The Evening: Pandemic, Iran, Feeling Alright and More

March 11, 2020

Coronavirus Declared Pandemic by WHO

The spread of the new coronavirus has reached pandemic levels, according to the World Health Organization, as the WSJ’s Talal Ansari, Natasha Khan and Jennifer Calfas report.

And, as the Journal’s Anna Isaac reports, Frances Yoon and Karen Langley report, the Dow’s 11-year bull run today came to an end.

The NYT’s Noah Weiland reports that Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, today told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that coronavirus is “going to get worse.”

U.S. Gives Details on Iran Sites Under Scrutiny of U.N. Nuclear Watchdog

One of the three sites in Iran about which the U.N. nuclear watchdog says it has raised questions that Tehran has failed to answer may have hosted uranium metal, the United States said on Wednesday, providing new details on the locations, as Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia Plans Oil Boost

Saudi Arabia sought to put fresh pressure on the oil price by instructing state oil company Saudi Aramco to increase its maximum production capacity to 13 million barrels a day, as the FT’s Anjli Raval reports.

CSIS Executive Education

We invite you to apply or nominate a high-potential employee for the 2020 CSIS Accelerator Series, a training program designed to help young professionals refine their strengths in leadership, management, communication, and a range of professional skills required in today's competitive work environment.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify,” "What's Happening," "Preview," and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

124,578

Confirmed cases of coronavirus reached 124,578 Wednesday, in 122 countries and regions.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering

Critical Quote

“We cannot say this loudly enough or clearly enough or often enough. All countries can still change the course of this pandemic.”

— Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, chief of the WHO

iDeas Lab

The 2010-2012 Arab Spring protests were not an isolated phenomenon. Rather, they were acute manifestations of an increasing global trend of mass protests. A new report from CSIS Risk & Foresight expert Sam Brannen examines the growth of mass protests around the word.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.

Optics

(Photo credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images). Dr. Anthony Fauci answers questions at a House Oversight And Reform Committee hearing concerning government preparedness and response to the coronavirus.

Recommended Reading

“The Best Foreign Policy Puts Women at the Center,” By CFR’s Rachel Vogelstein, Jamille Bigio, and Rebecca Turkington for Foreign Affairs.

This Town Tomorrow

At 1:00 p.m., CSIS will host a press call on the geopolitics and the regional impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

And, at 11:00 a.m., the Center for American Progress will host a conversation on how the United States and its allies can work together to contend with China’s rise.

Later, at 4:00 p.m., The Institute of World Politics will host a presentation on the role of the U.S. military under the National Defense Strategy over the next decade.

Video

CSIS's Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security released a video about its report on “Ending the Cycle of Crisis and Complacency in U.S. Global Health Security.” Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission’s recommendations are particularly relevant. Watch the video here.

Podcasts

How is Italy and the rest of Europe handling the unfolding COVID-19 crisis? I asked CSIS Global Health Policy Center director Steve Morrison and CSIS Europe director Heather Conley on a new episode of the Truth of the Matter.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

Thank you for sending in all of your favorite cover tunes—you all have great taste! So many great calls. Of course my best buddy Jon mailed in all of our fav covers by the Radiators, and there are many of those. A few of you wrote about Joe Cocker and “With a Little Help From My Friends.” I certainly agree, but Cocker is one of the all-time masters of the cover tune and his version of the Traffic standard “Feeling Alright” is a show stopper.