Erin Gallagher, Irish Teen, Commits Suicide After Battle With 'Vicious' Cyberbullying

A 13-year-old girl took her own life over the weekend after enduring "vicious online bullying," reports say.

According to the Irish Independent, Erin Gallagher of Ballybofey was reportedly found dead by relatives on Saturday night. The teenager had allegedly "warned her tormentors" that she was intending to commit suicide only 24 hours before.

"U prob think it was funny when [I] f**in put a rope round my neck cause of yous [sic]," she wrote on Friday in a post on ask.fm, a popular social networking site. Her comment had reportedly been directed at an anonymous person who had been bullying her.

Among other things, the young girl had allegedly been taunted about "her weight and looks." The Sun reports that Gallagher had once said getting bullied was her greatest fear.

Gallagher's death is the "third high-profile apparent suicide linked to cyberbullying in a matter of weeks," the Irish Examiner writes.

Earlier this month, Canadian teen Amanda Todd committed suicide after enduring years of being bullied online and offline. In a YouTube video posted in September, Todd described being blackmailed, taunted and assaulted by online acquaintances and schoolmates alike.

Just six weeks ago, another Irish teen, 15-year-old Ciara Pugsley, took her own life after "being bombarded with hate messages" on ask.fm.

Pugsley's father, Jonathan, told the Irish Independent that he was "completely devastated" that another young cyberbullying victim had committed suicide.

"It is outrageous that this is happening to another young teenager. I'm devastated for that family and heartbroken again," he said.

In the wake of Gallagher's death, a Facebook tribute page honoring the life and mourning the loss of the young girl was set up by the teen's friends and family.

Almost 5,000 people have already offered their support, with some calling for a charity run in Gallagher's name and the banning of ask.fm.

- Huffingtonpost.com

Hurricane Sandy Gives Cable TV Ratings Spike

Hurricane Sandy brought strong winds, heavy rains, and a ton of viewers stranded at home watching the news.

By Monday morning, the storm pushed other news stories aside and dominated broadcast and cable news channels throughout the day and evening. Hurricane Sandy brought a ratings spike to cable news channels, with Fox News bringing in the most total viewers and CNN winning in the coveted A25-54 demographic in both total day and primetime programming.

Throughout its daylong programming (6:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) Fox News brought in a total of 2.28 million total viewers, with 528,000 viewers in the demo. CNN won the demo, bringing in 546,000 viewers and a total of 1.4 million total viewers.

During primetime, Fox News brought in a total of 3.5 million viewers, with 875,000 viewers in the demographic. CNN won the demo by bringing in more than 1 million viewer, and a total of 3.4 million viewers. MSNBC came in third place, with a total of 1.4 million viewers, and 477,000 in the demo.

Students at Cava mela turning trash into art

MYSORE: The students of Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (Cava) are making the best use of trash to turn them into pieces of art. Such works are being displayed at two-day Cava mela that began on Tuesday.

BFA II student Kishore has created birds using corks, while MFA student Nagendra has made a camel using pipes. Shylesh has made a modern charkha using discarded cycling gym equipment, while another student has made a spider web using used tyres.

Cava dean V S Deshpande said that their students have created works using waste and resources available in the college.

This is the eighth year of Cava festival, and students have come out with innovative works. Deshpande said that Nagendra, I year student of Master of Fine Arts, has designed a camel using pipe and discarded materials.

Cava Mela has been a platform to learners to explore their creativity. This is unique because it attracts alumni every year. Yogananda, an alumnus said that students have come out with works based on issues like Cauvery river water dispute and price rise of essential commodities. A student is also creating awareness about the impact of male chauvinism.

Gautham, Srikrishna and Yashwanth have created a mock "final procession" of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on the lines of the one they saw at a recent agitation in Mandya. Poornima and her classmates have highlighted the sufferings of common man due to price rise through their work. Bhavanishankar and Kishore have depicted the suicide of mother and her girl child by jumping into a well. Kishore explains the work, saying that the mother has taken the drastic step following harassment by her husband and in-laws for not delivering a boy.

Nagaprasad has made a pen stand using waste papers. The shapes of Buddha, folk art and tribal faces created on soaps by Shrithin are on sale.

Shylesh, the creator of a modern charaka, said that he was given cotton to create an art work during a national art festival. The same inspired to come out with a charaka at Cava festival.

Manju of photo journalism department has made an image of a gorilla to use it as background to take pictures of visitors wanting to pose with the large African ape. The students have also created an image of an elephant and a ship in front of the college.

- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Eating More Meals Linked to Less Student Overweight

TUESDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Drinking soda, watching TV and playing video/computer games increased the risk that students would gain weight or remain overweight, while eating more meals each day and playing school sports reduced the risk, according to new research.

The 18-month study looked at the impact of the Healthy, Energetic, Ready, Outstanding, Enthusiastic Schools (HEROES) program implemented by schools in southern Indiana, northwestern Kentucky and southeastern Illinois.

The program is meant to improve students' health through changes in physical education, nutrition, health promotion efforts for school staff and students' families, and community involvement.

The study included more than 5,300 students at 11 schools. The findings confirm the connection between higher levels of soda consumption and childhood obesity, and support the recent New York City ban on sales of supersized sodas and other sweetened beverages, said study author Dong-Chul Seo, an associate professor in the School of Public Health at Indiana University.

The finding about the association between the number of meals students eat daily and their weight has not been widely studied, the researchers say.

"Thus, encouraging students to maintain a regular meal pattern with at least three meals a day appears to be a good strategy to help students achieve healthy weight," Seo said in a university news release.

The study is scheduled to be presented Tuesday at the American Public Health Association annual meeting in San Francisco.

The Welborn Baptist Foundation, located in Evansville, Ind., funded the program. The goal is to turn around the high rates of childhood obesity in the 14 counties they serve, Seo said.

The study also found a school's socioeconomic states had an impact on students' weight. Those at poorer schools were more likely to be overweight or to gain weight. This could be because richer schools offer more nutritious foods and physical activity, or it could be due to peer influence, Seo suggested.

By focusing on the modifiable risk factors identified in this study, schools and families may be able to help children achieve and maintain a healthy weight, he said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines how parents can help their children maintain a healthy weight.

- HealthDay.

Afghanistan hosts first professional boxing match

A sell-out crowd is expected to watch the
"Fight 4 Peace" 

Afghanistan is hosting its first professional men's boxing match amid tight security in the capital Kabul.

The 12-round bout is for the vacant World Boxing Organisation Intercontinental middleweight belt.

German-born Afghan boxer Hamid Rahimi is taking on Tanzanian Said Mbelwa for the title.

The match is being broadcast live, with millions of Afghans across the country expected to watch.