The UN has added Israel and Russia to its blacklist of countries involved in sexual violence in conflict

The UN has verified cases of sexual abuse against 31 Palestinian prisoners – men, women and children – from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank between 2023 and 2025. Its report describes repeated gang rapes and the use of sexual violence as a form of torture, as well as rape involving objects, shooting aimed at the genitals, forced nudity and threats of rape. The investigators point out that these cases, far from constituting a complete picture, merely reveal broader patterns, as UN experts were prevented from accessing Israeli detention centres and Gaza.

Russia also features on the list, for “systematic” sexual violence against Ukrainians. Despite obstacles posed by Moscow, investigators verified 310 cases of abuse, including rape, genital mutilation and electric shocks inflicted on victims, the majority of whom were men. In two-thirds of the cases, Russian forces resorted to multiple forms of sexual violence. Ukrainian forces are also cited in 31 incidents, but Kyiv has granted access to independent observers and strengthened its legislation.

Both Israel and Russia deny any sexual violence committed by their military personnel. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, denounced the decision as “political” and “detached from the facts”. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it was severing all contact with UN Secretary-General António Guterres until the end of his term in December. Mr Guterres’s spokesperson replied that his door remained open to Israeli representatives as well as to all member states.

The UN report, which covers 77 countries and armed groups, notes a marked increase in conflict-related sexual violence since 2024, the vast majority of which targets women and girls. The Guardian

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🇷🇴 Romania • A drone carrying explosives crashed overnight into a residential building in Galați, near the Ukrainian border, slightly injuring a teenager and a woman. Bucharest, a NATO member, holds Moscow “fully responsible” for this first strike on a residential building, condemns a “serious escalation” and has expelled the Russian consul general from Constanta. The Romanian army had only four minutes to react and decided not to shoot down the drone. Vladimir Putin retorted that “no one can say” where the drone came from until it has been examined, suggesting it could be Ukrainian. NATO, the European Union and France have condemned Moscow’s irresponsibility, with Ursula von der Leyen promising a new package of sanctions.

🇷🇺 Russia - 🇺🇦 Ukraine • President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated today, citing intelligence data, that Russia was preparing a new large-scale offensive. On Sunday, Moscow subjected the Kyiv region to one of its most intense bombardments since the start of the war, notably using an Orenik-type hypersonic missile. For its part, Ukraine has stepped up its drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, striking a refinery in the Volgograd region and a pumping station near Yaroslavl.

🇱🇻 Latvia • Latvia, a Baltic state bordering Russia and Belarus, formed a new government yesterday, two weeks after the previous one fell following a series of drone incursions that had exposed the weaknesses in its air defences. Led by the centrist Andris Kulbergs, backed by 66 out of 100 MPs, this four-party government – intended to be a caretaker administration until the October general election – has made strengthening defence, protecting borders and supporting Ukraine its priorities. A colonel, Raivis Melnis, has been appointed Minister of Defence.

🇦🇲 Armenia • Russia has stepped up its covert operations to influence the 7 June parliamentary elections and prevent the re-election of pro-European Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, according to Western intelligence officials quoted by Reuters. Moscow is reportedly conducting extensive disinformation campaigns in favour of pro-Russian candidates and is considering transporting tens of thousands of Russian-Armenians to vote, a project estimated to cost $50 million. Mr Pashinyan’s party remains ahead in the polls. Russian diplomats have dismissed these reports, dismissing them as “anti-Russian rhetoric”.

🇪🇺 European Union • Europe will never be a “neutral mediator” between Russia and Ukraine, warned the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, following a meeting of foreign ministers in Cyprus. With US mediation at an impasse, the EU-27 are debating a resumption of contact with Moscow. Ms Kallas warns of a Russian “trap” and insists on red lines: a prior ceasefire, a refusal to recognise the conquered territories, and accountability for crimes committed.

🇭🇺 Hungary • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday the release of more than €16 billion in funds frozen under Viktor Orbán. Elected in mid-April, the new Prime Minister Peter Magyar had made the recovery of this money an absolute priority. The release remains conditional on the adoption of reforms on corruption and the rule of law, expected by the end of August. The Magyar government has already abandoned Orban’s plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

🇮🇸 Iceland • The Icelandic Parliament yesterday approved the holding of a referendum on 29 August on the resumption of negotiations for accession to the European Union, backing the centre-left government’s plan to join the bloc by the end of the decade. Abandoned in 2013, these talks have regained momentum due to the rising cost of living and the war in Ukraine. Already a member of the single market, the Schengen Area and NATO, the island will, in the event of a “yes” vote, have to subsequently approve the terms of accession in a second referendum.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom • London wants to tighten sanctions against the damage of undersea cables, in order to deter “hostile states” such as Russia from sabotaging this key infrastructure. The Secretary of State for Telecommunications, Liz Lloyd, warned that the current law, which is 140 years old, was “not up to the task of dealing with the threat”. The bill provides for heavier fines and prison sentences for negligent or malicious shipowners. In April, British forces tracked three Russian submarines spying on cables in the North Atlantic for a month.

🇸🇪 Sweden - 🇺🇦 Ukraine • Ukraine confirmed on Thursday the acquisition of Swedish Gripen fighter jets as part of a major defence deal. Sweden will initially deliver up to 20 Gripen E/F aircraft from 2030, worth €2.5 billion and financed by a European loan, and plans to donate 16 Gripen C/D aircraft from 2027. A letter of intent signed seven months earlier covered the delivery of up to 150 aircraft.

🇳🇴 Norway • The surge in hydrocarbon prices triggered by the war in the Middle East boosted Norwegian growth in the first quarter, with gross domestic product rising by 6.2%, according to the statistics agency SSB. As Europe’s largest hydrocarbon exporter outside Russia, the country saw the prices of its oil and gas exports climb by 23.5%, in the wake of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. “Onshore” GDP, which excludes oil, rose by just 0.2%.

🇮🇱 Israel - 🇱🇧 Lebanon • Israel has intensified its air strikes and ground offensive in southern Lebanon, declaring the entire area south of the Zahrani River a “combat zone” and ordering the evacuation of the ancient city of Tyre. At least 17 people were killed yesterday, including a woman and her daughter near Beirut, despite a ceasefire that has theoretically been in force since 17 April. Benjamin Netanyahu stated today that his army had crossed the Litani River, some 30 kilometres from the border. Since 2 March, Israeli strikes have left more than 3,300 dead and 1.2 million displaced. UNICEF reports that an average of 11 children were killed or injured every 24 hours last week. Lebanese and Israeli military officials were meeting today in Washington, with Beirut calling for an immediate halt to the strikes as a priority.

🇮🇱 Israel - 🇵🇸 Palestine • Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to extend its control of the Gaza Strip to 70% of the enclave, up from around 64% currently. At least 900 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire announced in October. A strike carried out on Wednesday evening, presented as targeting two Hamas leaders, killed at least ten people, including five children.

🇺🇸 United States - 🇮🇷 Iran • Donald Trump is preparing to make a “final decision” on a possible agreement to end the war with Iran, now in its fourth month. US sources suggest a framework providing for a 60-day extension of the ceasefire, “unrestricted” access to the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the blockade on Iranian ports, in exchange for Tehran’s commitment to renounce nuclear weapons. The US president is also demanding the destruction of enriched uranium. Iran, which is demanding the release of $24 billion in frozen assets, has denounced the demands as “excessive” and considers the agreement not yet finalised. This week, the two sides exchanged strikes, the most serious since the 8 April truce: the US shot down four Iranian drones and targeted a site in Bandar Abbas.

🇮🇱 Israel - 🇱🇧 Lebanon • Israeli strikes pose a “serious threat” to major archaeological sites in southern Lebanon, warned Culture Minister Ghassan Salamé. The ancient ruins of Tyre, a World Heritage Site, were hit nearby, whilst the medieval fortress of Beaufort, dating from the Crusades, was struck directly. The multi-faith site of Chamaa has lost at least three of its four domes. The minister, whose teams do not have access to the combat zones, is asking UNESCO to appoint a special commissioner. Lebanon has placed 79 sites under the organisation’s enhanced protection.

🇹🇭 Thailand • A criminal court has acquitted Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a leading opposition figure, of charges of lèse-majesté and cybercrime relating to a Facebook live stream in January 2021. The founder of the progressive movement allied with the People’s Party had criticised the management of the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and, according to the prosecution, favoured a company owned by the king. Thailand has one of the world’s strictest lèse-majesté laws, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The prosecution has 30 days to appeal.

🇨🇳 China • China is building a vast network of launch pads, bunkers and communication hubs around its isolated nuclear missile silos, according to satellite images analysed by Reuters. More than 80 launch pads have been identified there, along with electronic warfare and command facilities. This expansion, centred on two octagonal complexes near the Hami silo fields, aims to ensure Beijing’s retaliatory capability. The Pentagon estimates that China will have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030.

🇨🇳 China - 🇺🇸 United States • Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is the headline speaker at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the Asia-Pacific’s leading defence forum which opened today in Singapore, where no senior Chinese officials are present for the second consecutive year. Beijing has sent only a delegation of military experts, which analysts interpret as a sign of its growing power. Washington intends to set the tone on Taiwan and Iran. Vietnamese President To Lam has called on the major powers to show “restraint”.

🇲🇲 Myanmar • Myanmar’s farmers fear for their crops, hit by soaring fertiliser and fuel prices caused by the war in the Middle East. The country, which imports 90% of its fuel and up to 95% of its chemical fertilisers, is highly vulnerable to disruptions in transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The price of a bag of fertiliser has risen fivefold. The World Food Programme warns that a 50% reduction in fertiliser could lead to a 15% drop in production, in a country already plagued by food insecurity and civil war.

🇧🇴 Bolivia • Former left-wing president Evo Morales told AFP that Bolivia was experiencing a “rebellion” against a government “submissive” to the United States, as the country has been rocked by protests for nearly a month. President Rodrigo Paz, Washington’s closest ally following 20 years of left-wing rule, believes the crisis is “close to breaking point” and accuses Mr Morales of orchestrating the movement. Subject to an arrest warrant which he contests, the former leader is calling for elections within 90 days. The protests have caused shortages of food, medicine and fuel.