Welcome back to Global Overview, where we highlight a United Nations report on gender-based violence in conflict, ongoing efforts to obtain a United States-Iran extension of the ceasefire, and a Russian drone raids Romania.
9,788 Confirmed Cases
Every year United Nations report detailing “systems of gender-based violence” in the conflict on Friday sparked a diplomatic row after the agency added two new state actors to its blacklist: Israel and Russia.
Welcome back to Global Overview, where we highlight a United Nations report on gender-based violence in conflict, ongoing efforts to obtain a United States-Iran extension of the ceasefire, and a Russian drone raids Romania.
9,788 Confirmed Cases
Every year United Nations report detailing “systems of gender-based violence” in the conflict on Friday sparked a diplomatic row after the agency added two new state actors to its blacklist: Israel and Russia.
According to United Nations investigators, Israeli forces dedication sexual violence since 2023 against Palestinians detained in Israel as well as Palestinians living in the occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank. This included confirmed cases of sexual abuse, including as a form of torture, on more than two dozen people, including at least 10 children.
United Nations authorities also confirmed 310 cases of Russian abuse sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian prisoners in Russia as well as the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine since 2022.
Still, these numbers are only representative a small part of 9,788 cases of gender-based violence in conflicts identified worldwide in 2025. “The figures contained in this report should be understood not as a complete picture but as an indication of a wider pattern of violations that remain undetected and under-reported,” said Pramila Patten, UN special representative on gender-based violence. More than 75 governmental and non-governmental organizations in 21 countries were on the UN blacklist.
Russia and Israel quickly to accuse United Nations report. “We will write a letter to the secretary general saying that these are unsubstantiated lies and allegations that again portray Russia as a criminal, as they always do,” Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia wrote, adding that Moscow plans to prepare its own report detailing Ukraine’s alleged mistreatment of Russian prisoners of war.
Israel also “completely, fully, and unequivocally denied these allegations,” the Israeli foreign ministry said. he wrote on X on Thursday, calling the report “another example of the United Nations’ longstanding hostility toward Israel.”
Israel has succeeded a longtime suspect agent of bias against Israel. In 2024, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unfit, and on Thursday, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said the country would do the same. cut all ties and Guterres and his office on the results of the report. Guterres’ term ends on December 31.
“We are done with this UN secretary general,” Danon he said. “Guterres has put Israel on the same blacklist as Hamas, ISIS, and the world’s most deviant terrorist organizations.” Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, as well be warned a tool to put Israel “on the same level as terrorist organizations like Hamas and ISIS that INTENTIONALLY target civilians with sexual violence as a weapon of terror.”
However, the spokesman of the secretary general of the United Nations Stéphane Dujarric reduced Danon’s threat on Friday, calling Israel’s announcement “more symbolic than anything” and unlikely to change UN operations. The agency “will continue to work with the Israeli mission,” Dujarric said.
Israel and Russia had already been “given notice of possible listing in the next reporting period” last year.
Today’s Most Read
What we’re after
There is no plan yet. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the host Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Washington on Friday to discuss the latest developments in talks to end the war with Iran, among other issues. Islamabad has been the main mediator between Washington and Tehran in the talks.
US and Iran negotiators on Thursday for a time he agreedpending approval by the leaders of the countries concerned, for a 60-day compromise agreement that would extend the current ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and initiate nuclear talks.
US President Donald Trump he wrote on Social Reality Friday morning local time where he was meeting in the White House Situation Room “now” to make a “final decision” on the plan. He did not specify what conditions would be included in agreement. As of writing, neither Trump nor Iran’s leaders have announced their approval of the deal.
Moscow drone attack. Bucharest the suspect a Russian drone on Friday crashed into an apartment building in eastern Romania. The overnight attack, which European officials say was aimed at Ukraine, destroyed a building in the Danube port city of Galati and wounded at least two people. The raid drew sharp condemnation from NATO members and raised concerns that the fighting could spread beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian drones and other military equipment have entered NATO territory numerous times, often requiring the alliance to deploy fighter jets and other defensive measures to contain threats. Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and non-NATO Moldova are all recorded. such an invasion.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan he insisted on Friday that the latest attack on Moscow was “the worst incident to hit the national territory” since the war began. Dan called his senior defense officials on Friday to discuss “proportional action” to the incident, with the head of NATO Mark Rutte “confirmed that NATO is ready to protect every inch of Allied territory,” adding that this would include strengthening “our readiness to prevent and defend against any threat, including from drones.” Last year, members of the European Union gathered in Copenhagen to float the idea of building a drone wall to deal with the Russian invasion.
Shangri-La Talk. Senior diplomats and defense officials summoned in Singapore on Friday for the first day of the Shangri-La Dialogue. The three-day defense summit is expected to focus on the biggest security issues in the Indo-Pacific, from the fallout of the Iran war for China’s military modernization.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to deliver a speech on Saturday that the Defense Department said will highlight “Washington’s consistent approach to protecting vital US national interests in the Indo-Pacific.” His attendance at the event comes just two weeks after Trump traveled to Beijing meeting with the President of China Xi Jinping, where questions about the continuation US aid to Taiwan were hot topics. Hegseth may face similar questions in his interactions with foreign officials in Singapore.
On Sunday, China is scheduled to present its side of the negotiations. However, Beijing is sending a low-level delegation consisting of experts and academics from the People’s Liberation Army instead of its defense minister. This is a missed opportunity for countries seeking more “strategic reassurance” from China, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said. Reuters on Friday.
What In The World?
The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday called for a ceasefire in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to help control the outbreak of what disease?
A. Malaria
B. Ebola
C. Hantavirus
D. COVID-19
Odds and Ends
The Hague is the seat of international justice, the home of royal palaces, and (for a short time) the site of a giant floating pot. Last Friday, the city of Holland it started the fifth edition of the BlowUp Jubilee, a city-wide open air exhibition featuring affordable artworks from around the world. Visitors can see 24 machines—from coral reef-like shapes to mirrored circles—in The Hague’s gardens, lake, and even the train station. The event continues until June 21.
And The Answer Is…
B. Ebola
Frequent disease outbreaks on the continent reveal the short-sightedness of rich countries that have failed to invest in the infrastructure of health delivery in Africa, Howard W. French of FP he wrote last week.
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