UK sees rise in suicides

2011 saw a significant rise in the number of people in the UK taking their own life, according to new figures.

According to the Office for National Statistics, some 6,045 people committed suicide in 2011, up by 437 on the previous year.

An average of 11.8 people per 100,000 population ended their lives in 2011, more than 11.1 people in 2010.

Men between the ages of 30 and 44 were most likely to take their own life.

Figures from the ONS reveal that the rate of suicides among men in 2011 was the highest since 2002, with 4,552 men committing suicide.

The suicide rate among women was far lower, with 1,493 women killing themselves in 2011. The average number of suicides among women fell across all age categories in the last three decades.

The 2010 and 2011 figures among men brought an end to more than 10 years of falling suicide rates.

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.