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The number of executions around the world soared last year to its highest since 2015, driven by a sharp rise in the use of the death penalty in Iran. At least 1,153 people were executed by governments in 2023, the highest number in eight years, according to a report from Amnesty International released on May 29.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli shelling and airstrikes killed at least 37 people, most of them sheltering in tents, outside the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and on Tuesday — pummeling the same area where strikes triggered a deadly fire days earlier in a camp for displaced Palestinians — according to witnesses, emergency workers and hospital officials. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The tent camp inferno has drawn widespread international outrage, including from some of Israel’s closest allies, over the military’s expanding offensive into Rafah.

It’ll likely take a long time for the passengers and air travel industry to recover from the shock of the Singapore Airlines flight last week that experienced turbulence that led to one death and dozens hospitalized, but the bulk of the damage was done in less than five seconds, according to a preliminary investigation by Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] A summary of the inquiry’s initial findings released on Wednesday revealed that a severe change in gravitational force, which took just 4.6 seconds and resulted in a 178-ft.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The United States has appointed a new representative to Taiwan, as China boosts its threats against the self-ruled island following the election of a new president who wants the territory to maintain its de-facto independence. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] China claims Taiwan as its own territory and this week staged naval and air force drills that surrounded the island in a simulated blockade. The American Institute in Taiwan that acts as the de-facto embassy in Taipei said Wednesday that veteran diplomat Raymond Greene would take over from Sandra Oudkirk beginning in the summer of 2024. Read More: Why Protecting Taiwan Really Matters to the U.

At least 20 people died after a speeding bus plunged into a ravine in a mountainous region of southwest Pakistan on Wednesday. It’s the latest morbid headline—following similar incidents earlier this month, last month, and last year in Pakistan—highlighting the frequent fatalities associated with bus travel in developing countries—a pattern that experts attribute to factors like poor infrastructure and inadequate safety protocols. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Pakistan is among the most dangerous places in the world to take a bus—but its problem of frequent, deadly bus accidents is shared among developing countries from Asia to Africa to the Americas, where buses remain crucial modes of transport, particularly for rural residents, in the absence of widely accessible rail networks. While buses are among the safest modes of travel in the U.

During a visit to Israel, former presidential candidate Nikki Haley left behind a controversial hand-written message. “Finish Them!” she wrote with a marker on an artillery shell on Tuesday, during her meeting with Israeli soldiers. Haley’s words and photos were shared in a social media post by Danny Danon, an Israeli politician and former ambassador to the United Nations, who accompanied her during the visit.