SAUDI ARABIA: Executions in the kingdom surged to a record high last year, Amnesty International said today.

Saudi Arabia executed 345 people last year, the highest number ever recorded by the human rights group in over three decades of reporting. In the first six months of this year alone, 180 people were put to death, the Amnesty said, signaling that the record is likely to be broken again.

NIGERIA:  At least 21 people have been killed in a road collision in Nigeria’s north-western state of Kano.

The Federal Road Safety Corps said a heavy lorry and a commercial vehicle carrying passengers had collided on Sunday on the Zaria-Kano expressway.

The agency said its preliminary investigation had revealed that the commercial vehicle driver “contravened established traffic regulations [and] drove against traffic flow, resulting in a fatal head-on collision with the oncoming truck.”

GREECE: Authorities imposed mandatory work breaks today in parts of the country where temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C, with the heatwave forecast to last until Thursday.

The Labour Ministry ordered the work stoppage, in effect from midday to 5pm, for outdoor manual labour and food delivery services, primarily in central Greece and on several islands. 

POLAND: Authorities reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania today after Berlin imposed similar restrictions earlier this year in a bid to discourage asylum-seekers.

Pressure mounted after Polish far-right groups alleged that Germany was transporting migrants from outside Europe onto Poland’s territory, leading Prime Minister Donald Tusk to announce the restrictions last week.

The controls began on Sunday night and will last for an initial period of 30 days.