Briefly

INDIA

Modi calls for calm as Delhi riots kill 20

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for calm on Wednesday after Delhi's worst sectarian violence in decades left at least 20 people dead and calls for a military curfew. This week's battles between Hindus and Muslims have seen mobs armed with swords, guns and acid raze a northeastern district of the Indian capital. The clashes, which also left almost 200 injured, were triggered by protests against a citizenship law seen by many critics as anti-Muslim and part of Modi's Hindu nationalist agenda. The citizenship law has sparked months of nationwide protests as well as clashes that killed more than 25 people in December.

SWITZERLAND

New effort to save Iran nuclear accord

The remaining parties to the faltering Iran nuclear deal were scheduled to meet in Vienna on Wednesday in their first gathering after Britain, France and Germany launched a dispute process over Teheran's successive pullbacks. The meeting comes as the parties try to find a way to save the landmark 2015 agreement, which has been crumbling since the United States withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran. The Europeans hope to persuade Teheran to come back into line with the deal curbing Iran's nuclear program after Teheran made a series of steps away in protest at the US pullout.

SYRIA

Government forces retake symbolic town

Syrian government forces recaptured Kafranbel in Idlib Province on Tuesday, war monitors said, a symbolic victory in a town that was among the first to rebel against Damascus. The forces advancing on the last major rebel-held bastion in northwest Syria captured Kafranbel and 18 nearby towns and villages over the past 48 hours, according to observers. In recent weeks, Damascus has pressed a major offensive against the remaining territory still held by extremists and Turkish-backed rebels. The area hosts more than 3 million people－half of them already displaced by violence elsewhere.

Xinhua - Agencies