The number of state executions around the world has reached its highest level in ten years, a new report by Amnesty International has said. More than 1,500 recorded executions took place in 2024 with Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounting for a combined 1,380 and the United States for 25, the charity found. Despite this…
North Korea has held the Pyongyang International Marathon for the first time in six years, welcoming some 200 foreign runners to the streets of the reclusive country’s capital. The marathon, which was launched in 1981, took place annually in April to celebrate the birth of its founding leader Kim Il Sung. Before Sunday’s marathon, the…
Hungary’s government has announced it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The move was announced by a senior official in Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government hours after Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrived in Hungary for a state visit. Orban had invited Netanyahu as soon as…
Tom Bateman State Department correspondent Sofia Ferreira Santos BBC News Reuters Mourners gathered at a funeral on Monday after the bodies of 15 people, including paramedics and a UN worker, were found in a mass grave, according to the UN The US has said it expects “all parties on the ground” in Gaza to comply…
The potential Western troop deployment to Ukraine being discussed in London should be described as a “reassurance force” rather than a “peacekeeping force”, defence and diplomatic sources say. Currently dubbed the Multinational Force Ukraine or MFU, it would be sent to the country to cement any ceasefire and encourage long-term confidence in the country. The…
From Boston to Los Angeles, thousands of people rallied on Saturday to protest the presidency of Donald J. Trump, including his handling of the war in Ukraine, his stance on reproductive rights and the firing of federal workers. About 300 protests, organized to commemorate International Women’s Day, were scheduled around the country. Some, like the…
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order sanctioning the International Criminal Court, accusing it of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel”. The measure places financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies. In January, the US House of…
When US President Donald Trump began speaking 10 days ago of Gaza as a demolition site, calling to “clean out that whole thing”, it wasn’t clear how far these were off-the-cuff remarks. But in the lead up to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, in his Oval Office comments before the meeting, and in the…
Zyn has taken the U.S. by storm. The nicotine pouch brand’s boom came at an opportune time for parent company Philip Morris International, which faced a yearslong decline in cigarette smoking. Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration authorized 20 Zyn products to be marketed and sold in the U.S. The FDA had allowed…
Police in Italy say they have busted a major European criminal network forging and selling artworks by some of the biggest names in modern art. More than 2,100 forged artworks were recovered, including works attributed to Banksy, Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso. Thirty-eight people were arrested over the forgeries, which carried a potential sale value…
