World: 'Close to 4,000 people were executed worldwide in 2004, more than at nearly any other time in the last 25 years, according to human rights organization Amnesty International. The number of new death sentences imposed by countries also hit its highest level in 10 years, it said. "This is an alarming rise in executions and the figures uncovered from China are genuinely frightening," Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen told Reuters news agency. Amnesty, which based its analysis on public reports, said that China executed at least 3400 people last year, but cautioned the total figures are "only minimum figures; the true figures are certainly higher."' (CNN)