Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a United Nations report on sexual violence in conflict, continued efforts to secure a U.S.-Iran cease-fire extension, and a Russian drone incursion into Romania.

An annual United Nations report detailing “patterns of sexual violence” in conflict on Friday sparked diplomatic backlash after the organization added two new state actors to its blacklist: Israel and Russia.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a United Nations report on sexual violence in conflict, continued efforts to secure a U.S.-Iran cease-fire extension, and a Russian drone incursion into Romania.

An annual United Nations report detailing “patterns of sexual violence” in conflict on Friday sparked diplomatic backlash after the organization added two new state actors to its blacklist: Israel and Russia.

According to U.N. investigators, Israeli forces committed 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 verified cases of sexual violence, including as a form of torture, on more than two dozen individuals, including at least 10 children.

U.N. authorities also verified 310 cases of Russian-perpetrated sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees in Russia as well as Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine since 2022.

Still, these numbers represent just a small portion of the 9,788 cases of sexual violence in conflict identified worldwide in 2025. “The figures contained in this report should be understood not as the full picture but as an indication of a much broader pattern of violations that remain largely unseen and underreported,” said Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on sexual violence. More than 75 government and nongovernment parties in 21 countries were on the U.N.’s blacklist.

Both Russia and Israel quickly denounced the U.N.’s report. “We will write a letter to the secretary-general saying that these are unsubstantiated lies and alleged things which again portray Russia as a villain, like they do all........

© Foreign Policy