German Ex-Chancellor's Wife Loses Job Over Russian Embassy Visit, Schröder Remains in Party Despite Putin Ties

Executions around the world rose to their highest number in five years in 2022, with Iran driving the spike, offsetting hopes raised by the abolition of capital punishment in six countries, among them Kazakhstan, according to Amnesty International. The rights group said that "disturbingly," 90 percent of the world's 883 confirmed executions outside China were carried out by just three of the 20 countries known to have carried out capital punishment last year. Iran was followed by Saudi Arabia, where executions tripled from 65 in 2021 to 196 in 2022 -- the highest recorded for that country by Amnesty in 30 years -- while Egypt executed 24 individuals.