The European Union’s top court struck down a data-sharing agreement (WaPo) with the United States, ruling that European citizens’ data is not sufficiently protected from government surveillance when it is transferred to U.S. servers.

The decision to invalidate the agreement, known as Privacy Shield, could have profound implications for transatlantic digital commerce (WSJ). U.S. companies could be forced to either set up data centers in Europe or end business there. Privacy activists lauded the ruling (AP), while business groups expressed concerns about potential disruptions.

The Donald J. Trump administration is considering broad travel restrictions (NYT) for members of the Chinese Communist Party and their families. The plan could also allow the government to revoke the visas of those already in the United States.
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South Korea: Prosecutors in Seoul opened an investigation of Kim Yo-jong (Yonhap), sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, for her alleged role in blowing up an inter-Korean liaison office last month.

CFR’s Scott A. Snyder explains how the liaison office’s demolition set back inter-Korean relations.

Flooding in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, and Nepal has displaced or otherwise affected millions of people and killed dozens as the region grapples with heavy monsoon rains. Scientists say global warming has increased the frequency of extreme rains (NYT), which killed at least six hundred people last year.
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Uzbekistan: President Shavkat Mirziyoyev criticized the health minister and the mayor of the capital Tashkent for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic (Reuters) in the first official acknowledgement that the country is struggling with its outbreak.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of allied countries led by Russia agreed to begin increasing oil production (WSJ) by roughly 1.6 million barrels per day next month. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, led an effort in April to cut production by 9.7 million barrels per day due to crashing oil prices triggered by the pandemic.

​Iran: The country’s judiciary suggested that it could halt the executions of three protesters following massive social media backlash (BBC). The three men are sentenced over acts of vandalism and arson that occurred during anti-government protests in November 2019.

Ethiopia acknowledged that water levels are rising (Al Jazeera) in its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but attributed the swell to construction. Egypt and Sudan fear the dam will disrupt their water supplies. Egypt’s foreign ministry asked for clarification on the dam’s filling and Sudan’s irrigation ministry said it rejects unilateral actions while talks on the matter are pending.
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Sudan: The signing of a peace agreement between the government and the rebel Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) has been postponed (Radio Dabanga). The head of the South Sudanese mediation team said both sides will sign the pact in the coming days after finalizing an agreement on security arrangements. The SRF attributed the delay to the violent breakup of a sit-in in North Darfur on Monday.

The United States has threatened to impose sanctions (RFE/RL) on any company or individual assisting in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline between Germany and Russia. Moscow is moving to complete the project after receiving Denmark’s permission to proceed with construction.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he had again tested positive (Reuters) for the coronavirus a week after he initially revealed his diagnosis. Bolsonaro continued to tout the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine despite the lack of evidence supporting its efficacy in treating the coronavirus.
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Canada: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau became embroiled in an ethics scandal (WaPo) after the government awarded a contract to a charity that has paid Trudeau’s mother and brother hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees.

High-profile Twitter accounts, including those of former Vice President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and billionaires Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk, were hacked yesterday in one of the site’s biggest security breaches (WaPo). President Trump was not affected by the hack (NYT), though analysts warned of devastating consequences if his account or that of another world leader is similarly compromised.
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CFR’s David P. Fidler writes about cybersecurity amid the coronavirus.