suicides | Common News Update

Apr82021 by adminNo Comments

US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations

Health

The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decadesBy MIKE STOBBE AP Medical WriterApril 8, 2021, 10:06 PM• 3 min readNEW YORK -- The number of U.S. suicides fell nearly 6% last year amid the coronavirus pandemic — the largest annual decline in at least four decades, according to preliminary government data.Death certificates are still coming in and the count could rise. But officials expect a substantial decline will endure, despite worries that COVID-19 could lead to more suicides.It is hard to say exactly why suicide deaths dropped so much, but one factor may be a phenomenon seen in the early stages of wars and national disasters, some experts suggested.“There's a heroism phase in every disaster period,...

Dec152019 by adminNo Comments

Study links military suicides with longer wars, but not combat time

Business

Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Suicides among active-duty members of the military appear to decline during combat -- but may also be more common during longer wars. Researchers from the University of Hawaii and the Department of Defense analyzed nearly 200 years of military records to discern trends in self-inflicted deaths for the most comprehensive analysis of military suicides to date. The study was published in JAMA Network Open on Friday. They found that the incidence of suicide appears to have gone down among active-duty personnel during active wars, particularly during the 20th century. But the numbers increased during longer wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. The rate of active-duty suicides has hovered in the range between 20.2 to 29.7 deaths per 100,000 soldiers since 2008, but have rise...

Nov92019 by adminNo Comments

The Chinese suicides prevented by AI from afar

Technology

Li Fan, a 21-year-old student, attempted suicide after posting a brief message on the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo just after Valentine's Day. "I can't go on anymore. I'm going to give up," he wrote.Soon after, he lost consciousness.He was in debt, had fallen out with his mother and was suffering from severe depression. Some 8,000km (5,000 miles) away from his university in Nanjing, his post was detected by a program running on a computer in Amsterdam.It flagged the message, prompting volunteers from different parts of China into action.When they were unable to rouse Mr Li from afar, they reported their concerns to local police, who eventually saved him.It might sound extraordinary but this was just one of many such success for the Tree Hole Rescue...

Sep242019 by adminNo Comments

Navy opens probe after three suicides last week on USS George H.W. Bush

Business

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Federal and local authorities are investigating four suicides on the USS George H.W. Bush, including three this week and one back in July. Hampton Roads authorities have joined federal law enforcement agents to probe the deaths by suicide of sailors assigned to the Norfolk, Va., based warship and aircraft carrier, the Navy Times reported. Two sailors died by suicide on the same day and rumors have circulated describing the deaths as part of an "epidemic," but authorities have not linked the deaths. "The sailors did not serve in the same departments, and there does not appear to be a connection between their deaths," Naval Air Force Atlantic spokeswoman Commander Jennifer Cragg said in a statement to the Navy Times. Local police began investigating after Machinist's Mat...

May262019 by adminNo Comments

Love Island bosses ‘axe lie detector tests’ after series of reality show suicides

Entertainment

Love Island bosses have reportedly decided to axe their famous lie detector challenge following a number of deaths linked to reality TV shows.The decision comes following the passing of a former The Jeremy Kyle Show guest, as well as the suicides of former Love Island stars Sophie Gradon, 32, and Mike Thalassitis, 26According to an ITV source, the decision was made as part of efforts to clean up the show’s image.Lie detector tests have been a dramatic part of the ITV2 show in the past and saw couples grilled about their romances. Related Articles The results were then shown to the rest of the islanders as well as viewers.A source told The Sun: “A series of top-level meetings have been held over the past few weeks with regard to safety measures and duty of care procedures.“One of the iss...