The number of executions recorded worldwide last year jumped to the highest level since 2015, with a sharp rise in Iran and across the Middle East, Amnesty International said in a report released Wednesday.
The human rights group said it recorded a total of 1,153 executions in 2023, a 30 per cent increase from 2022. Amnesty said the figure does not include thousands of death sentences believed to have been carried out in China, where data is not available due to state secrecy.
The group said the spike in recorded executions was primarily driven by Iran, where authorities executed at least 853 people last year, compared to 576 in 2022.
Those executed included 24 women and five people who were children at the time the crimes were committed, Amnesty said, adding that the practice disproportionately affected Iran's Baluch minority.
"The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offences, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities," Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said in a statement.
The group said China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States were the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023. The total number cited in Amnesty's annual report was the highest it recorded since 2015, when 1,634 people were known to have been executed.
Amnesty International director general Agnes Callamard delivers her speech Monday, March 27, 2023 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Callamard said progress faltered in the U.S., where executions rose from 18 to 24 and a number of states "demonstrated a chilling commitment to the death penalty and a callous intent to invest resources in the taking of human life."
The report cited the introduction of bills to carry out executions by firing squad in Idaho and Tennessee, and Alabama's use of nitrogen gas as a new, untested execution method in January.
Amnesty said that despite the setbacks, there was progress because the number of countries that carried out executions dropped to 16, the lowest on record since the group began monitoring.
Lebanon's health minister said 51 people were killed and 223 wounded Wednesday in Israeli strikes.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that would stretch from Brampton to Scarborough.
Helene strengthens into a hurricane and is expected to intensify as it moves toward Florida, forecasters say.
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Statistics Canada says the population of the country reached an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1.
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The acting director of the U.S. Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. 'What I saw made me ashamed,' Ronald Rowe Jr. said. 'I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.'
A man who "systematically isolated, manipulated, deceived, abused, and exploited" an elderly North Vancouver woman has lost his ownership stake in her home.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that would stretch from Brampton to Scarborough.
Searching for polar bears where the Churchill River dumps into Canada's massive Hudson Bay, biologist Geoff York scans a region that's on a low fat, low ice diet because of climate change. And it's getting lower on polar bears.
Statistics Canada says the population of the country reached an estimated 41,288,599 on July 1.
An advocate organization is calling for an inquiry following the death of a six-year-old boy who went missing in Shamattawa First Nation.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
A Missouri man convicted of breaking into a woman’s home and repeatedly stabbing her was executed Tuesday over the objections of the victim’s family and the prosecutor, who wanted the death sentence commuted to life in prison.
The two presidential candidates are set to deliver dueling speeches on Wednesday that reflect how they're honing their economic messages for voters in battleground states. Both are trying to counter criticism of them while laying out their best case for a public that still worries about the economy's health.
The death toll from an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran rose to 50 on Wednesday after one of the miners who was injured in the weekend blast died in hospital, the Iranian state television reported.
The acting director of the U.S. Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. 'What I saw made me ashamed,' Ronald Rowe Jr. said. 'I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.'
Iran’s new president signaled to world leaders Tuesday that he wants to open a 'constructive' chapter in his country’s international relations — but he made clear that everyone else, including the United States, needs to do their part.
From the dais of the UN General Assembly just a year ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu triumphantly hailed a new peace he said would sweep through the Middle East. A year later, as he travels back to that same world stage, that vision is in tatters.
Members of Parliament will vote today on a motion that could — but likely won't — bring down the minority Liberal government, and the Conservatives have already put the House of Commons on notice that more such votes are coming.
A federal inquiry into foreign interference plans to hear today from academics who study the flow of information in an era of growing distrust and polarization.
When electric utility BC Hydro launched a procurement process earlier this year seeking new sources of clean energy for the province's power grid, it included a specific requirement: projects must be at least 25 per cent owned by First Nations.
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A major yogurt maker is recalling one of its brands in Canada over concerns that it may cause illness in immunocompromised people.
A team at the University of Waterloo are developing a process to 3D-print bones, which could dramatically improve the quality of life for cancer and trauma patients.
The carbon fibre hull of the experimental submersible that imploded en route to the wreckage of the Titanic had imperfections dating to the manufacturing process and behaved differently after a loud bang was heard on one of the dives the year before the tragedy, an engineer with the National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday.
Astronomers have observed a massive pair of jets releasing from a supermassive black hole 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The megastructure spans 23 million light-years in length, making these black hole jets the largest ever seen, according to new research.
For decades, video games have relied on scripted, stilted interactions with non-player characters to help shepherd gamers in their journeys. But as artificial intelligence technology improves, game studios are experimenting with generative AI to help build environments, assist game writers in crafting NPC dialogue and lend video games the improvisational spontaneity once reserved for table-top role-playing games.
Lady Gaga isn't joking around about releasing new music. The Oscar-winner announced on Tuesday that she's releasing a new album titled 'Harlequin,' which she said in an Instagram post is a companion album to the upcoming film 'Joker: Folie a Deux.'
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The woman who alleges that Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted her in June 2016 is set to continue her testimony in court today.
Mortgage rule changes allow easier entry into the housing market with lower monthly payments, but also an increased cost of repaying a mortgage.
A federal judge sentenced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend to two years in prison, citing her extensive cooperation with prosecutors that led to the conviction of the former face of the cryptocurrency industry in one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history.
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An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that would stretch from Brampton to Scarborough.
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Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he wants to build a tunnel under Highway 401 that would stretch from Brampton to Scarborough.
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NHL star forward Claude Giroux had his car stolen in Ottawa on Tuesday evening, his wife says.
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Even though Northvolt is experiencing financial difficulty, the Legault government is convinced that the Montérégie battery plant will go ahead, but it is opening the door to the possibility of redistributing part of the promised energy supply block to other companies.
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A Winnipeg school went into lockdown Monday after a note threatening students and staff was discovered in the school’s bathroom.
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Newlyweds claim the company they hired to take their wedding photos and videos took off with their precious memories – and their money.
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Based on exclusive new polling data collected by Â鶹´«Ã½ in partnership with Insightrix Research, the majority of Saskatchewan residents say they’re ready for change, but most don’t see that change happening in 2024.
The Government of Saskatchewan says a private Christian school, embroiled in abuse allegations, has proved it's met education ministry rules by formally disconnecting from an affiliated church. But, by some indications, connections remain.
An image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 has been obtained by CTVNews.ca.
A 49-year-old Sudbury woman who was killed in a tragic collision with a police boat June 7 on Nepewassi Lake was told to remain in a residence on an island until police returned to pick her up.
More Canadians are installing solar panels on their homes, but some are facing challenges when it comes to getting home insurance after the panels are put in.
A statement from the province said Musyj will work closely with LHSC senior leadership and staff to address concerns regarding hospital governance and operations, and management practices, including concerning financial performance, that were found as a result of a third-party review.
Fire crews from Listowel, Atwood, and Monkton battled the blaze on Line 81, which started around 5 p.m. Tuesday.
OPP are investigating a crash that has sent the driver of a truck to hospital with serious injuries. Just before 5 a.m., police reported Donnybrook Line in Lucknow closed between Bruce Road 86 and Zion Road following the crash.
Three construction workers are being praised for their actions that police in Barrie say likely prevented an armed man from fleeing before being taken into custody.
A 17-year-old boy faces several charges and police are on the hunt for several more suspects following an armed home invasion and theft in Orillia.
A driver lost their life after a traffic collision in Caledon.
A statement from the province said Musyj will work closely with LHSC senior leadership and staff to address concerns regarding hospital governance and operations, and management practices, including concerning financial performance, that were found as a result of a third-party review.
The Windsor police POP Unit has made more arrests as part of a retail theft operation. According to police, 19 people were arrested and 45 charges were laid during the operation last week.
A quartet of alleged thieves pried their way into a Devonshire Mall apparel store early Monday morning, with the store’s owner reporting thousands of dollars worth of shoes were stolen.
The leader of the BC NDP took his campaign message to Terrace on Tuesday, where he promised to add to the dozens of hospital upgrades and new builds his party has already undertaken.
At a campaign stop in the Interior, the leader of the BC Conservatives heavily promoted the mining industry, pledging reforms he believes would unlock billions of dollars in annual government revenue.
A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls – including one that gave birth to 10 puppies – from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
Dozens of police officers and support workers have come to Lethbridge for the Social Disorder and Urban Crime Conference.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
To make higher education an easier step to take for Indigenous students, the University of Lethbridge is dropping some fees for those applicants.
The woman who alleges that Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard sexually assaulted her in June 2016 is set to continue her testimony in court today.
A 25-year-old suspect was charged with impaired driving Sept. 21 after police spotted two people without helmets on an ATV on Sand Bay Road in Goulais River.
A federal offender who was last seen in Sudbury is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for allegedly breaching his statutory release conditions.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
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