death

Probe into US couple's death focusing on toxin

The couple died while on a holiday in Nadi last month and infectious diseases have been ruled out as the cause of death.

Michelle's father Marc Canalog told the Fiji Times he was informed by officials from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that investigators were focusing on the toxic chemical paraquat.

Paraquat is a herbicide widely used in Fiji.

Organisations involved and supporting the Ministry of Health in the investigation include the CDC and the World Health Organisation.

     

Samoan player dies from suspected head injury

Tagatauli, 27, was playing for Vaimoso Rugby Club on Saturday when he indicated he wanted to be replaced 10 minutes from the end of game.

He left the field unaided but lost consciousness on the sidelines and went into cardiac arrest.

Emergency services revived the 27-year-old before he was taken to the National Hospital, where he spent four days in the high dependency unit before dying on Thursday.

Oman police confirm 'no criminal suspicion' in Avicii death

The 28-year-old was found dead on Friday in Oman's capital city, Muscat. A cause of death has not been released.

"Two post mortems were carried out," Royal Oman Police said, confirming there was "no criminal suspicion".

Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling, had been in Oman on holiday. His family have arrived in the country to return his body to Sweden.

Thousands of fans gathered in central Stockholm over the weekend to honour the musician, who scored huge worldwide hits with Wake Me Up and Levels.

Another former PNG Kumul passes on

Daroa, aged 67 from Hanuabada in the nation’s capital, died in Port Moresby on Sunday after a short illness.

“Lohia was PNG Kumul No. 3,” said chairman Sandis Tsaka.

“He wore the first PNG Kumuls No.3 jersey as a centre in PNG’s first ever Test Match against England in Port Moresby in July, 1975.”

Daroa played two Tests. He was a member of the flamboyant Hanuabada Hawks side in the 70s and Southern Zone.

Hunters players to be counselled

Ottio, who had been due to fly to England with Kumuls teammate Wellington Albert on Thursday to join Super League club Widnes, passed away at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby at 2am on Tuesday after collapsing during a road run on Sunday.

Hunters players held a bedside vigil for the 23-year-old, who had asked to join the session with the Queensland Cup premiers at short notice.

What it's like to dissect dead bodies for a living

But when she gets face to face with her "patients" for the first time, she's usually wearing several layers of protective clothing.

If you live in the ACT and leave your body to science, Ms Lewis may well be the person who prepares your cadaver for medical students to study and dissect.

This fashion designer makes clothes for dead bodies

From silk shrouds to delicate cotton coverings, her business — as a fashion designer and certified funeral celebrant — is to create outfits that mark and manifest the body's transition from living to dead.

Working with clients, who are either terminally ill or very forward-looking, she tailors funeral garments and rituals to suit individual needs.

"It's certainly not the career path I imagined I was going to be getting into," says Dr Interlandi, who completed her PhD project, [A]Dressing Death: Fashioning Garments for the Grave, at Melbourne's RMIT.

Is trying to transcend pain a pointless activity?

And it seems like a popular one — if the proliferation of increasingly specific painkillers and the popularity of movements like effective altruism is anything to go by.

We don't need to be neuroscientists to understand why: pain hurts.

But as Clemson philosophy Professor Todd May suggests, perhaps we need to ask ourselves whether we would genuinely like to be rid of certain sorts of pain.

How I prepared my son for the death of his mum

It's a heartbreaking sentence to hear from a six-year-old.

When Tina was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2010, five months after Lucas was born, she and her husband Aaron were devastated.

But after chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery and hormone therapy, she was as doctors called her "a miracle" and well for another three years — until the cancer returned.

"We were married for almost 14 years," Aaron said.

"I was worried Tina would never hear Lucas say his first words, call her mum ... that she would die before he had fully developed that bond.

True Blood star dies aged 39

Ellis's manager, Emily Gerson Saines, confirmed the actor's death via an emailed statement on Saturday (local time).

The Hollywood Reporter, which was first to report Ellis's death, quoted her as saying the actor died from complications of heart failure, adding more information would come to light in coming days.