Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. North Korea media silent on Kim's whereabouts as speculation on health rages

North Korean state media on Wednesday made no mention of leader Kim Jong Un's health or whereabouts, a day after intense international speculation over his health was sparked by media reports he was gravely ill after a cardiovascular procedure. North Korean media presented a business as usual image, carrying routine reporting of Kim's achievements and publishing some of his older, or undated, comments on issues like the economy. Teen activist Thunberg joins Earth Day climate rallying calls

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined calls on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday for a combined effort to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis. Dramatic improvements in air and water quality as coronavirus lockdowns have cut pollution have prompted calls for a low-carbon future, but the need to get millions back to work is clouding the environmental picture. Recovered, almost: China's early patients unable to shed coronavirus

Dressed in a hazmat suit, two masks and a face shield, Du Mingjun knocked on the mahogany door of a flat in a suburban district of Wuhan on a recent morning. A man wearing a single mask opened the door a crack and, after Du introduced herself as a psychological counsellor, burst into tears. Trump instructs U.S. Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats 'if they harass our ships at sea'

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had instructed the U.S. Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass it at sea, a week after 11 vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. ships in the Gulf. "I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea," Trump wrote in a tweet, hours after Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said it had launched the country's first military satellite into orbit. Australia urges probe into origins of coronavirus, France says not now

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison sought support for an international investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump and the German and French leaders, Canberra said on Wednesday. But French President Emmanuel Macron told him the urgency was to beat the pandemic before looking for who was at fault, a French official said. Spain aims to phase out coronavirus lockdown in second half of May

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday his government plans to begin winding down the coronavirus lockdown measures in the second half of May. Restrictions will be eased slowly and gradually to ensure safety, Sanchez said at a parliamentary session where he will ask lawmakers to extend Spain's state of emergency until May 9. Emboldened by closures, foxes prowl an ancient port city in Israel

Red foxes have been making appearances in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, drawn out from the seclusion of the desert dunes by the coronavirus lockdown that has kept people off the streets. The animals, usually a rare sight in busy urban areas, have a biblical resonance. In the Book of Lamentations, the Jewish temple site in Jerusalem is described as so desolate that "foxes prowl upon it". Iran's Guards say launched first military satellite into orbit

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Wednesday it had successfully launched the country's first military satellite into orbit, at a time of heightened tensions with the United States over Tehran's nuclear and missile programmes. U.S. officials have said they fear long-range ballistic technology used to put satellites into orbit could also be used to launch nuclear warheads. Tehran denies U.S. assertions that such activity is a cover for ballistic missile development and says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons. Chinese city tightens coronavirus travel curbs in biggest outbreak

A northeastern city of 10 million people, grappling with what is now China's biggest coronavirus outbreak, further restricted inbound traffic on Wednesday to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease. Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang and its biggest city, has banned entry to residential zones by non-locals and vehicles registered elsewhere, state media said. It had already ordered isolation for those arriving from outside China or key epidemic areas. UK PM Johnson under fire over handling of coronavirus crisis

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a call on Wednesday for an inquiry into his government's handling of the coronavirus crisis after failing to fully explain partial death data, limited testing or the lack of equipment for hospitals. Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed as the coronavirus spread, but he later closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in the United Kingdom.