Global greenhouse gas emissions are projected to plummet nearly 8 percent (WaPo) this year, while global energy demand will fall 6 percent, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced. The shocks to energy patterns come as solar and wind power become the cheapest sources (Axios) of new power development for much of the world’s population.
 
The unprecedented drop in carbon emissions is just above the reduction the United Nations says must occur every year (NPR) in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The IEA called for countries to focus on clean energy in their coronavirus economic relief packages in order to reduce an emissions rebound.

China said several countries have called for debt relief on massive infrastructure projects Beijing financed as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese policy advisors and bankers told the Financial Times they were considering relief options that do not include outright debt forgiveness.
 
CFR’s Brad W. Setser discusses how China can help low-income countries cope with their debt during the coronavirus crisis.
 
China: U.S. President Donald J. Trump doubled down (CNN) on claims that the new coronavirus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China, contradicting a statement from the U.S. intelligence community.

The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan failed to provide data (VOA) on Taliban attacks in the first quarter of 2020 to a U.S. military inspector general, saying the information is a critical part of ongoing deliberations with the Taliban.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at the Taliban in Afghanistan.
 
India, Pakistan: Pakistan’s nuclear program has at least 46 more suppliers (Reuters) than previously listed by export controllers in Japan and the United States, while 222 companies do business with Indian nuclear facilities that are not monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to a new report by the Center For Advanced Defense Studies.

A missile attack in southern Syria and an explosion near the city of Homs are suspected to have been carried out by Israel (Haaretz), according to Syrian state media and a war monitor. Syrian intelligence sources told Reuters that a string of Israeli strikes in recent weeks have targeted Iran-backed militias, and Israel’s defense minister said (Newsweek) this week that Israel “moved from blocking Iran’s entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there.”

Sudan’s new government outlawed female genital mutilation (NYT). Those who perform the practice could now face a three-year prison sentence and a fine. Nearly 90 percent of Sudanese women have undergone the procedure, according to the United Nations.
 
Nigeria: The country will have to “replace” $300 million repatriated from funds a former military leader stashed in British and U.S. banks if it does not use the money for agreed-upon public projects (Reuters), the U.S. Justice Department said.

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced a new loan program with negative 1 percent (FT) interest rates alongside a warning that the eurozone could shrink by as much as 12 percent this year.
 
This CFR Backgrounder looks at different countries’ economic responses to the coronavirus crisis.
 
UK: People of black Caribbean descent have died from the coronavirus in English hospitals at three times the rate (FT) of white people, according to the National Health Service. The data prompted calls to address the racial impact of the virus.

Venezuelan officials sent $500 million worth of gold bars to Iran in April in exchange for assistance with operations at Venezuelan oil refineries, Bloomberg reports. This leaves Venezuela with $6.3 billion in hard-currency assets, a three-decade low.
 
Mexico: The Trump administration and major U.S. manufacturers pressured Mexico to require factories that supply the United States to remain open (NYT) despite reports of workplace coronavirus outbreaks.

Labor organizers at Amazon, Instacart, Shipt, and Whole Foods have planned workplace walkouts (CBS) today to call for sick leave expansions, access to personal protective equipment, and better pay, among other demands. Thousands of Americans plan to take part in what is expected to be the country’s largest coordinated rent strike (Guardian) in decades.