MORNING NEWS BRIEF [July 07, 2021]

HOT NEWS

1. Russian Federal Security Service revealed that it has detained an Estonian diplomat working in St Petersburg, who was believed to be receiving classified documents. Source: The Canberra Times
2. The U.S.’s envoy to North Korea held phone talks with Chinese diplomats to discuss issues on the Korean Peninsula, after North Korea refused to establish dialogue with the U.S. Source: Reuters
3. The WHO expert warned of the risks of reopening the countries and lifting COVID-19 restrictions, adding that it would compromise the lives of unvaccinated people. Source: teleSUR

WORLD

1. The U.S. and European powers denounced Iran’s decision to enrich uranium to 20 percent purity, but stressed that the negotiation on the 2015 nuclear deal remained open. Source: Al Jazeera
2. According to the U.S. Central Command, the troop withdrawal process from Afghanistan has completed more than 90%, with 7 military facilities handed to the Afghan authorities. Source: Deutsche Welle
3. Russian government hackers known as APT 29 or Cozy Bear reportedly conducted a massive ransomware attack on the American Republican National Committee last week. Source: Bloomberg

REGIONS

1. Chinese and German Defense Ministers held virtual talks aiming to push for bilateral military cooperation and mutual trust to jointly address global issues and challenges. Source: China.org.cn
2. China blasted Japan Deputy PM’s remark on defending Taiwan with the U.S., citing that the remarks were extremely wrong and severely violated political principles of China-Japan. Source: People’s Daily
3. North Korea created a national organization tasked to monitor and crackdown on illegal hoarding of food and price gouging in an attempt to deal with food security. Source: Daily NK

CAMBODIA

1. Cambodia called on all ASEM partners to reinvigorate multilateralism and avoid trade barriers and nationalistic policies in an effort to bolster Asia-Europe cooperation. Source: Khmer Times
2. PM Hun Sen attended the Leaders’ Summit between CPC and World Political Parties, aiming to discuss the well-being of people and challenges against isolationism and populism. Source: AKP
3. The two-way trade between Cambodia and South Korea reached USD377 million in the first five months of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent. Source: Khmer Times