140 teenager suicides in Kerala in just 6 months: Human rights body seek report

News Network

September 15, 2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 15: At least 140 teenagers killed themselves in Kerala for trivial reasons in the last six months, a study said, prompting the state Human Rights Commission (SHRC) to direct the Social Justice Department to examine the effectiveness of its suicide prevention measures.

In his direction to the Director of the department on Monday, SHRC chairman Antony Dominic sought a report on the initiatives taken to prevent suicide among youngsters.

"As per a complaint received by the panel, a study conducted by DISHA, an NGO, shows that at least 140 youngsters in the age group of 13 to 18 had committed suicide during the period of January 2020 to June 2020," a commission release said.

The study said that family disputes, troubled love affairs, failure in examinations, issues over mobile phones, two-wheelers were among the major reasons for the suicides.

"Thiruvananthapuram district has the highest number of suicides with 22 youngsters having taken the extreme step, followed by Malappuram with 20 suicides," the SHRC said.

The complaint said that the ineffectiveness of "village child protection councils" has resulted in the rising number of suicides among youngsters.

The release said the SHRC asked the Social Justice Department to review the effectiveness of the suicide prevention measures being taken up by it and sought a report.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had in July said instances of suicidal tendencies were being witnessed among children and termed it as an "extremely serious social issue".

"Since March 25, when the national lockdown was imposed, 66 children, below 18 years of age, have ended their lives due to various reasons," Mr Vijayan had said.

To help the children facing issues relating to mental pressures, "Chiri", a tele-counselling initiative was initiated by the government under its Our Responsibility to Children Programme (ORC), a planned community intervention that connects with Children and Young people between the age of 12 -18 years.

The health department had launched "Ottakalla Oppamund" (You are not alone, we are with you) programme to help children facing any kind of mental distress and to stop the suicidal tendencies among them.

A committee headed by Fire and Rescue Services DGP R Sreelekha had also been constituted to conduct a study on suicides among children in the state.

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Israel launches new aggression on residential neighbourhood in Lebanon’s capital, many killed

News Network

November 24,2025

Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable.

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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