MORNING NEWS BRIEF [March 25, 2021]

HOT NEWS

1. Canada imposed sanctions against nine Russian senior official figures in response to the concerns of human rights situation in Russia following the arrest of Alexey Nalvalny. Source: TASS
2. President Joe Biden does not consider North Korea’s launch of short-range missiles a provocation, as his senior officials regarded this operation as normal military activity. Source: BBC
3. COVAX facility will likely face the delay in delivering the COVID-19 vaccines to low-income countries as the producer in India failed to secure export licenses. Source: Reuters

WORLD

1. The U.S. Secretary of State told NATO allies that they will not force them to take sides between China and the U.S., but called for collective actions against China’s aggression. Source: Deutsche Welle
2. Turkish Foreign Minister rejected France’s accusations over Ankara’s interference in French election, claiming they have no plan to interfere in France’s politics. Source: Sputnik
3. France, Poland, and five other EU nations reported to the EU that the climate change policies may cause harm to nuclear power’s roles in minimizing the CO2 emissions. Source: CNA

REGIONS

1. DPRK fired unidentified projectiles into the East Sea near Japan’s territory, another provocative move to fuel the tension, according to the reports from ROK’s military. Source: CNA
2. Myanmar’s military junta released more than 600 protesters from detention after a 7-year-old was killed by the security forces during the protest crackdown. Source: The Straits Times
3. Hong Kong and Macau have temporarily suspended Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines after being informed about packaging issues of one batch of doses. Source: Al Jazeera

CAMBODIA

1. China provides a big COVID-19 testing device to Cambodia, which will arrive in Sihanoukville in early April with the expectation to accelerate testing and reduce spending. Source: AKP
2. MoH issued a directive that requires people to wear masks and maintain social distancing in Phnom Penh and other four provinces to contain the community transmission. Source: The Phnom Penh Post
3. MPTC urges both MNOs and ISPs to improve the quality of their telecoms service in response to the increase of usage amid the February 20 COVID-19 community event. Source: AKP