Vjosa

A Science Week on the Sarandaporos River starts this Friday, June 28, an international initiative to protect and preserve Aoos/Vjosa, the last large free-flowing river in Europe.

In a devastating incident in southern Albania, eight people lost their lives, including seven suspected migrants, in a car crash early this morning while attempting to evade police pursuit, as reported by AFP.

The fragility of the Aoos/Vjosa River, which crosses the border between Greece and Albania and represents one of Europe's few remaining free-flowing waterways, has inspired a multimedia exhibition that seeks to explore the confluence of history, culture, economy, and environmental sustainability.

Albania on Monday faced a fifth day of severe floods, which have forced 600 families from their homes and left more than 4,700 households suffering flood-related damaged.

No new deaths as a result of floods have been reported since an electrician from Albania's state-owned energy company, OSHEE, lost his life while trying to restore power connections.

Albanian environmentalists say they will stage more protests against a government decision to allow hydropower plants to be built on one of the last "wild" rivers in Europe.

Albaian environmentalists have voiced dismay over the government's decision to give initial approval to the proposal of a Turkish company, paving the way for a concessionary agreement to build the Pocem Hydropower plant on the Vjosa River.

The company in question is Çinar-San Hafriyat Nakliyat In?aat Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited ?irketi.

Albania's Ministry of Interior on Sunday said it had set up emergency centres across the country to handle the problems created by flash flooding.

Army helicopters were called in to help evacuations in areas that were difficult to reach.

Police helped with the evacuation of hundreds of people in the districts of Fier, Berat, Vlora and Tepelena, where rivers overflowed.