The party of Armenia’s acting PM Nikol Pashinyan has won snap elections, the country’s electoral commission says. Preliminary results from all 2,008 polling stations give the Civil Contract party 54%, it says.

The opposition Armenia alliance led by ex-President Robert Kocharyan is a distant second with 21%. The block has alleged election fraud. The vote was called after Armenia’s defeat in a war with Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Last year, Azerbaijan regained control of large swathes of the mountainous region, which it lost to Armenia during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in 1988-94. The region is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan.(BBC)…[+]

The trial has started in the case of a French woman who shot dead a man she says abused her years – first as her stepfather then later as her husband. Valerie Bacot was just 12 when Daniel Polette began raping her. He was jailed but later returned to the family home and allegedly resumed the abuse. She alleges he forced her to marry him and fathered her four children. Ms Bacot admits killing him in 2016 but more than 600,000 people have signed a petition calling for her release. She says she shot Polette dead during an encounter in which he had allegedly been forcing her to work as a prostitute. Ms Bacot hid the body with the help of two of her children but was arrested in October 2017 and confessed to the killing. The trial is a major news story in France and has galvanised public debate about violence against women.(BBC)…[+]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has confirmed plans to pardon Catalan separatists this week.  Nine leaders were jailed for sedition over a failed independence attempt in 2017. Another three were found guilty of disobedience but not jailed. Their pardons will be sent to the cabinet on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of people protested against the plans earlier this month, but the government says the move will help calm tensions over Catalonia. The semi-autonomous region’s drive for independence almost four years ago plunged Spain into its biggest political crisis in 40 years. Opponents, however, have accused the Spanish government of using the plans to gain political support. “Tomorrow, guided by this constitutional spirit of forgiveness, I will propose that the cabinet approve the pardon,” Mr Sánchez announced during a speech in Barcelona on Monday. “To reach an agreement someone must almost always take the first step,” he said. “The Spanish government will take that step now.” Opposition to the decision has been widespread, with a recent poll for Spanish newspaper El Mundo finding that about 61% of people were against pardoning the separatist leaders.(BBC)…[+]