In a single day, several of the world’s oil industry giants suffered blows (Politico) that revealed the growing power of climate concerns in courts and the mainstream business community. 

Exxon Mobil’s shareholders, most notably the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, elected two new board members who call for the oil and gas company to become carbon neutral by 2050 (WSJ). At Chevron, a shareholder resolution passed that would force the company to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. And a Dutch court ruled that Shell must cut its emissions by 45 percent by 2030, much earlier than it had planned (FT). The decisions came as the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization announced there is a 40 percent chance the Earth reaches an average annual temperature that is 1.5°C above preindustrial levels in the next five years (BBC), though it could take another one or two decades for the change to become permanent.

Hong Kong’s lawmakers approved mainland-ordered changes (AFP) that will allow a pro-Beijing committee to select most legislators, lower the number of directly elected seats from thirty-five to twenty, and require all candidates to be vetted by national security officers.
 
This Backgrounder looks at how China is cracking down on Hong Kong.
 
China: U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He had their first phone conversation (Bloomberg). Tai has previously said she expects China to complete its end of a deal made last year in which China committed to purchasing more U.S. goods, while Chinese officials have called for a rollback of U.S. tariffs.

WhatsApp sued the Indian government (NYT) in a Delhi court, saying new requirements to make messages traceable by outside parties would undermine users’ privacy and were unconstitutional.
 
CFR’s Why It Matters podcast explains tensions between WhatsApp and the Indian government.
 
Afghanistan: Australia will close its embassy (VOA) in the country tomorrow due to an uncertain security outlook, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. The around eighty Australian troops in Afghanistan are set to withdraw by September.

While in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi that Egypt was a “real and effective partner” (FT) in coordinating an end to this month’s war in Gaza. Also on his tour of the Middle East, Blinken said the United States seeks to reopen a consulate (BBC) for Palestinian affairs in Jerusalem and give Palestinians more than $360 million (State Dept.) in assistance.
 
Iran: Tehran banned cryptocurrency mining (Al Jazeera) for four months in an effort to relieve stress on Iran’s power grid, which has suffered widespread outages. 

In Kigali, French President Emmanuel Macron said he recognized France’s responsibility (Reuters) in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and asked for forgiveness. In March, a French panel found that France had “overwhelming” responsibility for not predicting the killings. Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Rwandans could “maybe not forget, but forgive.”
 
Sudan: The country’s transitional government and the rebel group Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North began a new round of peace talks (AP) aimed at facilitating the country’s shift to democracy.

Switzerland abandoned talks (Politico) on finalizing a treaty with the European Union that would align standards on industry, agriculture, medicine, and more. The hang-ups included protection of higher Swiss wages and EU citizens’ access to the Swiss welfare system.
 
Belgium: In a court hearing for the EU’s lawsuit against pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for delayed vaccine deliveries, EU lawyers called for a fine (Politico) that could be as high as two hundred million euros per day beginning July 1 if AstraZeneca does not speed up its deliveries. AstraZeneca’s team argued that the current delivery timeline is within the bounds of its contract with the EU.

U.S. authorities arrested Arturo Murillo (AP), Bolivia’s interior minister under the government of former President Jeanine Anez, as part of a Justice Department probe of whether he took bribes from a man who overcharged the Anez government for tear gas.
 
Brazil: A government strategy to protect the Amazon Rainforest by having companies adopt different portions of it has been marred by poor communication and lack of consultation with local communities, the New York Times reports.
 
For Foreign Affairs, Brian Winter discusses whether Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has really gone green.