pakistan Army Act of 1952 was moved by defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and passed by both houses of parliament.

The law will extend the tenure of three service chiefs – Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff and Chief of Naval Staff – to five years from three.

The retirement age limit of 64 years for Generals, Air Chief Marshals, and Admirals will not apply to these three functionaries with any extensions or re-appointments for these roles set at five years.

However, the tenure of chair of Joint Chiefs of Staff remains unchanged at three years, reported Dawn newspaper.

The amendments were opposed by the PTI party members who tore the copies of the bill and flung them towards the house speaker while others chanted slogans.

PTI chair Gohar Ali Khan said: “Today, democracy has been changed into a monarchy”.

PTI’s leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, said: “Extending the tenure of the chiefs of the armed forces will have a negative impact on the professional competence of the rest of the officers of the armed forces and the standard of the armed forces. This is not a matter of an individual, but of the future of our beloved country.”

Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at Washington’s Wilson Center, also weighed in to say that “the most powerful post in Pakistan is poised to become even more powerful”.

“Pakistan’s parliament has pushed through a bill extending the army chief’s tenure from 3 to 5 years, and with little debate,” he said. “When a legislature is reduced to a rubber stamp, democracy is never a winner.”

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, however, defended the move saying it was for the stability of the armed forces.

“There is no harm if the tenure of any services chief is extended to five years like we have a five-year term for a government,” Mr Tarar told Geo New TV. “It will help bring stability and continuity of policies within institutions.”

Mr Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022 and serving a jail term since August blamed the military for staging his ouster after he fell out with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa.

The army has historically wielded huge influence in Pakistan, ruling it for half of its 75-year history, and is believed to have a sway over the politicians in power. Army generals have staged three coups against the elected governments in the history of Pakistan, ruling over the country over three decades.

Several politicians, including Mr Khan, have publicly claimed that military generals pressured and influenced policy-making and played a huge role in Pakistani politics.

Hundreds of students in New Zealand ill after suspected food poisoning

New Zealand’s University of Canterbury is investigating a suspected case of food poisoning after more than 200 students in two residence halls fell severely sick on Monday.

There were reports of long queues at toilets, students rushing away in the middle of exams to be sick, and vomit flecks on windows left by those unable to make it to the bathrooms in time.

Paul O’Flaherty, executive director of people, culture and campus life, confirmed that students at the University Hall and Ilam Student Accommodation had fallen sick.

“This is of course concerning to us, and we are working closely with the National Public Health Service to investigate the cause of the illness, which includes a visit by Public Health staff to University Hall to test a small sample of students,” he said, according to Stuff.

One student said “over 200 students were up at all hours of the night either vomiting or experiencing extreme diarrhoea”.

“There were queues at one building’s toilets at 4am due to the large amount of students experiencing this,” the student, who asked to stay anonymous, told local news outlet Stuff.

The outbreak is suspected to have been caused by a chicken souvlaki that was served at a student dining hall on Sunday night.

Officials from the New Zealand Food Safety (NZSF) began investigating the outbreak on Tuesday, and were operating on a “working assumption” that the shredded chicken in the souvlaki caused the illness, reported public broadcaster RNZ.

New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said: “Our working assumption is that the cause was shredded chicken served as part of a meal. The amount of time between the food being eaten and symptoms appearing (about 11 hours) is consistent with unsafe handling practices around cooling, reheating and hot holding of the meat.”

“As part of this we are working to establish the cause of the outbreak, including possible food and non-food sources.”

He added that the chicken was not undercooked, but “not quickly and effectively chilled” leading to bacteria growing. When reheated for the dinner, it was not hot enough to kill the bacteria.

The kitchen that provided the meal is run by University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA), whose president Luc Mackay said the cause of the illness “has not been determined” yet and that they were working with the university and the health service to find the cause and provide support to unwell students.

“We are disappointed to hear about the working assumption shared by New Zealand Food Safety. At this point in time, the investigation is still ongoing,” he said.

Multiple students were left distressed on Monday, as the university is in the middle of their end-of-year exams.

“Students missed exams due to this and many are struggling to get medical exemptions. One student spent over an hour of his exam stuck in the toilet,” student Harry Browne told The Press, adding that he woke up at 5.45am on Monday due to “terrible diarrhoea and vomiting”.

Students shared footage with The Press that showed vomit falling down the windows of the hall, likely from students unable to reach the bathrooms in time.

According to Stuff, students tried on Monday morning to seek special consideration for those who had to miss their exams or performed badly due to the illness.

Student Liam Reynolds told RNZ that he had been sick for 12 hours, and was not eating at the dining halls, and another student said she had purchased two small bags of chips for lunch on Tuesday because she did not trust the food at the dining halls anymore.

Later, the university said that students unable to write their exams due to the outbreak would be able to apply for special consideration and could be allowed to retake their exams.

“We have contacted all students in affected halls of residence directly outlining what to do if they think their exam performance was impacted and/or if they could not attend. UC’s special considerations team will provide individual support and answer any queries. We want to do all we can to support our students’ health, wellbeing, and academic success,” Mr O’Flaherty said, according to ABC.

“Yesterday’s affected students have reported to be feeling much better today, there were no new cases.

“We’ve recommended students keep their fluids up, make sure they wash their hands thoroughly and check the Health New Zealand website for further advice. We have encouraged students to contact UniLodge (student accommodation facility) for any additional support they need including a free electrolyte mix to address dehydration, bottled water and packaged meals,” he said.