World News Roundup: Netanyahu pulls punches after Sanders calls him racist; Witnesses at Grenfell fire inquiry to be protected and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Israel's Netanyahu pulls his punches after Sanders calls him a racist

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Bernie Sanders was wrong to call him a racist during a debate among contenders for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, but shied away from attacking the senator in return. "I am not intervening in the U.S. election," Netanyahu replied when asked on Israeli Army Radio about what an interviewer termed Sanders' personal attack on him at Tuesday's event in Charleston, South Carolina.

Witnesses at London's Grenfell fire inquiry to be protected from prosecution: British AG

Witnesses at a public inquiry into the 2017 fire at Grenfell Tower in London which killed 72 people will be immune from prosecution over the evidence they give, Britain's attorney general said on Wednesday. As a result, people involved in putting combustible cladding on the tower as part of a redevelopment of the housing block will be able to give oral evidence to the inquiry without incriminating themselves.

Washington pledges $1 billion for coronavirus vaccine as pandemic risks grow

U.S. President Donald Trump will seek $2.5 billion from Congress to fight the coronavirus epidemic and U.S. and South Korean militaries are considering scaling back joint training as the virus spreads in Europe and the Middle East. Countries around the world are stepping up efforts to prevent a pandemic of the flu-like virus that originated from China late last year and has now infected more than 80,000 people, 10 times more cases than the SARS coronavirus.

Turkey will repel Syrian forces from Idlib posts this week: Erdogan

Turkey plans to push Syrian government forces away from its military observation posts in northwest Syria's Idlib region this week, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, despite advances by Damascus's Russian-backed military. Nearly a million Syrians have been displaced in the last three months by fighting between Turkish-backed rebels and Syrian forces trying to recapture the last major insurgent-held region in Syria after nine years of war.

Rouhani says no urban quarantines planned as Iran coronavirus toll hits 19

President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran had no plans to quarantine any "cities and districts" in response to the country's coronavirus outbreak, which the health ministry said had killed 19 people, state TV reported. There were however plans to impose some restriction at holy Shi'ite sites and cancel some sermons on Friday, the Islamic Republic's traditional day of public prayer said Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

Former Austrian far-right leader Strache runs again with splinter group

The disgraced former leader of Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO), Heinz-Christian Strache, said on Wednesday he is running for office with a splinter party, a fresh blow to the FPO after Strache was ensnared in a sting that forced it out of government. The FPO expelled Strache in December after its support collapsed in September's parliamentary election over scandals including the video sting, in which Strache offered to fix government contracts at a dinner party in Ibiza with a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece.

Cuba puts leading dissident on trial, his supporters say

One of Communist-run Cuba's leading dissidents, Jose Daniel Ferrer, was due to go on trial on Wednesday on charges of abducting and assaulting a man, his supporters said, in a controversial case that is being closely watched worldwide. The Cuban government has not confirmed that Ferrer was going on trial, but it has confirmed that he was arrested and is in jail. European officials, Amnesty International and the U.S. Embassy in Havana have said they will be watching the trial.

U.N. decries nearly 50% increase in killings of women activists in Colombia

Killings of women engaged in community organizing and defending human rights in Colombia increased nearly 50% in 2019 compared to the year before, the United Nations said on Wednesday as it urged the government to redouble protection efforts. Violence against so-called "social leaders" has become a top issue for the government of President Ivan Duque, who has faced frequent criticism from the international community, non-governmental organizations, and human rights activists for not doing enough to stop the killings.

A mob out for blood: India's protests pit Hindus against Muslims

Mohammad Zubair was on his way home from a local mosque in northeast New Delhi when he came across a large crowd. He turned toward an underpass to avoid the commotion; it proved to be a mistake. Within seconds, he was cowering on the ground surrounded by more than a dozen young men, who began beating him with wooden sticks and metal rods. Blood flowed from his head, spattering his clothes. The blows intensified. He thought he would die.

Assange complains he cannot follow U.S. extradition hearing

Julian Assange complained he was struggling to follow his extradition hearing on Wednesday as his legal team argued Britain should not send him to the United States because the charges against him were politically motivated. Assange, 48, faces 18 counts in the U.S. including conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law for publishing thousands of classified diplomatic cables. He faces decades in prison if convicted.