Unspoiled rivers in the Balkans are facing new dangers from small hydropower plants that have sprouted up across the region in recent years, environmental experts warned Thursday. In a declaration issued after a meeting in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, they urged Balkan governments to halt any further construction of hydro dams.

Following the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit Albania on 26 November, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been activated at the request of the Albanian authorities.

At least a half-dozen companies that make or distribute prescription opioid painkillers are facing a federal criminal investigation of their roles in a nationwide addiction and overdose crisis. Many activists have called for drug companies to not only be sued but also face criminal charges. An investigation is a step in that direction, though it is not clear when or whether any criminal charges might be filed.

Six people died and some 300 were injured in Albania after the strongest earthquake in decades rocked the Balkan country early Tuesday, destroying buildings and burying victims in rubble. The epicentre of the 6.4 magnitude quake was about 34km northwest of the capital Tirana, at a depth of 10 km, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported on Monday. There is no sign of a reversal in this trend, which is driving long-term climate change, sea level rise, ocean acidification and more extreme weather.

Pope Francis traveled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Sunday to demand that world powers renounce their nuclear arsenals, declaring the use and possession of atomic bombs an "immoral" crime and a dangerous waste.

Hong Kong's voters turned out in record numbers Sunday for local council elections that the city's pro-democracy movement hopes will pile pressure on the Beijing-backed government to heed their demands after months of violent protest. According to the Electoral Affairs Commission, a record 56% of the 4.13 million citizens registered to vote had cast their ballots by Sunday evening.

Bolivia's Senate approved a bill Saturday that could open the door to new elections in the crisis-hit country, as the caretaker government prepared to meet with protesters to end weeks of unrest. Crucially, it bars candidates who have served in both of the two previous terms from seeking re-election for the same position, which would likely prevent former Bolivian President Evo Morales from contesting the presidency in the new ballot.

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday became the country's first prime minister to be indicted in office, on corruption charges, but defiantly condemned the "coup" against him and refused to step down on any occasion. The shock announcement compounded the political chaos gripping Israel, which has been without a government for months and faces the prospect of its third election in a year. 

South Korea on Friday made a last-minute decision to stick with its critical intelligence-sharing deal with Japan, a dramatic reversal after months of frigid relations complicated by painful, wartime history.