Russia will impose an 8% export tax on certain diamonds from Sept. 1, local time, aimed at protecting its domestic diamond-cutting and processing industry. The tax covers uncut and partially processed diamonds weighing 0.45–10.8 carats and special-size diamonds above 10.8 carats; exports to Eurasian Economic Union members are exempt.

AI-driven demand for data-center power has pushed electricity prices higher and prompted outage warnings in parts of the US. On the 18th, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asked regional grid operators to adopt new agreements to speed interconnection for large users such as data centers, and said it will no longer proactively factor environmental impacts under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when drafting rules. Data Center Map shows more than 4,000 operational US data centers, with many more planned or under construction; buildouts are outpacing new power-plant commissioning and slow interconnection is forcing tech firms to compete for power allocations. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates data centers now account for about 5% of US electricity demand and could reach roughly 20% by 2035.

The IAEA reported the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant completely lost external power on June 20, the 20th such outage since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began.