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Child suicides on rise in Iran, government concedes, after 11-year-old takes life over lack of access to school
People wear protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in the Tajrish traditional bazaar in northern Tehran, Iran

CHILD suicides are on the rise in Iran, the government conceded today after an 11-year-old student took his own life because he did not own a smartphone, preventing him from taking part in online classes.

Mohammad Moussavi was found dead in the kitchen at his home in Dayyer, south-west Iran, by his mother on her return from shopping last weekend.

Mohammad, and two other students who could not afford a smartphone, had reportedly been promised them by the school principal to enable them to take part in classes via an app connecting teachers and pupils.

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