World News Roundup: Iran temporarily frees 85,000 prisoners; Parisians flee to the countryside as lockdown begins and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

China says Trump's 'Chinese virus' tweet smears China

China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's tweet calling the coronavirus a "Chinese virus" smears China and said Beijing strongly opposes Trump's usage of the words. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a daily briefing that the U.S. should first take care of its own matters.

Iran temporarily frees 85,000 prisoners, including political ones, amid coronavirus

Iran has temporarily freed about 85,000 prisoners, including political prisoners in response to the coronavirus epidemic, a judiciary spokesman said on Tuesday, The death toll in Iran from the coronavirus has reached 988 and a total of 16,169 people have been confirmed infected across the country, one of the worst national outbreaks outside China, where the new virus originated.

Saudi-led coalition in Yemen destroys two explosive-laden boats: SPA news agency

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen destroyed on Tuesday two explosive-laden boats launched and remotely-controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthi group from the province of Hodeidah, Saudi state news agency SPA reported. The two boats constituted a threat to navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, SPA said, citing a coalition spokesman.

Parisians flee to the countryside as lockdown begins

Parisians rushed to rail stations and took to the highway on Tuesday to escape the French capital before a lockdown imposed to slow the rate of coronavirus contagion kicked in at midday. Those who stayed behind descended on supermarkets and pharmacies even as these were due to remain open under the sweeping restrictions on public life announced by President Emmanuel Macron late on Monday.

Wedding bell blues; coronavirus crashes party for couples, planners

The Roman villa is booked, the guests are invited and their hotel rooms reserved. The gown is purchased and deposits for the honeymoon in Africa are paid. Now Dan Salganik, a partner at a digital marketing agency in Chicago, is not so sure he is still going to get married in Italy in June.

Coronavirus causes historic market drop, global scramble to contain 'invisible enemy'

Coronavirus fears led to a historic drop in U.S. stocks, shut borders and disrupted daily life around the world, as governments took increasingly drastic measures to try to reduce the severity of the global outbreak. Financial markets had their worst day in 30 years despite emergency action by global central banks to try to prevent a recession, with U.S. stock markets falling 12% to 13%, wiping out trillions of dollars in market value.

Spain turns back cars from land borders as coronavirus death toll rises to 491

Spain set up police checks at its land borders with France and Portugal on Tuesday and turned back foreigners attempting to enter, part of strict measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Europe's second hardest-hit country. The government reported 182 new fatalities overnight, bringing the total dead to 491 and making Spain the country with the world's fastest-rising toll behind Italy. The number of infected topped 10,000 for the first time to 11,178.

Italy rushes to promote new doctors to relieve coronavirus crisis

Italy will rush 10,000 student doctors into service, scrapping their final exams, in an effort to help the struggling health service cope with the coronavirus onslaught. Some 2,158 people have died of the disease in Italy since the outbreak came to light on Feb. 21, while the total number of confirmed cases has surged to 27,980, making Italy the worst-hit country outside of China.

Under coronavirus lockdown, Armageddon is like the end of the world

Not a soul could be seen on Armageddon, where a near-complete coronavirus lockdown is keeping Christian pilgrims away from the Biblical site in northern Israel, half an hour's drive from Nazareth. In normal times, tourists would be arriving daily to work their way up to the ruins on Armageddon's hazy summit, by tradition the End of Days battleground between good and evil in the final book of the New Testament.

Two bombs explode outside Thai government office in Yala, wounding 18

Two bombs exploded in front of a government office in Thailand's insurgency-hit southern Yala province on Tuesday, wounding 18 people, a security official said. The explosions took place in front of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC), a Thai government body that oversees the administration of three mostly Malay-Muslim majority provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala where an insurgency since 2004 has killed some 7,000 people.