The World - News from June 5, 1985

More than 1,500 people were executed under death-penalty laws in 40 countries last year, including at least 661 in Iran, 292 in China and 114 in South Africa, Amnesty International reported. However, the London-based human rights organization noted a worldwide trend toward abolishing the death penalty. By the end of 1984, it had been banned in 27 countries and was still in force in 130 countries--although many of them have not executed anyone for years, the report said. In the United States, the number of executions--21 in 1984--is rising, and 1,400 people were under sentence of death at the end of last year, it added.