U.S. President Donald J. Trump recommended Americans avoid gathering (NYT) in groups larger than ten people to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, while French President Emmanuel Macron said he would deploy (France 24) one hundred thousand police officers to enforce a lockdown and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the public to avoid all nonessential contact (Guardian).

Even as the World Health Organization stressed the importance of these social distancing measures, it emphasized that stopping the virus depends on the immediate rollout of mass testing programs (Reuters) as testing lags worldwide. The European Union proposed a ban on most travel (WSJ) into the bloc, while the U.S. Supreme Court postponed oral arguments and many local authorities announced court closures (NBC).

Chinese military planes flew close to Taiwan’s air defense zone and were warned away (Reuters) by Taiwanese patrol aircraft, Taiwan’s defense ministry said. Taiwan has complained that China is escalating military drills near the island.  
 
CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker looks at territorial disputes in the South China Sea. 
 
Japan: A nuclear reactor in the country’s southwest shut down (Kyodo) after failing to meet a deadline to implement antiterrorism measures.

The Afghan government said it would only release Taliban prisoners if there is a guarantee (TOLO) that peace talks with the Taliban will begin, and that it would then free the inmates gradually. The recent U.S.-Taliban deal suggested that Kabul would conduct a mass prisoner release before beginning intra-Afghan talks.
 
In Foreign Affairs, James Dobbins discusses how violence and division threaten the U.S.-Taliban deal.

Adnan al-Zurfi, former governor of the city of Najaf, was named Iraq’s new prime minister-designate (AP) after a previous appointee was unable to form a government.
 
Syria: A March 6 cease-fire between Turkey-backed Syrian rebels and Russia-backed government forces remains mostly intact (NYT). Some Syrians have returned to bombed towns in Idlib province to retrieve their belongings.

Zimbabwe suspended the transfer (Reuters) of shares in dual-listed companies to foreign markets in a measure that aims to cut inflation of the recently reintroduced Zimbabwe dollar.
 
Central African Republic: A UN peacekeeper from Burundi was killed (UN) trying to stop a militant attack in the town of Grimari.

A French antitrust watchdog hit Apple with a $1.2 billion fine (Ars Technica), France’s largest ever, for anticompetitive activities. Two of Apple’s wholesalers were also fined.
 
Russia: The nation’s Constitutional Court approved amendments (AFP) that would allow President Vladimir Putin to serve two more terms in office.

Hundreds of inmates escaped four prisons (Reuters) in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, local authorities said, a day before visits were due to be suspended because of the new coronavirus.
 
Guyana: Both sides in the country’s disputed presidential election agreed to a recount (FT). The new president will oversee massive new oil assets.

Hackers targeted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to spread disinformation and slow the response to the coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg reports. Department officials acknowledged a cyber incident and said networks were functioning normally.
 
CFR’s Strength Through Peace blog discusses the risk of a cyberattack on critical U.S. infrastructure.