South Koreans Struggle Through Four-Day Funerals Due to Crematorium Shortage
South Korea’s demographic crisis is driven by the world’s lowest fertility rates, but there are problems on the other end of the life cycle as well.
Cremation
Chinese Turn to Street Cremations as Coronavirus Deaths Mount
The dishonest Chinese government claims fewer than two dozen people have died nationwide during the massive coronavirus outbreak sweeping the country, but the true number is believed to be in the thousands and could be heading into the millions.
China Digs Up, Incinerates Corpse over Family Objections After ‘Illegal’ Burial
Police in southern China’s Guizhou province recently exhumed and cremated a woman’s corpse against her family’s wishes as part of their strict enforcement of China’s funeral reforms, which prohibit citizens from burying their dead to conserve land in certain regions, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported Wednesday.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Signs Bill Requiring Burial or Cremation of Fetal Remains
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed a bill into law that will require the burial or cremation of the remains of surgically aborted babies.
Coronavirus Forces Crematoriums in India to Build Mass Funeral Pyres in Parking Lots
Crematoriums in Delhi began using their parking lots for mass funeral pyres in recent days as they operate beyond capacity amid a relentless surge of new Chinese coronavirus cases and deaths across India.
India: Pandemic Forcing Wedding Shops to Sell Cremation Items
Established wedding shops in northern India have been forced to sell cremation items in recent months as the Chinese coronavirus pandemic shifts consumer demand from marriage ceremonies to funerals.
‘Non-Stop’ Cremations in India Cause Some Furnaces to ‘Melt’
A crematorium in western India’s Gujurat state has been running “so long without a break” during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic that some of the metal parts of its gas and firewood furnaces “have begun to melt,” Reuters news agency reported this week.
Protests in India After Gang Rape Victim Allegedly Cremated Without Her Family’s Consent
A young woman from northern India died on Tuesday in the national capital, Delhi, two weeks after she was allegedly gang-raped and tortured in her home village of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh.
Report: Wuhan Funeral Homes Burned Coronavirus Victims Alive
Locals in Wuhan, where the Chinese coronavirus pandemic originated, have heard screams coming from funeral home furnaces, and some treated in hospitals say they saw workers put living coronavirus patients in body bags, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Monday.
Republican Senators Introduce Bill to Ensure Dignified Burial of Aborted Babies
A group of Republican senators introduced legislation Friday that would ensure dignified burials for aborted babies.
California May Let People Dissolve Their Corpses to Stop Climate Change
California lawmakers are considering a bill that would legalize “liquid cremation,” an “environmentally-friendly” process of using a chemical base mixture to destroy human remains as an alternative to cremation, which critics say causes pollution and climate change.
Mets Fan Sprinkles Ashes of Deceased Best Friend into Ballpark Toilets Across America
Tom McDonald and Roy Riegel shared their love of baseball and the New York Mets by attending games until Roy passed away nine years ago.
Indian Woman Mistakenly Declared Dead, Burned on Funeral Pyre
24-year-old Rachna Sisodia, a student and newlywed, was tragically pronounced dead of a lung infection at a hospital in northern India on February 25. Even more tragically, there are claims the hospital declared her dead by mistake, and she was still alive when cremated the next day.
Texas Will Require Burial of Fetal Remains
AUSTIN, Texas — A new regulation in Texas will take effect on December 19 which requires the burial or cremation of fetal remains.
Vatican Issues Decree on Burial, Cremation, Just Before ‘Month of the Dead’
The Vatican has published new guidelines regarding Catholic burial and cremation just in time for Halloween and the beginning of November—the “month of the dead.”
Texas Governor Stands Firm on State’s Fetus Burial Rule
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is holding to his guns on the new rules requiring burial or cremation of fetal remains. Opponents are threatening to challenge the rule in court.
Prince Declined Hollywood Walk of Fame Star – Twice
The late recording megstar Prince does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — not because he could not, but because he decided not to accept the award.
Guinea Ebola ‘Flare-Up’ Kills Two, at Least Three More Cases Suspected
The government of Guinea has confirmed four cases of Ebola and two deaths, the first in months following the official conclusion of the 2014 outbreak in that country that took the lives of over 11,000 people.
Israel Court Allows Transgender Woman’s Cremation
JERUSALEM — The body of an Israeli transgender woman who committed suicide will be cremated despite her ultra-Orthodox family’s wishes, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled in documents obtained today. Before she killed herself earlier this month, May Peleg wrote in her
Sacramento County Admits Failure to Bury Veteran in Military Cemetery
A Sacramento woman who discovered her veteran father was not provided with a proper burial is suing the county. The county admitted to making the mistake in 2013 and reportedly agreed to move his remains to the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, where his remains should have gone in the first place.
Company Offers Custom 3D-Printed Life-Sized Head Urns for Storing Loved Ones’ Remains
Jeff and Stacy Staab, owners of Arlington, Vermont-based Cremation Solutions, offer a product for storing the remains of loved ones unlike anything you’ve ever seen: fully customizable, 3D-printed, life-sized head urns that look exactly like the recently deceased.
