World News Roundup: Chinese and Malaysian ships in South China Sea standoff: sources; UK was too slow to react to the coronavirus outbreak, professor says and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Spain's death rate rises, government seeking to harmonise data

Spain's overnight death toll from coronavirus was 585 on Friday, a rise from 551 the previous night but far off early April peaks as the country starts to loosen the terms of its lockdown. Overnight figures of more than 900 were registered at the height of the outbreak in Spain, among countries worst-hit by the novel coronavirus which causes respiratory disease COVID-19.

Iran parades medical gear, not missiles on Army Day as coronavirus deaths hit 4,958

Iran on Friday paraded disinfection vehicles, mobile hospitals and other medical equipment to mark its national Army Day as the country's death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose by 89 to 4,958. The total number of cases of infection in the Middle East country hardest hit by the pandemic rose to 79,494, of which 3,563 were in critical condition, health ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state television.

Chinese and Malaysian ships in South China Sea standoff: sources

A Chinese government survey ship is tagging an exploration vessel operated by Malaysia's state oil company Petronas in disputed waters in the South China Sea, three regional security sources said on Friday. China's Haiyang Dizhi 8 entered waters near Malaysia on Thursday, according to ship-tracking website Marine Traffic.

In Modi's India, virus fallout inflames divisions between Muslims and Hindus

The purple ink stamped on Iqbal Hussain Siddiqui's hand by Indian health workers was supposed to ensure he stayed home under quarantine. But the 66-year-old Siddiqui, an egg seller in Mumbai's sprawling Dharavi slum, rubbed it off as best he could and went back to work. The mark would have condemned him to be stuck in an unventilated one-room home without a toilet.

South Asia coronavirus cases hit 22,000 as Maldives locks down capital

The number of people infected with the coronavirus crossed 22,000 in densely populated South Asia on Friday driven by a rise in cases in India as the tiny Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives locked down its capital. Health officials have warned that the region, home to a fifth of the world's population, could be the new frontline against the disease because of millions living in packed slums and fragile public health systems.

UK was too slow to react to the coronavirus outbreak, professor says

The British government was too slow to react on a number of fronts to the novel coronavirus outbreak that could cause the deaths of 40,000 people in the United Kingdom, a leading public health professor said on Friday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed but then closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in the United Kingdom.

North Korean leader absence from anniversary event fuels speculation over health

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's absence from an important anniversary event this week rekindled speculation over his potential health problems, analysts said on Friday. North Korea on Wednesday marked the anniversary of the birthday of its national founder and Kim's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, as a national holiday known as the Day of the Sun.

China says nearly 1,300 virus deaths not counted in Wuhan, cites early lapses

Nearly 1,300 people who died of the coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan, or half the total, were not counted in death tolls because of lapses, state media said on Friday, but Beijing dismissed claims that there had been any kind of cover-up. The central city where the outbreak emerged late last year added 1,290 more fatalities to the 2,579 previously counted as of Thursday, reflecting incorrect reporting, delays and omissions, according to a local government task force in charge of controlling the coronavirus.

'Please avoid going out,' Japan's Abe appeals as coronavirus crisis widens

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a forceful appeal to the nation on Friday to stay indoors to avoid further coronavirus contagion, in his starkest remarks since the crisis began. New cases hit a daily record in the capital, Tokyo, before the speech in which Abe said this week's nationwide expansion of a state of emergency was prompted partly by fear that medical services could fail in rural areas home to many elderly.

In run-down Caracas institute, Venezuela's coronavirus testing falters

As coronavirus explodes across Latin America, Venezuela's leaders have taken to the airwaves to laud the nation's efforts to control the spread. Since it confirmed its first case on March 13, the socialist government says it has performed almost 270,000 tests and is carrying out 25,000 more a day. Caracas claims that robust testing, along with tough lockdown measures, have given Venezuela one of the lowest incidences of coronavirus in the world - just 204 reported cases and 9 deaths in a country of 29 million people.

(With inputs from agencies.)