11 Refugee Children Killed as Boat Capsizes

Posted 12:18pm Sunday 20th September 2015 by Emily Duncan

A boat carrying refugees between Turkey and Greece has capsized, killing 34 people. Of these, 11 were children and four were babies. The boat, which was said to be overcrowded with Syrian refugees, capsized off the coast of the Greek island, Famakonski. The cause is believed to be high Read more...

Californian Wildfires Consume Over 130,000 acres

Posted 12:21pm Sunday 20th September 2015 by George Elliott

California has declared a state of emergency as wildfires consume more than 130,000 acres of land. State authorities have said the two wildfires, dubbed the “Valley fire” and the “Butte fire”, have destroyed more than 700 homes and displaced over 23,000 people. Flames Read more...

Veteran Politician is Australia’s New PM

Posted 12:26pm Sunday 20th September 2015 by Henry Napier

Liberal Party MP Malcolm Turnbull has become Australia’s fourth prime minister in 27 months. Turnbull, who requested a leadership ballot after months of openly criticising now former prime minister, Tony Abbott, won the vote 54–44. In a press conference before the ballot, Turnbull Read more...

UK Labour Party Heads Left

Posted 12:29pm Sunday 20th September 2015 by Henry Napier

After Ed Miliband’s departure last week, Jeremy Corbyn has been elected as the new leader of the UK Labour Party. Although an unlikely candidate, Corbyn won by a landslide majority with 60 percent of the vote. Corbyn received 251,000 of the 422,000 votes cast. Party members, registered Read more...

Microsoft Recognises Innovative Students

Posted 10:56am Sunday 13th September 2015 by India Leishman

A student team from the University of Otago has won two prestigious awards for a virtual desktop project.  At the Tertiary Education ICT conference, the project was awarded the Microsoft Supreme Award and the Excellence in Technology Innovation Award. After three years of development, the Read more...

Marketing Students Oh So Successful

Posted 11:00am Sunday 13th September 2015 by Emily Duncan

Four marketing students from the University of Otago won the Marketing Association’s National Brand Challenge competition.  Teams from seven New Zealand universities were given a real-life case submitted by the beverage company Frucor. They were asked to market a new “Sparkling Read more...

Thousands Flee Syria for Europe

Posted 11:08am Sunday 13th September 2015 by Oliver Gaskell

More than 450,000 Syrians are expected to cross the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge in Europe over the next year, UN officials announced last week. This is on top of the approximately 366,000 who have already attempted the journey this year. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has called for stronger Read more...

The CensorShip has Sailed

Posted 10:36am Sunday 13th September 2015 by Jessica Thompson Carr

On Thursday 10 September, students, staff and members of the public gathered in the Link to silently protest the interim restriction order placed on Ted Dawe’s young adult novel, Into the River. The novel, which won the Best Young Adult Fiction and the Margaret Mahy Book of the Year awards Read more...

When Human Rights Prevail

Posted 11:12am Sunday 13th September 2015 by Zahra Shahtahmasebi

A Kentucky clerk who was imprisoned after refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples has been released from jail. Kim Davis was originally held in contempt of court after defying repeated orders by US district court judge, David Bunning, to issue the licences. She was jailed for five Read more...

Execrable | Issue 23

Posted 10:40am Sunday 13th September 2015 by Laura Munro

President Paul Hunt kicked off the dryest meeting of this year by outlining that Vice President Isaac Yu has been finalising a review of the Dunedin Craft Beer and Food Festival as well as other OUSA events. Hunt said Yu will make “potential recommendations” based on “what students Read more...