Tag: Suicide

‘Parasite’ actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead

SEOUL, Dec 27, 2023 (AFP) – South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite”, was found dead Wednesday, police said. He was 48. The actor was found inside a vehicle parked on the street in Seoul’s mid-northern Seongbuk district, an official from the Seongbuk police station told AFP. “We believe his body has now been transferred to the Seoul National University Hospital,” he added. South Korea’s Yonhap news […]

Life expectancy in the US ticks up, but remains below pre-pandemic levels

WASHINGTON, Nov 29, 2023 (AFP) – Americans’ life expectancy rose in 2022 after two years of sharp decline, although it did not return to pre-pandemic levels, health officials said Wednesday. Life expectancy at birth in the United States rose by 1.1 years between 2021 and 2022, and stood at 77.5 years, according to initial estimates from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). “The increase… primarily resulted from decreases in mortality due to Covid-19,” […]

Beauty pageants ‘devastated’ by suicide of Miss USA 2019

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – Organizers of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants said Monday they were “devastated” by the suicide a day earlier of former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, who had often spoken out about stress and mental health. In a statement sent to AFP, the Miss Universe and Miss USA organizations said they were “devastated to learn about the loss of Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst.” “She was one of the […]

PHL gov’t seeks help of religious leaders to address rise in suicide cases amid pandemic

(Eagle News) — The Philippine government is seeking the help of various church and religious leaders to “stave off” the rising number of suicide cases in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has brought unprecedented economic difficulties and widespread infections that has resulted in almost 3,000 deaths in the country. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the appeal after receiving information from the National Task Force against COVID-19 about the “alarming increase” in suicides since […]

PNP: Student jumps from fifth floor of QC mall, dies in hospital

(Eagle News)–A senior high school student died after he jumped off the fifth floor of a mall in Quezon City, police said. A police report said the student  jumped from the fifth floor of the SM North Edsa Annex in Barangay Sto. Cristo at 5:37 p.m The student was rushed to the Quezon City General Hospital by the mall’s medical personnel. He was declared dead at 6:20 p.m. In a statement, SM said a joint […]

UP Diliman: One frat member implicated in hazing incident dies

(Eagle News)–One of the members of the Sigma Rho fraternity who was implicated in a hazing incident has died, the University of the Philippines said. In connection with this, the  Office of the Chancellor in UP Diliman urged all students, faculty and staff and other concerned parties to “stop posting and forwarding social media messages” related to the death of the frat member who was not identified. “Let us do this out of decency and […]

Parkland, Sandy Hook suicides put focus on mental health, grief

by Leila MACOR MIAMI, United States (AFP) — The community of Parkland was grieving Monday after a second student took their life a little over a year following the shooting at the Florida town’s high school that left 17 people dead. As Parkland was mourning, the authorities said the father of a child killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, had apparently committed suicide. Jeremy Richman, 49, lost his […]

Parents, schools express alarm about “Momo challenge”; UK schools start issuing advisories to parents

  (Eagle News) – Parents are advised to be vigilant of their children’s online activity in light of the “Momo challenge,” a sinister form of cyberbullying that entices kids and young adults to do harm on themselves and on their peers, up to the extreme of committing suicide. The “Momo challenge” — which uses a creepy image of a long haired woman with bulging eyes and a devilish grin, and having bird-like thin legs – […]

Instagram tightens rules on self-injury images

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Instagram late Thursday announced it is clamping down on images related to self-injury such as cutting. The move came after British Health Secretary Matt Hancock met with social media companies about doing more to safeguard the mental health of teenagers using their platforms. British teenager Molly Russell was found dead in her bedroom in 2017. The 14-year-old had apparently taken her own life, and […]

Razorback drummer dies in apparent suicide

(Eagle News) — The drummer of Filipino rock band Razorback died in an apparent suicide on Wednesday, Jan. 16. Brian Velasco took a Facebook video of himself as he plunged to his death from a condominium in Malate, Manila, at 9:45 a.m. “Here I go,” he said on the video, which has since been taken down by Facebook. The police have said his family has asked for privacy. Velasco, a drum instructor at RJ Guitar Center, […]

Death of Margot Kidder, Lois Lane of ‘Superman’ fame, ruled suicide

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP)–The death of Margot Kidder, the actress who soared to fame in the ’70s playing Lois Lane in the “Superman” movies, has been ruled a suicide, a Montana coroner’s office said. When she died in May at age 69 neither her agent nor the funeral home who handled her arrangements specified a cause, but Montana’s Park County coroner’s office has announced she killed herself. “Ms. Kidder’s family urges those suffering from […]

S. Korea MP embroiled in bribery scandal commits suicide

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) – A prominent South Korean lawmaker who was being probed over a bribery scandal has committed suicide, police said Monday. Roh Hoe-chan, a three-term lawmaker of the left-leaning Justice Party had been under investigation for allegedly receiving 50 million won ($44,300) from a powerful political blogger linked to many top politicians. The blogger, widely known by his online nickname “Druking”, is currently on trial for using illegal hacking programmes to sway […]