World News Roundup: Neighborhood divided by a highway and hatred; U.N. hears plea from women in northwest Syria and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

A Delhi neighborhood divided by a highway and now hatred

The Hindu area of Bhajanpura and Muslim quarter of Chand Bagh face each other across a wide thoroughfare running through the northeastern part of India's capital, New Delhi. After days of deadly riots between members of the two communities, neighborhoods that lived happily together for years are now divided by far more than a road.

U.N. hears plea from women in northwest Syria: 'We want the right to live'

Amid heavy fighting in northwest Syria between government forces backed by Russia and Syrian rebels supported by Turkey, the U.N. Security Council heard a plea on Thursday from women caught in the middle: "All we are asking, is for the misery to stop, for the killing to stop. We want the right to live." The message was shared by deputy U.N. aid chief Ursula Mueller, who spoke via video link to 14 Syrian women in Idlib and northern Aleppo last week.

House Democrats to introduce bill clawing back border wall funds

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are working on new legislation that would "claw back" funds the White House took from the Pentagon's budget to fund construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the chairman of the House Armed Services committee said on Thursday. The legislation would aim to restore $3.8 billion back to the Pentagon's weapons procurement and National Guard budgets.

Turkey, with more dead troops, won't stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe: official

Turkey, faced with a new wave of Syrian migrants and 22 more dead soldiers in Idlib, will no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, a senior Turkish official said late on Thursday as President Tayyip Erdogan chaired an emergency meeting. An air strike by Syrian government forces in Syria's northwest Idlib region killed 22 Turkish soldiers and wounded several others, the local governor in the southeastern province of Hatay said separately early on Friday.

Syrian state TV says Israeli helicopters launch missiles at Syrian military points

Syrian state TV said on Thursday Israeli helicopters launched missiles at Syrian military points in Al-Qahtaniyah, Al-Hurria, and Al-Qunaitra, injuring three soldiers. It added that the helicopters came from above the Golan Heights, Syrian state TV said.

Coronavirus threatens global economy as experts warn no country will be spared

All countries need to prepare to combat the coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Thursday, as authorities raced to contain the epidemic's rapid global spread and Wall Street looked set for its biggest weekly fall since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. With new infections reported around the world now surpassing those in mainland China, World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said even rich nations should prepare.

Exclusive: U.S. mulls using sweeping powers to ramp up production of coronavirus protective gear

President Donald Trump's administration is considering invoking special powers through a law called the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand domestic manufacturing of protective masks and clothing to combat the coronavirus in the United States, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The use of the law, passed by Congress in 1950 at the outset of the Korean War, would mark an escalation of the administration's response to the outbreak. The virus first surfaced in China and has since spread to other countries including the United States.

Canada to hold talks with indigenous group in bid to end blockades

A Canadian government minister was scheduled to open two days of talks with a major indigenous group on Thursday in a bid to end three weeks of rail and road blockades across the country that are harming the economy. Activists have disrupted passenger and freight traffic to show solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en people in the Pacific province of British Columbia, who are seeking to stop TC Energy Corp from building a gas pipeline over their land.

Cuba to deliver verdict in closely eyed dissident case next month

Communist-run Cuba will deliver its verdict in a closely watched case against Jose Daniel Ferrer, one of the country's leading dissidents, on March 12, his wife told Reuters on Thursday, the day after his trial. Ferrer, 49, was arrested nearly five months ago on charges of abducting a man and causing him serious injuries, charges he denies and that his supporters say are aimed at silencing a vocal and internationally known government critic.

'I could fall to my death:' tightrope walker Wallenda readies to cross active volcano

Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda fears the worst-possible outcome as he prepares for his latest high wire act - trekking across a live volcano in Nicaragua on Wednesday. "I could fall to my death." But the 41-year old member of the seven-generation family of daredevils, The Flying Wallendas, is taking it in stride.