World News Roundup: Germany rules out political motive behind carnival incident; Coronavirus warning by US and more

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

India's Modi appeals for calm as riot toll rises to 20

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm on Wednesday after days of clashes between Hindus and minority Muslims over a controversial citizenship law in some of the worst sectarian violence in the capital in decades. Twenty people were killed and nearly 200 wounded in the violence, a doctor said, with many suffering gunshot wounds amid looting and arson attacks that coincided with a visit to India by U.S. President Donald Trump.

No political motive behind carnival incident: Germany's FAZ

German authorities are ruling out that the man who plowed a car into a carnival parade on Monday, injuring some 60 people including children, was driven by a political or ideological motive, Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Wednesday. A spokesman for prosecutors said they were still investigating all possibilities.

Coronavirus pandemic inevitable, U.S. warns as disease spreads across globe

Asia reported hundreds of new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including the first U.S. soldier to be infected, as the United States warned of an inevitable pandemic, and outbreaks in Italy and Iran spread to more countries. Asian shares fell on Wednesday as the U.S. warning to Americans to prepare for a likely coronavirus pandemic jolted Wall Street again and pushed yields on safe-haven Treasuries to record lows.

Egypt holds funeral for former president Mubarak

Egypt held a military funeral in Cairo on Wednesday to bury its former president Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years until he was ousted in a 2011 popular uprising against corruption. Horses drew Mubarak's coffin draped in the Egyptian flag at a mosque complex, followed by a procession led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt's top military brass, Mubarak's sons Alaa and Gamal and other Egyptian and Arab dignitaries.

Malaysia's Mahathir and Anwar in new showdown amid turmoil

Malaysia's decades-old political rivals Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim set out claims to lead the Southeast Asian country on Wednesday after Mahathir's shock resignation as prime minister sparked turmoil. The struggle between Mahathir, 94, and Anwar, 72, who formed a surprise pact to win a 2018 election, has shaped Malaysian politics for more than two decades and is at the root of the latest crisis.

Sudan stumbles through transition without fresh donor help

Sudan has made a surprise opening to Israel, announced compensation over the bombing of a U.S. warship 20 years ago, and said it will fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court on cases about Darfur. All are measures that could help rebuild ties with the West after decades of international isolation and help unlock urgently needed financial support for a reeling economy.

Ukraine president signals possible government reshuffle as trust declines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signaled a potential reshuffle of his government on Wednesday that local media said could include axing Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk in favor of businessman and veteran politician Serhiy Tihipko. Confidence in Zelenskiy's government has slid since the actor and comedian scored a surprise landslide election victory last year promising to root out corruption and end the war with Russian-backed rebels in the eastern Donbass region.

Verdicts delivered in child wardship battle between Dubai ruler and ex-wife, court hears

Verdicts have been given in the latest stage of a legal battle between Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and his former wife Princess Haya bint al-Hussein over their children, London's Court of Appeal heard on Wednesday. The court was due to hear a challenge by Mohammed against publication of previous rulings in the case by England's High Court. Princess Haya and the court-appointed guardian of the children supported publication of judgments, the court heard.

Japan's snow town turns into hotbed of coronavirus cases

Children played in the snow without masks on Wednesday but Japan's coldest prefecture has become a hotbed of coronavirus infections, shutting schools, raising fears about the Summer Olympics and halting tours of a whisky distillery. Hokkaido, the northernmost island famous for its mountains and brown bears, has Japan's highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases outside Tokyo, with 38 infections and one death, and residents are nervous.

Bosnia war veterans become peace messengers as threats to stability rise

They played football together as young men. Then they fought each other in a 1990s war in three rival Bosnian armies. Now, as the country goes from one crisis to another, the three veterans feel it is their duty to warn of the horrors of war. Rizo Salkic "Talijan", Marko Zelic and Boro Jevtic, the Bosniak, Croat and Serb wartime commanders from the central town of Maglaj, have become unlikely peace activists nearly a quarter of a century after the end of the Bosnian war that finally sealed the collapse of Yugoslavia.

(With inputs from agencies.)