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South Korea, US scale back military drill over COVID-19 - Nikkei Asia

South Korea and the United States will conduct their springtime military exercise this week, but the joint drill will be smaller than usual because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seoul said on Sunday (Mar 7).

The allies will begin a nine day "computer-simulated command post exercise" on Monday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The drills will not include outdoor manoeuvres, which have been carried out throughout the year, and the number of troops and equipment will be minimised due to the pandemic, Yonhap news agency reported.The exercises also provide a chance to assess South Korea's readiness to take over wartime operational control (OPCON), and the series of scaled back drills could complicate President Moon Jae-in's drive to complete the transfer before his term ends in 2022.

Even before the pandemic the drills had been reduced to facilitate US negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programmes.

The combined drills are closely monitored by North Korea which calls them a "rehearsal for war".

While Pyongyang has sometimes responded to such drills with its own shows of military force, it may be unlikely to do so this time, said Chad O'Carroll, CEO of Korea Risk Group, which monitors North Korea.

"I think there'’s too much on the domestic agenda going wrong to risk any significant tit-for-tat escalation," he said on Twitter. "And this is a government which tends to focus most of its resources on dealing with one key issue at a time."

North Korea's drastic measures to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak have exacerbated human rights abuses and economic hardship, including reports of starvation, for its citizens, already battered by international sanctions, a United Nations investigator has said//CNA

Reopening England's schools is step towards normality, PM Johnson says - Evening Standard

The reopening of England's schools to all pupils on Monday (Mar 8) will mark the first step back towards normality, and is only possible because of the efforts of the public to bring COVID-19 infection rates down, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Johnson has announced a roadmap for lifting lockdown measures that sees schools open first, followed in later stages by the gradual easing of restrictions on mixing with other people and the re-opening of non-essential shops and other venues.

"The reopening of schools marks a truly national effort to beat this virus," Johnson said.

"It is because of the determination of every person in this country that we can start moving closer to a sense of normality – and it is right that getting our young people back into the classroom is the first step." 

Each step on the roadmap will depend on the level of COVID-19 cases, the government has said. It hopes the pandemic can be contained by a vaccine programme that has already delivered a dose to nearly 22 million people, as well as regular testing.

Many secondary schools and colleges had already started inviting students for their first "lateral flow" COVID-19 tests, which give rapid results, with nearly 1 million conducted last week, the government said.

After three initial tests on site, students will be provided with two tests to use each week at home, it said, adding that nearly 57 million tests had been delivered to schools and colleges across the country//CNA

New Zealand's Auckland emerges from lockdown - NZ

Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, emerged on Sunday (Mar 7) from a strict weeklong lockdown imposed after a community cluster of the more contagious British coronavirus variant.

There were no new local COVID-19 cases recorded on Sunday, health officials said, marking a full week of no community transmissions across the country.

Auckland, a city of nearly 2 million, will continue to have limits on public gathering and masks are obligatory on public transport. Restrictions might be further eased on Friday.Neighbouring Australia also had no local COVID-19 cases on Sunday, making it the 37th day of no infections this year. There have been no related deaths in 2021.

Swift public health measures combined with aggressive contact tracing, border closures and compulsory quarantine for travellers have been credited with making New Zealand and Australia highly successful in keeping the pandemic from spreading.

Both countries saw their economies recovering speedily in the second part of 2020. Australia's economy expanded at a much faster than expected pace in the final quarter of last year and all signs were that 2021 has started on a firm footing too.

COVID-19 inoculation began in both countries, with the vaccination roll-out in Australia becoming slightly complicated after Italy blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca's vaccine.

Australia's Health Minister Greg Hunt, among the first to receive the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Sunday after an earlier shipment, said the roll-out is on track.The government is spending more than A$6 billion (US$4.6 billion) to support the vaccine roll-out with contracts for more than 150 million doses of various COVID-19 vaccines//CNA

European Union announces winners of the EU Social DigiThon Competition

The Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Indonesia, in partnership with the Indonesian Internet of Things (IOT) Association (ASIOTI), announced four winners of the EU Social DigiThon Competition. The winners, according to their rank, are DukaEuy Team with the “Anti-Violence Bracelet”, UntukIbu Team with the “Journal for Pregnant Women”, Yudhis

Thiro Kabul Yunior with the “DTRON Smart Chair”, and Solutioner Team with the “ELearning for People with Disabilities (ELAIS)”. 

This year’s EU Social DigiThon Competition, themed “Youth Action for Change”, had looked for three winning proposals, but in the end selected four. The reason for this the high quality of proposals received, with two teams’ concepts ranking in third place ex aequo. 

“With this contest we aim to create links between digital information, technology, solutions to social and human rights issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said EU Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Vincent Piket.

“Through the EU Social DigiThon Competition, we also wish to build links with Indonesian youth. We received a tremendous response with young people using their creativity and critical thinking for solving real-life issues in their own environment with self-made solutions,” added Ambassador Piket.

The four winners were chosen out of 196 proposals submitted in a contest that asked for responses to challenges faced by women and girls, youth and children, and people with disabilities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Winners are entitled to seed grants to turning their ideas into reality. The first prize and second prize winners will receive a grant of IDR 50 million and IDR 30 million respectively.

The two teams that came in third position will each receive a grant of IDR 20 million. The four winners will also participate in a mentoring programme led by experts from the EU//Release/NK