UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres laid out a roadmap for a worldwide response to the coronavirus pandemic. The plan would devote at least 10 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) to “the greatest test that we have faced together” since World War II.

Richer countries must assist poorer ones (UN), said Guterres, who warned of heightened instability and conflict. The International Labor Organization (ILO) projects five to twenty-five million jobs will be lost globally due to the pandemic, while the UN Conference on Trade and Development projected a 30 to 40 percent drop in foreign direct investment flows. Between one hundred thousand and two hundred thousand Americans could die (NPR) from the virus in the coming months, according to projections announced by the White House virus task force.

The U.S. State Department presented a plan for a political transition in Venezuela that would remove U.S. sanctions. The plan calls for a transitional leadership council chosen by coalitions with majorities in Congress, the departure of foreign security forces, and elections in six to twelve months. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido thanked Washington (Miami Herald) for the plan, while President Nicolas Maduro’s foreign minister rejected it.
 
Brazil, Venezuela: Facebook and Twitter deleted social media posts (BBC) by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that contained medical misinformation about the coronavirus.
 
This CFR In Brief looks at how Bolsonaro’s approach to the pandemic pits him against state governors.

Thousands of South Koreans working for the U.S. military were placed on indefinite unpaid leave (Yonhap) after cost-sharing talks between the two countries stalled.
 
Papua New Guinea: Watchdog Human Rights Law Centre found mining giant Rio Tinto responsible for human rights violations (Guardian) on the island of Bougainville related to health hazards caused by one of the company’s mines.

Delegations from the Afghan government and the Taliban met in Kabul (TOLO) to discuss details of a prisoner exchange, part of a U.S.-brokered roadmap for peace talks in the country.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the recent U.S.-Taliban deal.
 
India: Startup Nocca Robotics is developing a low-cost ventilator (BBC). The company aims to produce thirty thousand ventilators by mid-May.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom approved the sale (FT) of more than $540,000 worth of medical equipment to Iran through Instex, a financial channel created to circumvent U.S. sanctions on trade with the country. The sale is the channel’s first transaction.
 
Syria: Syrian air defense systems intercepted missiles (Al Jazeera) fired by Israeli forces at targets in the country’s center, state media reported.

Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ruled that the Movement for Democratic Change opposition party must hold elections (Reuters) within three months because Nelson Chamisa’s leadership is illegitimate. Chamisa’s deputy rejected the ruling, calling it a government attempt to disempower the party. 
 
Ethiopia: The country postponed parliamentary elections (Reuters) scheduled for August due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ethiopia’s National Election Board said it would announce a new election timeline once the crisis has subsided.        

Disinformation campaigns (Politico) originating in China and Russia have spread messaging that European countries are failing to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a watchdog group in the European Union.
 
In Foreign Affairs, Sarah Kreps and Brendan Nyhan discuss why political speech about the coronavirus is difficult to police.

Federal prison authorities announced that inmates nationwide must be confined to their cells for fourteen days to prevent the spread (NPR) of the coronavirus. Prisons across the country have reported an accelerated spread (Reuters) of the virus. California announced plans to release up to 3,500 inmates (The Hill) to reduce crowding.