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June 8 (Reuters) – Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling party, Civil Contract, has secured 49.81% of the vote in the parliamentary elections, country’s central election commission said on Monday.

The opposition party Strong Armenia has secured 23.29% of the vote, it said.

(Reporting by Reuters)

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YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan early Monday claimed victory in the country’s general election, as preliminary results showed his governing Civil Contract party came first with 49.81% of the vote.

Pashinyan and the governing Civil Contract party are looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course for Armenia, including distancing the South Caucasus country from Moscow and seeking to join the European Union.

His main opponent, Samvel Karapetyan, is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is under house arrest for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow. Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia bloc was the runner-up with 23.29% of the vote, has rejected the charge as politically motivated.

According to Armenia’s Central Election Commission, four parties polled above the 4% electoral threshold and will enter parliament following Sunday’s election, including some that are vocally pro-Russia.

Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party seeks to develop business ties with Russia and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with the Kremlin.

Two other parties, Armenia and Blossoming Armenia, also made it into parliament with 9.94% and 4% of votes, respectively. According to the election commission, turnout stood at 59.97%.

Before the results came in, Pashinyan spoke to journalists at his headquarters, claiming his party won the elections with a record result and would form the government on its own.

Top EU officials congratulated Pashinyan following the tightly contested race, seen in Europe as a litmus test of Russia’s influence in the former Soviet republic.

“The spirit of the Velvet Revolution you led in 2018 is alive and well,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday in a social media post, referring to the mass protests sparked by Pashinyan’s activism that unseated Armenia’s former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan.

“We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us,” von der Leyen added.

European Council President António Costa also congratulated Pashinyan. In a post on X, Costa talked about a greater role for the EU in Armenia and the broader South Caucasus region, which bridges Europe’s hungry energy markets and Central Asia’s gas fields.

“Together, the EU and Armenia are building stronger links between people and creating new opportunities in energy, trade, and digitalization. Our strong partnership is an investment in a more peaceful and prosperous future for the region as a whole,” he said.

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AP writer Sam McNeil contributed from Brussels.

Correction: An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that turnout in Armenia’s general election on Sunday stood at 97%. The correct figure is 59.97%.

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ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — When Marharyta Nekhoroshyva first saw her newborn son, she was gripped by fear. Born after just 26 weeks of pregnancy, he weighed only 940 grams (2 pounds) and wore diapers no larger than the palm of an adult hand.

“The doctors told me that if he survived the first three days, everything would be OK,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “I don’t believe in God, but I was praying.”

Now 9 months old, Mark is energetic and lively, but he has chronic breathing problems and requires frequent hospital stays.

Nekhoroshyva must navigate her son’s illness while living under the constant threat of attack in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, where hospitals board up their windows because blast waves from Russian strikes routinely shatter glass. She is doing it alone while her husband fights in the war.

A rising number of babies are being born prematurely — before 37 weeks of pregnancy — in Ukraine, particularly in regions near the front lines, where some areas have seen rates nearly double since the conflict started with Russia’s invasion in 2022.

Experts say the reasons for premature births are complex, but the profound psychological and physical stress the war is inflicting on pregnant mothers is contributing. The delicate work of keeping the fragile newborns alive is made only more difficult by the conflict.

When their babies are at the main children’s hospital in Zaporizhzhia, Nekhoroshyva and other mothers descend with their children into the shelter each night. In the narrow, dimly lit hallways, they rock and soothe their infants to sleep.

While fewer women in Ukraine are giving birth overall due to displacement, emigration and other factors during the war, a growing share of births are premature, according to data from the United Nations and recent scientific studies.

In the southern region of Kherson, the preterm birth rate nearly doubled from 5.4% in 2019 to 9.8% in 2025, according to the U.N. In the Zaporizhzhia region, also in the south, it rose from 5.7% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2025. In Poltava, a region in northeastern Ukraine, the rate rose from 7.7% to 9.8% over the same period.

The front line cuts through both the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which frequently see attacks on residential areas. Poltava is some distance away from the front but is frequently hit by aerial strikes.

The link between maternal stress and premature birth is complex, but a growing body of research suggests that prolonged psychological strain increases the risk of babies being born early, experts say. It may be tied to an increased risk of infection, a known trigger for preterm labor, said Dr. Andrew Weeks, a professor of international maternal healthcare at the University of Liverpool.

“Premature birth is very affected by infection,” he said. “And if you can’t get to a place where you can get appropriate diagnosis and treatment early, then actually the chance of you going into premature labor is higher.”

It’s not just premature births that are rising in Ukraine; emergency cesarean sections and other complications are, too, said Isaac Hurskin, spokesperson for the U.N. Population Fund.

“We’re seeing this real link between acute stress and birthing and pregnancy-related complications,” he said.

Those complications could compound a demographic crisis. Ukraine’s fertility rate has fallen to among the lowest in the world, dropping to roughly one child per woman over the past three years — far below the 2.1 replacement rate, Hurskin said.

Inside an incubator in the intensive care unit at the maternity hospital in the city of Zaporizhzhia lies a baby born at 30 weeks and weighing only 700 grams (1 pound, 9 ounces) — well below the threshold of 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces) that the World Health Organization classifies as low birth weight.

Her tiny body is kept alive inside the temperature-controlled incubator. IV lines deliver nutrients and medication, while a ventilator helps her breathe. The incubator is draped with a blanket to protect her fragile, developing eyes from the harsh fluorescent lights of the ward.

Treatment focuses on helping premature babies gain weight and eventually breathe on their own, but complications can be extensive, said Dr. Andrii Lobanov, head of the neonatal intensive care at Zaporizhzhia’s children’s hospital. Oxygen levels, for instance, must be managed precisely because of the risk of abnormal blood vessel growth in the eyes, leading to blindness in severe cases.

Even after they leave intensive care, children born prematurely often require long-term care — possibly for life — for respiratory, neurological, developmental or immune-related conditions.

That is a burden on cash-strapped countries like Ukraine.

“It is very expensive and of course a country in a war situation has to decide what it’s going to spend on, so hospital services invariably get hit. Both literally and metaphorically,” Weeks said.

Air raid sirens have become part of daily life inside neonatal intensive care units. When they sound, doctors stay beside the babies rather than rushing them to shelters, knowing that moving the fragile newborns could be even more dangerous. The sirens go off too frequently to stop work each time anyway.

Dr. Nataliia Bohuslavska, head of the neonatal unit at the maternity hospital in Zaporizhzhia, began one day last month with air raid alerts warning of incoming missile attacks. By the afternoon, a Russian glide bomb had struck a commercial area of the city, killing at least 12 people.

Care continued all along: Doctors performed two cesarean sections and delivered a baby while also treating a 42-year-old woman who miscarried after witnessing an airstrike.

The next day, a black flag fluttered by the hospital entrance to mourn those killed.

Bohuslavska knows every mother on her ward by first name — their complicated cases, their fears, and their tiny babies fighting for survival. Bohuslavska has worked at the hospital for 26 years and was born there herself.

The war compounds the difficulties experienced by every pregnant woman she cares for, she said.

“She wonders what kind of world her child will be born into, under what conditions the birth will happen, and whether it will be a moment of joy or one gripped by fear with shells exploding nearby,” she said.

Many mothers endure the ordeal alone while their husbands are fighting.

“When a patient calls to say her husband has been killed in the war, the only thing I can tell her is: ‘Come to us. We will take care of you,’” Bohuslavska said.

“We have to support her constantly, so that even in the midst of this terrible loss, she can find the strength to give new life a chance and save her baby.”

For Mariia Skladan, it was finally time to go home.

Her daughter, Elina, was born in January at just 26 weeks, weighing 740 grams (1 pound, 10 ounces). Five months later, after growing to a healthy 3 1/2 kilograms (nearly 8 pounds), doctors said she was strong enough to be discharged.

Skladan has a rare liver disease that doctors warned would make it nearly impossible for her to conceive. Her pregnancy was considered a miracle, Bohuslavska said.

“If there’s a war, what does it mean? Not to live?” Skladan asked. “You want to keep going.”

When she and Elina emerged from the maternity hospital, her family was waiting with flowers. Skladan broke down in tears of joy.

But the relief was short-lived.

The very next day, Elina was back in intensive care after contracting a virus overnight.

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Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed from Kyiv, Ukraine.

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By John Revill and Marleen Kaesebier

ZURICH, June 8 (Reuters) – Switzerland goes to the polls on June 14 to vote on whether to cap its population at 10 million people in a referendum some have likened to a “Swiss Brexit”, alarming many businesses who fear an economic blow should the proposal succeed.

Supporters of the cap, championed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), say the expanding population is testing local infrastructure, roads and public transport to the limits, as well as driving up rents and crime.

Companies and employers, however, worry a “yes” vote would limit Switzerland’s access to skilled labour and damage relations with the European Union, its biggest export market.

“As a Swiss citizen, it concerns me very much for the future of our country and its prosperity,” said Martin von Moos, CEO of luxury hotels Belvoir in Ruschlikon and Sedartis in Thalwil, near Zurich.

“If we lost all of our foreign staff, the hotel simply wouldn’t function,” he said, noting nearly half of his 115 staff came from outside Switzerland.

The issue has been finely balanced in recent studies, with the most recent poll showing 47% in favour and 52% against.

The Swiss population had grown to 9.1 million by the end of 2025, from 7.3 million when free movement of people between Switzerland and the European Union was introduced in 2002.

Foreigners now make up nearly 28% of the population.

“Switzerland is a small country with a limited territory, and it has experienced the highest population growth in recent years,” SVP lawmaker Yvan Pahud told Reuters.

The vote is the latest example of right-wing parties tapping into anxiety over immigration, housing and public services, seen in Britain’s 2016 vote to quit the EU and the rising popularity of parties such as France’s National Rally and AfD in Germany.

CAP COULD BE A ‘SHOWSTOPPER’

Business critics point to the damage they say the population cap could inflict on one of Europe’s most resilient economies.

Molecular Partners, a Zurich-based biotech company – more than half of whose roughly 120 staff are non-Swiss – said it was already tough to get the people it needed.

“I think if we said we could only hire out of the Swiss talent pool, or if we could only collaborate with the Swiss companies, it would basically be a showstopper,” said Daniel Steiner, senior vice president targeted radio therapeutics at the company.

“We may be forced to move things out of Switzerland.”

Rudolf Minsch, chief economist of business association economiesuisse, said the cap was a “populist attempt” to fix complex problems with a simplistic, artificial limit.

“It sells the illusion of a free lunch, and will not solve our housing or traffic problems,” Minsch said.

Like many European countries, Switzerland faces an aging population.

By 2055, the proportion of the Swiss population aged between 20 and 64 will decline from 60% to 56%, according to the Swiss statistics office. Meanwhile the proportion of people aged over 65 will climb to 27%, from 21% currently.

Opponents of the cap argue many newcomers have been entrepreneurs who developed the Swiss economy, citing well-known companies such as Nestle, Swatch and ABB that were set up either wholly or partially by foreigners.

According to a 2023 study by Avenir Suisse, 39% of all company founders in Switzerland were foreigners.

DENT TO GROWTH

Referendums are a cornerstone of Swiss politics, with voters heading to the polls four times a year to decide on various national and regional issues.

Under the latest proposal, if Switzerland’s population exceeded 9.5 million – a milestone that is forecast for 2031 – the government would be required to take measures to prevent it reaching 10 million, which it is forecast to hit in 2042.

At 10 million, Bern would be required to terminate international accords that encourage population growth.

That includes the agreement with the EU allowing free movement of people, a condition of the complex web of Swiss accords with Brussels that give the country access to the European single market.

Claude Maurer, chief economist at BAK Economics, a research institute, said if Bern abandoned its bilateral accords, Swiss economic growth between 2028 and 2045 would be 7.1% lower, equivalent to a loss of 685 billion Swiss francs ($867 billion).

Growth would slow, while inflation, driven higher by wage increases, could trigger higher interest rates, Maurer said.

Thomas Matter, another SVP lawmaker and banker, dismissed the concerns as scaremongering.

Only one-out-of-10 immigrants were workers with sought-after skills and the rate of GDP growth per head had declined since the increase in immigration, Matter said.

“We are not against immigration, but it has to be moderate and controlled so we bring in the right people,” he said.

“Before we had qualitative immigration, now we have quantitative immigration. Switzerland is still the same size as it was in 1848, and more and more people are living in the same space.”

Swiss corporate giants Roche, Nestle, ABB, UBS and Novartis have all criticised the cap.

“We reject the initiative,” Roche said, adding that a ‘yes’ vote would threaten agreements with the EU and exacerbate a shortage of skilled workers. “Companies depend on access to qualified workers – especially from the EU.”

Hotelier von Moos, who is also head of the Swiss hotels association, said some hotels could be forced out of business, prices would rise, and it would be harder for non-European visitors to come to Switzerland.

“We call this initiative a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a simple message but it hides serious consequences.” ($1 = 0.7902 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by John Revill, Marleen Kaesebier, additional reporting by Cecile Mantovani; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to announce a ban on “harmful” online platforms for children under 16 while maintaining access to some safer forms of social media, the Times newspaper reported on Monday.

Starmer, who is due to make a speech later on Monday, is said to have decided to proceed with restrictions after speaking to bereaved parents and considering evidence from Australia, which brought in a ban for under-16s last December.

Asked about the report, a source at Downing Street said: “The prime minister is not afraid about taking on the tech companies and their bosses to protect young people.”

A source close to the matter said a formal ban was unlikely to come this week. The government could more immediately give details on efforts to prevent children from producing sexualised images online which can be used for sextortion purposes.

Worries over the impact of social media on mental health and online safety prompted Britain to hold a consultation on children’s access to social media earlier this year, with curfews, time limits and curbs on addictive design features, all under consideration.

France, Denmark and Poland are also considering tightening rules around social media use for children, while Greece in April announced it would ban access to those under the age of 15 from January 2027.

Starmer is expected to focus on how the government can ensure technology brings positive change when he speaks later on Monday, according to a statement released by his office on Sunday.

Britain’s online safety law already requires social media companies to take measures to protect children from illegal and harmful online content.

Experts are divided on how effective a total ban would be, while a group of young people in London recently told Reuters they were opposed to restrictions.

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Sam Tabahriti and Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kate Holton)

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Slovenian President Accuses Israel of Genocide Days After Embassy Announcement  

Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar accused Israel of genocide days after Israel announced plans to open its first embassy in Slovenia following the election of Prime Minister Janez Jansa and a shift in the country’s government.  

Pirc Musar posted on X Saturday that the Palestinian flag would be raised above the presidential building and criticized Israeli policy toward the Palestinians.  

“The genocide against the Palestinians has not stopped, and the residents of Gaza and the West Bank are not living in peace and dignity. This is a symbol of blatant violations of international humanitarian law and human rights not only in Palestine, but also in other places in the world,” she wrote.  

The comments came shortly after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel would establish an embassy in Slovenia, the first in the history of relations between the two countries.  

Sa’ar posted on Thursday that he had instructed Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar Tal to begin preparations for the embassy and initiate the process of selecting an ambassador. The move has already received approval from Prime Minister Janez Jansa and the Slovenian parliament.  

“The election of Prime Minister Janez Jansa marks a new chapter in relations between Israel and Slovenia,” Sa’ar wrote. “After years of the hostility of the previous government, we now have an opportunity to rebuild, strengthen, and deepen a real partnership.”  

“An Israeli embassy is more than a diplomatic mission. It is a statement of friendship, dialogue, and a shared belief in freedom, democracy, and security. We are turning today a new page.”  

Jansa welcomed the announcement, writing on X that he was “looking forward to a new era in Slovenia-Israel relations.”  

According to the report, the new government has resumed landings of Israeli flights in Ljubljana and removed the Palestinian flag from the front of the prime minister’s office building.  

Last week, Slovenia blocked an Israir passenger flight from Tel Aviv from landing in Ljubljana, forcing the aircraft to divert to Zagreb, Croatia.  

Under former Prime Minister Robert Golob, Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024. In July 2025, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich were sanctioned by the Slovenian government.  

The previous government also imposed a travel ban on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, enacted an arms embargo on Israel, and boycotted the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna because of Israel’s participation. 

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s deputy prime minister said Sunday that he told U.S. Vice President JD Vance he was wrong to blame immigration for the death of a university student who was handcuffed as he lay dying from a stab wound.

David Lammy, who is also the justice minister, said he challenged Vance in what he described as a “robust” phone call on Saturday. Lammy and Vance have struck up a friendship, based on their religious beliefs and family backgrounds, even though they come from different sides of the political spectrum.

“We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship, but I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting and to present the facts to him,” Lammy told Sky News.

The call came a day after Vance said in a post on social platform X that there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of Henry Nowak, 18, who died in December after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in the English city of Southampton.

Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed to police he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Vance appeared to blame the murder in part on “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”

Lammy said he wanted to “emphasize a number of things” to Vance, including that the killer was British and is now behind bars.

“This has got nothing to do with mass migration,” Lammy said.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with an 8-inch (21 centimeter) Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.

The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians in the U.K. On Tuesday, police in Southampton were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares after a demonstration over Nowak’s death attended by far-right figures and others.

In a statement issued Friday in response to Vance’s comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘s office criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of police officers on the scene.

The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, has said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”

Lammy also said he told Vance “it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred, but to make this an issue of common sense.”

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ROME, June 7 (Reuters) – Italian rescuers have recovered 10 bodies after a migrant boat capsized in waters off Malta, a coastguard statement said on Sunday.

The migrant ship, which had departed from Libya carrying around 60 people, overturned about 45 nautical miles east-southeast of Malta, the Italian coastguard said.

“According to the latest information, a fishing boat in the area rescued around 48 people alive, out of about 60 reported to have set off,” the coastguard added.

“The Italian coastguard immediately dispatched a patrol boat to the area, which has so far recovered 10 bodies. Search operations in the area are continuing, coordinated by the Maltese authorities.”

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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June 7 (Reuters) – The White House is considering a plan to buy the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.

U.S. officials have drawn up a proposal to bypass the U.K. and make their own deal to take control of Diego Garcia, the report said. 

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House and the UK Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plan is among several options being drafted by the White House, in a paper aimed at providing alternatives to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ceding sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, the report said.  

The White House has been in regular discussions with Downing Street about securing the future of Diego Garcia, the report added.

Britain’s government in April put on hold its deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, home to the U.S.-British Diego Garcia air base, which has been criticised by Trump.

Trump said in February the deal was a “big mistake”.

(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — The top court in Pakistan-administered Kashmir ruled Sunday that 12 legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment.

The ruling strengthened the regional government’s position in a dispute that has fueled weeks of protests ahead of next month’s assembly elections.

The Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir issued the opinion in response to a presidential reference seeking guidance on constitutional questions surrounding the refugee seats and the upcoming vote for the 45-member Legislative Assembly.

The landmark ruling removes legal uncertainty over the election process, stating that public order cannot be disrupted in the name of protest. It came a day after police arrested dozens of supporters of the Joint Awami Action Committee , or JAAC, a group the regional government recently banned over alleged threats to public order and security.

The group has held violent protests in recent years and said it plans to hold a similar protest next week to pressure the government to accept its demands.

The refugee seats at the center of the dispute are reserved for people who migrated to Pakistan from Indian-administered Kashmir decades ago, with hopes of returning if the long-standing dispute over the region is resolved.

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, both of which claim the Himalayan territory in full and have fought two wars over it since independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

The court ruled that assembly elections must be held within the constitutionally prescribed period and that political disputes, protests or constitutional disagreements cannot be used to delay the vote.

It maintained that the refugee seats enjoy constitutional protection and can only be altered through a constitutional amendment.

The court also endorsed the government view that unresolved constitutional questions should be addressed by the Legislative Assembly. While recognizing peaceful protest as a constitutional right, the judges said actions that disrupt public life, block roads, intimidate others or interfere with constitutional processes do not enjoy legal protection.

The opinion bolsters the government’s argument that it lacks authority to abolish the refugee seats through executive action — a position repeatedly advanced by Prime Minister Faisal Mumtaz Rathore during negotiations with JAAC.

Tensions have escalated between the regional government and the protest movement ahead of a demonstration planned for Tuesday. Authorities banned JAAC earlier this week, accusing it of posing a threat to public order.

Rathore said Saturday the government had accepted 36 of the group’s 38 demands last year after negotiations involving JAAC representatives, regional officials and Pakistan’s federal government. He said the two remaining demands involve constitutional provisions that can only be changed by the Legislative Assembly.

The group alleged Saturday that one of its members was killed when police opened fire. Kashmir police denied the claim, saying armed men had fired overnight on officers after being signaled to stop their vehicle.

Last year, clashes between protesters and security forces killed several people, including police officers.

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