Reuters World News Summary

Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Spain's coronavirus deaths rise above 10,000, yet there's "glimpse of hope"

Spain's death toll from the coronavirus rose above 10,000 on Thursday after a record 950 people died overnight, but health officials saw a glimmer of hope with the epidemic slowing in terms of proportional daily increases in infections and deaths. Spain has the world's second-highest death toll after Italy at 10,003. The number of registered coronavirus cases rose about 8% from Wednesday to 110,238, the ministry said. The total deaths rose by just over 10%, about the same rate as the previous day. China logs fewer coronavirus infections but tightens some curbs on movement

China, where the coronavirus outbreak first erupted in December, logged fewer new infections on Thursday, but measures restricting movement have been tightened in some parts of the country due to a fear of more imported cases. China had 35 new cases of the disease on April 1, all of which were imported, the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Thursday. Red Cross to deliver supplies for COVID-19 patients in separatist eastern Ukraine

A planeload of medical supplies for COVID-19 patients and other relief goods has arrived in Ukraine to help people enduring a six-year-old conflict in the country's east, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday. Eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists emerged in 2014, reported its first coronavirus infection on Tuesday and the ICRC said several more cases had been confirmed there since. Exclusive: Hackers linked to Iran target WHO staff emails during coronavirus - sources

Hackers working in the interests of the Iranian government have attempted to break into the personal email accounts of staff at the World Health Organization during the coronavirus outbreak, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. It is not clear if any accounts were compromised, but the attacks show how the WHO and other organizations at the center of a global effort to contain the coronavirus have come under a sustained digital bombardment by hackers seeking information about the outbreak. Two masks, no lockdown: Japan PM's latest coronavirus step riles social media

Facing calls to declare a coronavirus state of emergency, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was derided on social media on Thursday for instead offering people cloth masks, pointing to growing frustration with his handling of the crisis. Abe's offer of free masks - two per household - came the day after experts had warned Japan was on the brink of a medical crisis as cases rose, especially in Tokyo. The prime minister said on Wednesday Japan was "barely holding the line" in its battle against the virus. Elections, ties with China shaped Iran's coronavirus response

Iranian authorities ignored warnings by doctors in late December and January of an increasing number of patients with high fevers and lung infections in the historic city of Qom, which turned out to be the epicentre of Iran's coronavirus outbreak, said two health ministry officials, a former ministry official and three doctors. And, when the authorities did become aware of domestic cases of the flu-like virus in early January, they didn't announce the news until weeks later, out of concern that releasing detailed information would unsettle the public ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for February 21, according to a senior official with direct knowledge of the matter. Economic shock of coronavirus casts pall on NATO spending goals

The economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic is likely to undermine NATO defence targets cherished by U.S. President Donald Trump, diplomats and experts say, as governments move closer to spending goals only by virtue of shrinking economies. Agreed after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, the target of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence has been embraced by Trump and he held an exclusive lunch in London last year for the allies that had reached it. After death of a cashier, French supermarket staff work in fear

When 52-year-old supermarket cashier Aicha Issadounene died after contracting the coronavirus, her Carrefour colleagues felt the full fear of working on the frontline. "I'm scared to go to work," said Tshela Ngandu, 53, who worked as a Carrefour cashier in the Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis alongside union representative Issadounene. What about us? Russia's coronavirus supplies to United States spark criticism at home

A Russian medical equipment delivery to the United States to help fight the coronavirus drew anger from critics of the Kremlin on Thursday who pointed out that Russia was itself experiencing severe shortages of such items. A Russian military plane carrying protective gear and ventilators landed in New York City on Wednesday. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow had paid half the cost with the other half picked up by Washington. As Spain battles virus, medics' unions hit out

When Spain's first case of coronavirus was recorded on Jan. 31 - a German tourist in La Gomera, one of the remote Canary Islands - there seemed little cause for concern. "We believe that Spain will have, at most, not more than a few diagnosed cases," Fernando Simon, the country's health emergency chief, told reporters.

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