According to Amnesty International, executions across the world rose to their highest number in five years in 2022 despite growing moves to ban the death penalty. The annual report recorded 883 executions globally, up from 579 in 2021. Including information from countries such as China, where high levels of secrecy make it difficult to determine numbers, could mean that thousands more people were executed globally. Such information means the true scale of executions across the world could be even higher. Approximately 90% of the documented executions were carried out in Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The report found that non-lethal crimes such as drug offences were common in Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is in violation of international law. Executions in the Middle East and North Africa rose by 59% in 2022. In total four countries, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, abolished the death penalty for all crimes, however. Also, public support for the death penalty decreased in certain countries.
Singapore has executed another citizen for drug trafficking, the second in three weeks. The man was hanged after his last attempt to reopen his case was dismissed by the court, without a hearing. The man had been convicted in 2019 for trafficking around 1.5 kg of cannabis and had served seven years in prison. Activists and human rights organization have urged Singapore to stop executing prisoners for drug-related offences. There are currently 600 prisoners on death row in the city-state, mostly for drug offences.
Man found dead in Montreal parking lot hours after fatal shooting in Côte-des-Neiges
CBC
23-05-17 11:09
The suspicious death of a man in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, which could be a fatal shooting, is being investigated by police. Montreal police (SPVM) found the man unconscious in a business parking lot after receiving a call early on Wednesday morning and pronounced him dead when they arrived. Police are unsure if the injury was a gunshot wound but have set up a perimeter around where the body was found. No suspects have been identified. Police have yet to find any links between this death and the eighth and ninth killing to happen on the island of Montreal since 2023.
A man serving a life sentence in Canada for second-degree murder has escaped from a Kingston prison. Joshua Kenneth Kohl's absence was discovered on Tuesday evening and police have now issued a warrant for his arrest. Kohl was part of a group of men who were sentenced for the beating death of a man in Burlington, Ontario, at his 40th birthday party in 2002. It’s the second escape from a Canadian prison of a convicted murderer in less than a year.
A former subpostmaster who lost everything including his home as he tried to repay alleged shortfalls and make good balances on the Horizon system will see any prosecuted parties in court following the death of his wife. The Post Office was bankrupting members of staff using information that was later found by the court to contain bugs, errors and defects. Since then many subpostmasters and subpostmistresses have had criminal convictions overturned. Between 2000 and 2014, over 700 members of staff were prosecuted. The ongoing three-phase Horizon inquiry is taking place at the Rolls Building in London and is investigating the scandal.
Police have named Sean Dock as the victim of a fatal attack on a Renfrew street. The 35-year-old died after being found with severe injuries on Tennant Street on 10 April. A 35-year-old man has been arrested and charged over his death.
Sheku Bayoh, who died in police custody in 2015 while in Kirkcaldy, Fife in Scotland, may have suffered a fracture to his ribs as a result of falling on his outstretched arm, according to expert witness Professor Anthony Freemont. Freemont told a public inquiry that the type of fracture sustained was so rare he had had to consult 1950s medical literature. Freemont also suggested it was highly unlikely that the fracture had been caused by a police baton strike. The inquiry is to determine the cause of Bayoh’s death and assess whether race was a factor.
German forester Peter Wohlleben has published a new book entitled The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us If We Let Them. The work contains chapters on climate change and its effect on forests as well as discussions on how trees change their behaviour over time as a hedge against harsh, future conditions. The book has been criticised, however, for Wohlleben's “sentimental” language and his lack of clarity when discussing policy solutions to climate change. The book has been published worldwide in multiple languages.
Scientists from China and Australia have discovered an effective antidote to the potent toxin found in Amanita phalloides, otherwise known as the death cap mushroom. The mushroom is responsible for 90% of mushroom-related deaths globally, with almost 800 deaths and 40,000 illnesses recorded in China alone in the decade to 2020. Researchers have been unable to understand how the α-amanitin in the mushroom poisons humans and there was previously no antidote. But in vitro tests and experiments on mice showed that the medical dye indocyanine green could reduce the toxicity of the death cap toxin in human cells and mice.
A reader whose father died intestate has been asked by a property development company to take out a “grant of representation” so that the company can buy the house his father owned and which his widow failed to claim after his death. The man has been advised by Gary Rycroft, a solicitor at Joseph A. Jones & Co, a legal firm, that as a child of the deceased, he has the right to take out the grant, but that he does not have a right to take the house. The legal expert says that no matter the value of the estate, the grant is always required to transfer the title of a house either to a beneficiary or to a third party that has entered into a contract to buy the house. Rycroft added that the man could use his position in legal terms as a lynchpin to try to recover part of the estate for his vulnerable sister who lived in the house. From a legal standpoint, the sister does have a potential claim against the widow’s estate as a person financially dependent upon her deceased father’s widow in terms of using the house. This would fall under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975.
Arthur Miller's 1983 visit to China, in which he directed his own play "Death of a Salesman" to a Chinese audience, provided a unique point of cultural connection between China and America, says The Economist. The play was performed in Chinese by a Chinese cast and was based around the human issues of family, relationships and morality, areas overlooked by China's previous dramas, which had concentrated on politics and history. At the time, China was emerging from Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, a period which had already seen a brief spell of artistic freedom subsiding under the "spiritual pollution" campaign. Miller's play was, however, given an enthusiastic reaction from audiences. Its themes have remained poignant and relevant in China, where middle-class audiences appreciate the relevance of the playwright's depictions of struggle and failure. Recently, experimental theatre has emerged with social commentary and dystopian themes, reflecting China's evolving society and vibrant theatre scene. Miller's play is still praised in China, as being remarkably relevant today.
Conflict-hit Middle Eastern countries are among those most exposed to climate change impacts but receive almost zero help to mitigate its effects, according to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Norwegian Red Cross. The report covers Iraq, Syria and Yemen and says that climate change effects combined with the impact of conflicts have exacerbated the regions' humanitarian crises. The report points out that there are only 19 funding projects in Yemen, Syria and Iraq, totalling $20.6m, according to the Climate Funds Update database. This accounts for less than 0.5% of worldwide climate project expenditure.
London’s Fire Brigade (LFB) has released footage of an e-scooter exploding in a kitchen, to warn the public of the dangers of charging the devices indoors. The video shows a lithium battery exploding, sending flames hot enough to melt aluminium across the kitchen. The scooter’s owner, Dell Williams, brought the device from Gumtree two weeks prior to the incident. He attempted to use a fire blanket to control the blaze but was forced to flee due to toxic fumes. No one was injured in the blast, but Williams was taken to hospital due to smoke inhalation. The LFB stated that e-scooters and e-bikes should only be bought from reputable suppliers.
Hundreds of Palestinian stores in the Old City of Jerusalem were forced to shut by Israeli police ahead of an annual far-right march. The Jerusalem march, known as the “flag march” which marks the capture of East Jerusalem in 1967, has seen instances of violence and Israelis chanting racist slogans. Palestinian Authority’s Governor of Jerusalem, Adnan Ghaith confirmed that at least 1,400 stores closed their doors in and outside the Old City. The closure of these stores impeded the ability of an employee to get to work and the shop owner from reaching their store, says Al Jazeera, jeopardizing the livelihood of these individuals. The Old City and the surrounding northern areas make up the main commercial and economic centre of life for Palestinians in Jerusalem, including the central bus stop, schools, and medical centres. Palestinian residents and store owners in Jerusalem say they were greatly affected by the event. The flag march is seen as an attempt by Israel to assert its control over the occupied eastern half of the city.
The annual Israeli flag march through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in occupied East Jerusalem has sparked condemnation. Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh described the event as “provocative” and “absurd,” whilst alleged ultra-nationalist Israelis were heard chanting “Death to Arabs” and “May your village burn”. The march is an attempt to affirm Israel’s ownership of the eastern half of the city, captured in the 1967 war and annexed in a controversial move not recognised by the international community. Palestinian youths, however, are calling for a campaign to raise the Palestinian flag in various towns to coincide with the event, which continues to damage Israel’s relations with the Palestinians.
From Renaissance ideals to Ebenezer Howard's Garden City, architects and urban planners have created some of the most famous cities with specific ideals in mind. The author mentions an 8th century Kyoto, which had a grid system modeled from China's Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), long before Manhattan existed; a scaled-down version was made of Nara, the capital before it; the city had temples, shrines, and delicate gardens to the city's backdrop of mountains. 15-minute cities were polarizing in the UK due to their association with low-traffic neighborhoods; Blooming with parks, temples and huge statues, Ramesses II's Pi-Ramesses, was built on the banks of a now-dry branch of the Nile, but was little more than a lost city buried under Egyptian fields for 3,000 years. In the wake of Europe's Black Death, Renaissance idealists harked back to Roman and Greek settlements, developing the concept of the Ideal City. Architects such as Maverick Filarete named his pioneering, star-shaped prototype the Sforzinda. Lastly, urban planner Ebenezer Howard sought a way for normal working-class families to escape the city, leading to garden cities such as Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City that influenced the capital cities of New Delhi and Canberra.
Jewish supremacist protests in East Jerusalem's Old City have become increasingly violent in recent years. Categorized as a far-right "flag march," this Jerusalem Day event commemorates the Jewish capture and annexation of East Jerusalem, a move considered illegitimate under international law. The march frequently sparks violent attacks against Palestinians and journalists by far-right Israelis who perceive Jerusalem Day as a national and religious celebration. Despite the presence of Israeli ministers and politicians, protesters chant extreme slogans, including "Death to the Arabs", promoting ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. The police frantically worked to prevent any incidents, but some scuffles still occurred.
Sydney is set to run out of burial space for people of different faiths in less than three years, due to an acute cemetery shortage, according to an audit conducted by the NSW Planning Department. The findings add to the pressures of finding solutions for the decay of human remains through toxins leaching into groundwater and methane gas release. NSW Lands Minister Steve Kamper has adopted a “two operator” model to address the acute shortage of burial space in Sydney, which includes the creation of an entity called a Metropolitan Cemeteries and Crematoria Land Manager.
The death of Srichand Hinduja at age 87 may lead to in-fighting between his three surviving brothers over leadership of the sprawling Hinduja Group empire, the legal battles of which span banking, media and energy. The Hinduja Group is valued at a collective fortune of about $US14bn and employs more than 200,000 people worldwide. The brothers have previously fought over assets and investments, with Srichand and his daughter leading the charge that assets held by one brother belonged to all. The truce the family spent years negotiating is now questioned, however, Shanu and Vinoo, the women's branch of the family, claim they will "continue to uphold SP’s legacy and values".
Coralee Cusack-Smith, a mother of two whose campaign to reform Canada’s correctional system after the death of her daughter Ashley Smith, has died aged 75. Ashley Smith’s death, deemed a homicide by a coroner’s inquest, occurred while she was in custody at the age of 19. Smith had been in custody for almost four years and spent more than 1,000 days in solitary confinement following misbehavior whilst at school. Her mother fought for reforms to the use of solitary confinement and was also vocal on issues including inhumane treatment and a lack of mental health support in prisons.
