U.S. President Donald J. Trump is set to meet with executives (WSJ) from U.S. oil companies at the White House today to discuss strategies to help the industry amid a bruising price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. 

Oil prices plunged after Russia and Saudi Arabia announced they would boost production in early March amid plummeting demand due to coronavirus lockdowns. Washington has urged Moscow and Riyadh (NYT) to cap production, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is set to meet Monday (CNN) with Russia and other producers. The U.S. oil industry is divided on whether to support government intervention such as tariffs on foreign crude imports or a production cap inside the United States. 

Leaders in Beijing and Washington have dialed down (NYT) confrontational comments about the other’s response to the new coronavirus in recent days after advisors on both sides urged cooperation.
 
Malaysia: The country’s month-old government is replacing and adding officials (Straits Times) at state agencies ahead of a parliamentary session in May, upping ministry and deputy positions from fifty-five to seventy in a reported effort to please allies.
 
CFR’s Joshua Kurlantzick looks at the recent upheaval in Malaysian politics.

Afghan officials reportedly authorized the release (Reuters) of one hundred Taliban prisoners in exchange for the Taliban’s release of twenty security force members. The swap is a critical confidence-building measure in the U.S.-Taliban peace deal.
 
In Foreign Affairs, David Petraeus and Vance Serchuk discuss the dangerous asymmetry at the heart of the Afghan peace deal.
 
India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked state officials for suggestions on how to execute a staggered exit (Economic Times) from a national lockdown that ends April 14.

Twitter took down (AFP) thousands of accounts in Egypt, Honduras, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Serbia that it said promoted pro-government content.
 
Israel: Authorities locked down (Reuters) a town near Tel Aviv where some ultra-orthodox rabbis encouraged residents to ignore virus-prevention guidelines and an estimated 38 percent of residents may have the coronavirus.

South African police reportedly transferred hundreds of migrants from a Cape Town church to a temporary camp (AP) outside the city. The migrants had previously asked authorities to relocate them to other countries due to xenophobic harassment.
 
Ethiopia: The government loosened regulations on mobile money transfers (BBC) so that Ethiopians could avoid using cash during the coronavirus crisis.

The European Court of Justice ruled the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland broke EU law (BBC) by refusing to take in refugees as designated in a 2015 agreement. The countries could now receive hefty fines.
 
North Macedonia: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officially welcomed (Reuters) North Macedonia as its thirtieth ally.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at NATO.

Panama and Peru announced that different time slots (Reuters) will be allotted for men and women to leave the house in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
 
Brazil: The Brazilian government ordered more than $228 million worth of medical supplies (Reuters) from China after four other countries were reportedly unable to fulfill its request.