U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will oversee (NYT) the country’s response to the new coronavirus, President Donald J. Trump announced. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned the virus could spread in the United States, as a patient in California tested positive despite seemingly not being exposed to anyone with the virus or visiting countries with outbreaks, such as China.

While sixty cases have been reported inside the United States, health experts warned that a faulty CDC-created virus test (WaPo) has limited the country’s ability to rapidly increase testing. More new cases were reported outside of China than inside it for the first time yesterday. Saudi Arabia banned the entry of foreign religious pilgrims (Guardian), Japan asked schools to close (Kyodo) through early April, and the United States and South Korea postponed joint military drills (Yonhap) scheduled for May. 

A Lahore court will hear (Dawn) a petition against an International Women’s Day march that the petitioner claims is organized by “anti-state” groups. The petition cites new social media rules (Reuters) that would allow the court to block online promotion for the march. Freedom of expression advocates have warned that the new rules amount to censorship.
 
Afghanistan: An explosion in Kabul killed nine civilians (VOA), the interior minister announced. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, which comes amid a weeklong U.S.-Taliban violence reduction pact (WaPo).
 
This episode of CFR’s The President’s Inbox podcast discusses whether the United States should leave Afghanistan.

A government headed by Elyes Fakhfakh, a former minister of tourism and finance, won a confidence vote (AFP) in Tunisia’s parliament. A previous cabinet put forth by Fakhfakh was rejected by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.
 
Egypt: Former President Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for nearly three decades, was buried (NYT) with full military honors in a Cairo funeral attended by President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.

Ethiopia will not attend (AP) today’s talks in Washington regarding a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over a new Nile River dam that is being constructed in Ethiopia. A deal had been expected this month, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it could take several more months to finalize.
 
Nigeria: The government will disburse (Bloomberg) $248 million in loans for small-scale agricultural businesses and $20 million for young technology innovators, the vice president announced.

More than seven hundred thousand people applied for asylum in the European Union in 2019, an increase of 13 percent from 2018 and the first increase (Politico) since the 2015 refugee crisis, according to the European Asylum Support Office. The spike was attributed to a rise in asylum seekers from Latin American.
 
This CFR interactive looks at the global refugee management system.
 
UK: London published its negotiating stance (Guardian) on trade talks with the European Union, calling for a liberalized market without arbitration by the EU Court of Justice. The government said it may walk away from trade talks if an agreement is not outlined by June.
 
This CFR In Brief looks at the United Kingdom’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sent a video (Folha de Sao Paulo) to associates encouraging them to attend protests (Guardian) against the Brazilian Congress on March 15. Far-right supporters of the president have advertised the protests as a call for a return to military rule.
 
Colombia: Killings of women human rights defenders rose nearly 50 percent (Reuters) in 2019, the UN human rights office announced. The office urged Colombia’s government to better protect women.