Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. PM Johnson up and walking in COVID-19 recovery as UK deaths near 9,000

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was back on his feet in his recovery from COVID-19 on Friday as Britain recorded its deadliest day yet in the coronavirus pandemic, with 980 more deaths taking the country's overall toll to nearly 9,000. The rise in deaths, which even exceeded the deadliest day reported so far in Italy, the country worst hit by the virus, comes as the government told Britons to obey a lockdown and resist going out in the spring sunshine over Easter. Pope prays for sick at Good Friday service scaled back by coronavirus

Pope Francis prostrated himself on the floor of an empty St. Peter's Basilica on Friday to pray at a "Passion of the Lord" service commemorating Jesus' last hours of life and his crucifixion, an event scaled down by coronavirus restrictions. The Good Friday service is one of the rare times when the pope does not deliver a homily, leaving it to Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the papal household. French coronavirus toll over 13,000 as nursing home deaths jump

The number of people who have died from coronavirus infection in France jumped by nearly 987 or 8% to 13,197 as nursing home deaths swelled but fewer people were in intensive care as the effect of nationwide confinement started to show. The total number of confirmed and probable coronavirus infections in the country rose by 7,120 to 124,869, although the ministry does not provide a total, splitting the number instead between cases in hospitals and cases in nursing homes. Global coronavirus death toll hits 100,000, cases over 1.6 million

The number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus reached 100,000 on Friday, as the tally of cases passed 1.6 million, according to a Reuters tally. The first death came in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Jan. 9. It took 83 days for the first 50,000 deaths to be recorded and just eight more for the toll to climb to 100,000. Italy PM extends virus lockdown, says euro zone rescue plan inadequate

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Friday extended a nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus until May 3, though he said a few types of shops would be allowed to re-open next week. The draconian curbs on movement and the closure of most shops and businesses across Italy were imposed on March 9, and were scheduled to expire on Monday. Brazil 'Ghostbuster' deep cleans favela streets to fight coronavirus

When coronavirus hit and tourists stopped coming to Thiago Firmino's Rio de Janeiro favela tour, he decided to act. Unwilling to wait for officials to react, he donned a white suit and set about disinfecting the streets of the Santa Marta slum. Having watched with horror as the virus spread round the world, Firmino, 39, launched a scheme to sanitize the Santa Marta favela. Trudeau says 'more normal' phase of Canada's coronavirus fight could come in summer

Canadian life could soon return to a semblance of normality if people bear down now to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but the risk of resurgence will remain until a vaccine is developed, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. During his daily press conference in front of his Ottawa home, Trudeau said a "more normal" phase could come as early as this summer. Brazil's Bolsonaro hits the streets in latest social distancing snub

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets of Brasilia on Friday, drawing crowds and greeting followers in his latest public pushback against social isolation measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Bolsonaro, 65, a far-right former army captain, says the isolation measures mandated by state governors and his own public health officials are an unnecessary drag on the economy. Bolsonaro's popularity has fallen during the coronavirus crisis, with a growing number of Brazilians angered by his stance toward a disease he calls a "little cold." U.N. condemns water shutoff to Libyan capital

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya on Friday condemned the cutting off of water supply to the capital Tripoli over the past week as "particularly reprehensible" and said it must stop immediately. An armed group on Monday stormed a control station at Shwerif, stopping water from being pumped and threatening workers, the Great Man Made River Project, which supplies water to much of Libya, said in a statement. Exclusive: Inside Trump's standoff with South Korea over defense costs

When U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper rang his South Korean counterpart this week, he pressed for a deal quickly on defense cost-sharing that President Donald Trump expects will translate into much higher contributions from Seoul. But current and former U.S. officials say privately there appears to be little hope of clinching a new agreement in the coming days, and some wonder about the coming weeks and months.