HOT NEWS
- The U.S. remained open in holding talks with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal even Iran turned down the offer and demanded Washington to lift the sanctions first. Source: The Times of Israel
- Moon Jae-In said South Korea committed to resolve historical issues to push for stronger cooperation with Japan and hinted at a trilateral cooperation with the U.S. Source: Yonhap News Agency
- Syria’s military reported that Israeli’s troops fired rockets from Golan Heights that landed in the southern Damascus area, marking another attack by Israel in less than a month. Source: Al Jazeera
WORLD
- The EU-Armenia Comprehensive Enhanced Partnership agreement finally came into force to boost Yerevan and Brussels relations after three years of ratification. Source: TASS
- The U.S. Federal judge granted approval to Facebook to pay $650M settlement money for illegally collected biometric data which violated the 2008 Illinois privacy law. Source: CGTN
- Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is approved by the CDC for widespread use in the U.S. immunization program in fighting the pandemic. Source: Reuters
REGIONS
- UN human rights officials reported that at least 18 protesters were killed in Dawei city, Bago and Yangon as Myanmar police used live fires to disperse the protesters. Source: CNA
- China’s Jiangxi province attempts to boost economic cooperation with BRI nations by investing $30.54 million to support competent enterprises to go global. Source: Xinhua Net
- Thai’s Ministry of Finance is preparing a financial package to support 137,000 government contract employees’ cost of living during the pandemic crisis. Source: Bangkok Post
CAMBODIA
- Japan’s government has provided a grant worth USD10.8 million to RGC in conducting the vessel traffic system development project in Sihanoukville province. Source: AKP
- The cabinet approved the draft law containing 6 chapters with 18 articles on COVID-19 prevention measures to slow down the spread of infection in the community. Source: AKP
- A shipment of 324,000 out of 1,296,00 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines will be arriving in Cambodia tomorrow, citing the statement by MoH, UNICEF, and WHO. Source: Khmer Times