Armenia will hold parliamentary elections on 7 June. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is hoping that the vote will bolster his pro-Western course. At the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union in Kazakhstan, which Pashinyan didot attend, Vladimir Putin threatened to suspend economic cooperation with the country. Russia has already imposed import bans on certain Armenian goods.

While the US and Iran are engaged inegotiations for a peaceful solution, the confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate. On Monday the Iranian regime threatened to suspendegotiations with Washington if Israel continues its military operations in Lebanon. In response, US President Donald Trump spoke to both sides and then announced that there would beo further fighting.

The Partit Laburista (Labour Party) has won Saturday's general election in Malta for the fourth time in a row. Prime Minister Robert Abela had brought the election forward by a year in order to secure aew mandate in the context of the ongoing geopolitical crises. Although the EU's smallest member state recorded an economic growth rate of four percent last year, the consequences of the war in Iran and inflation have fuelled fears of an economic downturn.

Finland has won the gold medal at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Zurich. Konsta Helenius's goal in extra time secured the Nordication its fifth world title. Commentators in theational press see this as a symbolic moment that goes far beyond the sporting event itself.