Italy became the first country to impose a nationwide ban (Politico) on most travel and public gatherings in an effort to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Its sixty million citizens must seek government permission to travel between cities, and restaurants must observe a 6 p.m. curfew.
 
As reported coronavirus cases worldwide topped 114,000 (NYT) and deaths surpassed four thousand, Israel mandated a fourteen-day quarantine (CNN) for anyone entering the country. Spain temporarily closed schools (FT) in Madrid and other hard-hit cities. U.S. President Donald J. Trump said he will consult with lawmakers on economic relief measures (WaPo) after a market slump that was partially prompted by concerns over the virus.

Australia’s top court has launched legal action (SMH) against Facebook for unlawfully disclosing the private data of more than three hundred thousand people to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
 
Taiwan: The country’s opposition Kuomintang party elected a new chairman who pledged during his campaign to take a tougher stance (VOA) against China, which would break from the party’s history of supporting Beijing.
 
This CFR Backgrounder unpacks China-Taiwan relations.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he would finalize the details of an upcoming Taliban prisoner release (TOLO) today, while the militant group said it was willing to release (Reuters) one thousand prisoners. The swap is designed to serve as a confidence-building measure ahead of intra-Afghan talks.
 
This CFR Backgrounder discusses what to know about the U.S.-Taliban peace deal.

The U.S. military is reviewing (NYT) how it conducts missions in the countries after two U.S. service members died in Iraq during an operation against the self-proclaimed Islamic State.
 
Yemen: Yemeni military forces said they retook control (AP) of several northern towns from Houthi rebels. Violence in the area killed at least thirty-five people in the last two days.

Ethiopian investigators blamed (AFP) Boeing’s pilot training and flight software for the March 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max that killed 157 people.
 
Nigeria: State authorities deposed (Al Jazeera) the country’s second-most senior Islamic ruler after a long-running dispute.

Former senior government official Ali Babacan applied to launch a new political party (Al-Monitor) that aims to give the country a “fresh start.” The bid is meant to erode the support base of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. 

Venezuelan election officials said a parliamentary poll planned for later this year will proceed despite the destruction (AP) of nearly fifty thousand voting machines in a warehouse fire.
 
Canada: The country’s justice minister introduced a bill to crack down (CBC) on conversion therapies designed to make people heterosexual.

Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Washington hold Democratic presidential primaries (NPR) today, awarding a combined 352 delegates.
 
CFR asked the 2020 candidates about their positions on critical foreign policy issues.

A new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO) showed that in 2019, 267 million young people were unemployed and not part of education or training programs, up from 259 million in 2016. Two-thirds of them were women. Trends suggest an international target to reduce this total by 2020 will not be met.