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Hype Malaysia
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
From Harris Yulin To Arthur Hamilton: 7 Celebrities Who Passed Away Recently
As we approach the middle of the year, it's a time to reflect on the lives and legacies of the celebrities we've lost in recent months. From iconic musicians to television personalities, each one left a unique mark on the world through their talent, passion, and presence. Their passing is a reminder of how deeply connected we can feel to those who inspire us from afar. This list acknowledges the notable figures we've lost in the last month. While they are no longer with us, their contributions and influence continue to shape culture and leave a lasting impact. It serves as a tribute to their legacies and a respectful farewell. David Hekili Kenui Bell The 'Big Hawaiian Dude' of 'Lilo & Stitch' passed away on 12th June (Thursday). David Hekili Kenui Bell was a beloved Hawaiian actor, most notable for his role in the recent live-action film, 'Lilo & Stitch'. In many other characters he portrayed, he almost always reflected his heritage, blending Pidgin, Indigenous Hawaiian language, and English, to help preserve local culture in mainstream media. He was described as a sweet, generous and brilliant person, often calling him an embodiment of what 'Aloha' is. He was deeply cherished in his community, greeted travellers daily through his familiar airport announcements, and proudly represented Hawaiian culture on a global platform. His warmth, modesty, and authentic aloha spirit will continue to have a memorable impact on everyone he encounters. Harris Yulin The acting industry is in shock with the news of esteemed American actor Harris Yulin's passing on 10th June (Tuesday). He's known for his roles in 'Ghostbusters II', 'Scarface', 'Training Day' and many more. He was a dedicated performer who was said to be immensely committed to his craft. He brought depth and complexity to the characters he played, mainly portraying morally grey roles with subtle intensity. Harris was said to be a gracious and warm person who valued the process and value of work rather than the fame that it gives. The 87-year-old's legacy will forever live on through his iconic roles and his family. They plan to have a memorial on a later date. Kim Woodburn Kim Woodburn, the co-host of the nostalgic British show, 'How Clean Is Your House?', passed away on the 16th June (Monday) at the age of 83 years old. She had been suffering from an illness for months leading up to her passing, cancelling the majority of her work commitments to be able to start her recovery process. Beyond her cleaning expertise, Woodburn appeared on various reality TV programs, including 'I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!' (2009), where she finished as runner-up Kim's passing was confirmed by her manager. Furthermore, it has been requested by her family that details on her passing remain private. Kim will forever be remembered as a warm and outspoken person who made many fans' lives better with her humour. Anne Burrell Food Network fans mourn the loss of 'Worst Cooks in America' host Anne Burrell. The chef passed away on the 17th June (Tuesday), at the age of 55 years old. She was mostly recognised by her nurturing nature and infectious enthusiasm on her show, often referring to herself as 'professional pleasure provider,' finding joy in making people smile through food. Beyond her cooking career, she was a frequent contributor to charitable causes, serving on the Garden of Dreams Foundation Advisory Board. She aimed to support children facing adversity. She will continue to be remembered through every meal cooked with her books, and through her fans and colleagues alike. Arthur Hamilton 'Cry Me a River' Arthur Hamilton passed away on the 20th May (Tuesday), after living a long life of 98 years. Best known for his contribution to songs in the film 'Pete's Kelly's Blues' (1955), such as 'Sing a Rainbow' and 'He Needs Me'. Originally, his hit song 'Cry Me a River' was made for the film to be sung by Ella Fitzgerald but it ended up being released by Julie London in 1995, which became #9 on Billboard and #22 in the UK. The song ended up being placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001, solidifying his legacy in the music industry. His kind-hearted and devoted personality will forever live on in his pieces, friends and fans. Lim Pik-Sen (林碧笙) The actress for 'Chung Su-Lee' in 'Mind Your Language' has passed away on the 9th June at the age of 81 years old. The Malaysian-British actor began her acting career when she was 16 years old. Since then, she has been recognised as one of the most familiar East Asian faces on British television. She's widely known for her roles in 'Doctor Who', 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' and her most notable voice acting role as the narrator in 'Dark Souls'. Fans and friends have paid tribute to the actress, highlighting her joyous and witty personality. She will continue to be remembered through the British Film Institute as 'the most familiar Chinese actor on British television screens in the 1970s and 80s' and her enduring legacy across television, film, and gaming. Tong Gai (Tang Chia, 唐佳) Veteran martial artist Tong Gai (唐佳) was pronounced dead on the 23rd June 2025 (Monday) at the age of 88. At first, reports described an elderly man falling from a building, which was later confirmed to be the choreographer. Although he had allegedly been battling depression before his passing, police have found no evidence of foul play or other causes. He gained widespread recognition for his roles in iconic kung fu films such as 'Shaolin Prince and One Armed Swordsman'. Furthermore, he was married to former Hong Kong actress Suet Nay (雪妮). Ultimately, he will always be remembered as a gifted and dedicated individual who was deeply committed to both his craft and his family. Sources: People (1)(2)(3), International The News, Yahoo, The Star Zaima Humaira contributed to this article What's your Reaction? +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0 +1 0
Vox
16-06-2025
- Science
- Vox
Scientists are dropping live mosquitoes out of drones in Hawaii. Here's why.
is an environmental correspondent at Vox, covering biodiversity loss and climate change. Before joining Vox, he was a senior energy reporter at Business Insider. Benji previously worked as a wildlife researcher. It sounds like something out of a nightmare: a giant drone flying through the sky and dropping containers full of live, buzzing mosquitoes, one of the world's most hated insects. But in Hawaii, this scenario is very much real. A remotely operated aircraft, about 8 feet long, is flying over remote forests in Maui and releasing cup-shaped capsules full of mosquitoes. As scary as it might sound, the project is a clever solution to a problem that has long plagued the Hawaiian islands. Hawaii faces an extinction crisis: It has lost hundreds of animals in the last two centuries, including dozens of land snails and birds, largely due to the spread of non-native species like stray cats and feral pigs. Many native animals found nowhere else on Earth are now gone for good. And several of the creatures that remain are heading in the same direction. Scientists on the islands are quite literally racing to save what wildlife remains. For the state's avian species — its iconic forest birds, significant, too, to Indigenous Hawaiian culture — the main force of extinction is malaria, a mosquito-borne disease. Mosquitoes, a nonnative pest, were introduced accidentally in the early 1800s by a whaling ship. The blood-suckers proliferated across the islands and later began spreading avian malaria, a blood-borne pathogen they transmit through their bites. A species of honeycreeper from Kauai called the 'akikiki is now considered functionally extinct in the wild. Robby Kohley/American Bird Conservancy The kiwikiu, or Maui parrotbill, is another endangered species of honeycreeper. It lives on Maui. Robby Kohley The disease, which can be fatal, utterly devastated the state's forest birds, and especially a group of species in the finch family known as honeycreepers. There were once more than 50 species of these colorful songbirds across Hawaii, and today all but 17 are extinct. As I've observed firsthand, the forests here have grown silent. The few honeycreeper species that persist today have been able to evade malaria largely because they live in higher elevations that are too cold for mosquitoes. But now, climate change is warming the islands, allowing the insects to march uphill into the remaining avian strongholds. Some experts describe this as an 'extinction conveyor belt.' Saving these birds is quite literally a race against the clock. That's where the drone comes in. Related Welcome to the extinction capital of the world Fighting mosquitoes with mosquitoes For more than a year now, a group of environmental organizations have been dropping biodegradable containers of mosquitoes into honeycreeper habitats on Maui and Kauai from helicopters. Now they're starting to do it with giant drones. The containers fall to the ground without a top, and when they land the insects escape into the forest. Critically, these are not your typical mosquitoes. They're all males, which don't bite, that have been reared in a lab. More importantly, they contain a strain of bacteria called wolbachia that interferes with reproduction: When those males mate with females in the area, their eggs fail to hatch. (That's thanks to a bit of biology magic, referred to as the incompatible insect technique, or IIT.) Researchers test out aerial mosquito releases using a drone. Adam Knox/American Bird Conservancy The idea is to continually release these special males into honeycreeper habitat where malaria is spreading as a way to erode the population of biting mosquitoes — and thus suppress the spread of disease. The approach has little ecological downside, said Chris Farmer, Hawaii program director at American Bird Conservancy, a conservation group that's leading the drone effort. Mosquitoes are not native, so local ecosystems and species don't rely on them. 'What this does is it erects an invisible barrier so that these mosquitoes can't get up to the forests where these birds remain,' Farmer told Vox. Since late 2023, a coalition of organizations known as Birds, Not Mosquitoes has unleashed more than 40 million male mosquitoes across Maui and Kauai. Nearly all of those were in containers tossed out of helicopters, which allow scientists to deliver the insects to remote forest regions where the birds remain. The group is now testing drones as an alternative. While the helicopters can carry more mosquitoes than drones in one flight — around 250,000, compared to about 23,000 — drones are safer because they're unmanned. They're also easier to fly on demand, says Adam Knox, the drone pilot and project manager for aerial deployment of mosquitoes at American Bird Conservancy. Dropping mosquitoes out of drones and choppers may sound unreal, but it's the best idea out there to help Hawaii's honeycreepers, said Marm Kilpatrick, an avian malaria expert at the University of California Santa Cruz. Kilpatrick is not affiliated with the mosquito-release project. 'The reason that it's worth doing is that so far, we haven't discovered anything else that can possibly do this better,' Kilpatrick told Vox. Scientists don't yet know if unleashing reproductively challenged mosquitoes is working and causing the resident mosquito population to crash. It's too soon to tell and the research is still underway, according to Christa Seidl, the mosquito research and control coordinator at Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project, a group leading avian conservation on the island. But the same approach has worked elsewhere — to stem mosquitoes that spread diseases among humans. Global health advocates have released mosquitoes with wolbachia strains that disrupt reproduction in other parts of the world and seen a massive decline in the incidence of, for example, dengue fever. 'It sounds weird to say, but we're standing on the shoulders of human disease,' Farmer said. 'The IIT we're using for conservation was first developed for human health.' Endgame for mosquitoes? Ultimately, the goal is not total elimination of mosquitoes that carry avian malaria in Hawaii. That's likely impossible, Kilpatrick said, unless scientists could release millions or even billions of lab-grown insects all at once. For the time being, the plan is to regularly — and indefinitely — release the mosquitoes into forests with some of the most endangered birds, such as the kiwikiu, 'ākohekohe, and ʻakekeʻe. Barring any regulatory or technical problems, drone deployments will soon be a regular part of that effort.
