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.

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.

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". 

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.

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.

Ukraine on Saturday fired hundreds of drones targeting the St. Petersburg region in the second such attack on Russia’s second-largest city in less than a week. The attack came on the final day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Vladimir Putin’s annual investment forum known as “Russia’s Davos”.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Spain on Saturday for a seven-day trip focused in part on migration, including a visit to the Canary Islands where he will honour thousands of migrants who died trying to reach Europe. Leo is also scheduled to meet with victims of sex abuse by Catholic clergy, which some 200,000 minors are estimated to have suffered in Spain since 1940.

A sea drone exploded Friday near Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta without causing casualties. The incident prompted authorities to evacuate more than 1,000 people amid heightening concerns over the spillover effects of Russia's war in Ukraine just a week after a separate drone incident injured two civilians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a face-to-face meeting to end the four-year war, saying he saw "no point" in meeting his Ukrainian counterpart until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday called for a face-to-face meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter, saying he was also ready for a “full ceasefire”. In response, the Kremlin said Zelensky could meet Putin in Moscow "any time".

A massive coastal development project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, is facing mounting resistance from protesters in Albania, angered by its environmental impact and doubts about its legality. Here's what we know.

Russia has increased its pressure on Armenia ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections, pulling out virtually all the stops linked to trade should its long-term ally persist in its ambitions to join the European Union. Moscow has threatened to raise gas prices, put measures in place to be able to restrict the Russian import of certain Armenian products and warned it may suspend the country from the Eurasian Economic Union.

At least four people have been killed in Crimea, Moscow-installed authorities said on Thursday, a day after Kyiv targeted energy and military facilities in Saint Petersburg during Russia's flagship economic forum. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned of a "real" risk of escalation, while Ukraine described the attacks as justified retaliation for intensified Russian strikes on its territory.

The captain of the Tagor, a tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet” that was boarded in the Atlantic Ocean by the French Navy, was taken into custody on Tuesday, announced Brest prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger.