Under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia is moving to distance itself from Russia and forge closer ties with the European Union. Despite pro-Russian disinformation campaigns targeting the government, the pro-European candidate won the parliamentary elections held on June 7.

Pope Leo XIV told Spanish bishops on Monday to provide reparations and adopt a "culture of care" ahead of an expected meeting with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his weeklong visit to the country. The Spanish hierarchy had largely dismissed the scale of abuse in their church for decades until a newspaper began documenting a legacy of abuse and cover-up.

A drone that entered NATO member Latvia's airspace from Russia on Monday was shot down by a French military fighter jet, as fragments of another drone were found in a field in Moldova after it entered from Ukraine earlier the same day. Military drones straying into the airspace of ​Russia's neighbours have stoked concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over NATO's borders.

At the MuMa du Havre, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei revisits Monet's famous Water lilies through two monumental works composed of 650,000 Lego bricks. Behind the technical prowess is also a more intimate story, marked by exile, dissent - and the artist's family history.

FRANCE 24's Charles Pellegrin is pleased to welcome Dr Narek Sukiasyan, Senior Policy Researcher at Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Armenia and Adjunct Lecturer at American University of Armenia. He argues that while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's victory does signal a continued ouverture towards the West 'in the shape and form of the European Union" he must carefully manage Armenia's dependence on Russia. The election was about far more than foreign policy, explains Dr. Sukiasyan. Security, social concerns, economic vulnerability, and the legacy of conflict were equally central to voters' decisions. Armenia navigating multiple transitions at once: between war and peace, dependence and diversification, polarization and democratic consolidation. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling party has won parliamentary elections, according to results from Armenia's electoral commission, cementing the nation's Westward tilt. The result comes despite threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference. According to the country's electoral commission, voter turnout in the ballot was 59%.

Massimo Faggioli is a Church Historian and Professor in Historical and Contemporary Ecclesiology at Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin. He tells us more about Pope Leo XIV's visit to Spain.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling party has won parliamentary elections, according to preliminary results on Monday, setting the stage for a renewed mandate to pursue closer ties with the West after threats from Moscow.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti's party emerged as the largest force in Sunday's snap election but failed to secure enough support to govern alone, setting the stage for difficult coalition negotiations. The vote, marked by low turnout and voter frustration, is unlikely to end the political deadlock that has gripped the country.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky won support from the leaders of Britain, France and Germany on Sunday for direct ceasefire talks with Russia, as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled. The appeal came as Russian strikes reportedly damaged a nuclear fuel storage facility near the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

The world’s nuclear-armed states are increasingly moving warheads from storage onto operational delivery systems, raising the risk of conflict despite a gradual decline in overall stockpiles, researchers warned on Monday. SIPRI said geopolitical rivalry and a new arms build-up could reverse decades of reductions in nuclear arsenals.

Taline Papazian is a French-Armenian political scientist and strategic affairs analyst covering Armenia and the South Caucasus. She is also director of the Armenia Peace Initiative Think Tank. She tell us more about what's at stake in Armenia's parliamentary elections.

"Enough is enough" were the words of Gezim Selimi, a retired teacher in Pristina as he cast his ballot this Sunday in Kosovo's snap elections. He was one of a handful of voters questioned by journalists about what it was like to be going to the polls again in Kosovo.

Pope Leo XIV honoured Spain's centuries-old tradition of religious devotion on Sunday as a “school of faith” for today, as he presided over a Mass before a million people and a procession highlighting one of the most iconic expressions of Spanish popular piety: flower carpets. FRANCE 24's Sarah Morris reports.

More than 1.2 million people filled the streets of Madrid on Sunday to attend a mass by Pope Leo XIV at which he called for a renewal of the Catholic faith, saying Spaniards should not look at religion as "a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today". 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to name a military unit after a World War II-era militia infamous for massacring Poles and Jews has led to a sharp spike in tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party took an early lead in parliamentary elections on Monday that could strengthen his push towards closer ties with the West, amid tensions with Moscow and accusations of Russian interference.

As NATO holds a naval exercise in the Baltic Sea, we speak to former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves on how he dealt with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during his decade in office.

US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Saturday marked the 82nd anniversary of the World War II D-Day landings in France with a speech that bemoaned the "invasion" of "boats and men" on Europe's beaches. In his address at a US military cemetery in Normandy, Hegseth also called on allies to contribute more to their defence. 

Protesters on Saturday gathered at the Vjosa-Narta lagoon, a nature reserve on the Albanian coast, to denounce a plan by US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to build a ​luxury resort in an ‌environmentally sensitive area. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has insisted that "top" experts will be involved in the project, which has yet to be approved.