Clinical trials for a vaccine against the new virus sweeping China could be carried out in the summer, the head of an anti-epidemic coalition said on Thursday, as different companies announced research into the disease.

We can announce that we have three partnerships to develop vaccines against the novel coronavirus, Richard Hatchett, chief executive of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), said in Davos.

In another development in the Jamia violence, the Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Delhi Police that is probing the incident has issued notices to three people including former Congress MLA Asif Muhammad Khan, local politician Ashu Khan and AISA activist from Jamia Chandan Kumar Singh. The violence took place in last month during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

All three have been summoned to join the probe at 11 am on Friday. They have been named in two FIRs registered after the violence.

The government on Thursday said one Indian nurse working in Saudi Arabia was found infected by novel coronavirus that has so far claimed 17 lives in China.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said Indian nurses were quarantined at Al-Hayat Hospital in Saudi Arabia's Khamis Mushait city and after testing, one was found to be infected with the virus.

President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, will be on a state visit to India from January 24-27, and he will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. This will be the first high-level visit of the year to India. Bolsonaro will be accompanied by 8 Ministers, 4 members of the Brazilian Parliament, senior officials and a large business delegation.

This is the third time that a Brazilian President will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade. The last time India had a Brazilian President as chief guest was in 2004.

A total of 10 cities in China's central Hubei province have suspended some public transportation over the coronavirus outbreak, the Hubei Daily reported on Friday.

Buses in cities of Chibi, Xiantao, Zhijiang, Qianjiang, Xianning, Huangshi and Enshi have suspended services.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has recommended to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman that the Union Budget should strive to shift the focus from macroeconomic parameters, such as reining in fiscal deficit and inflation, to real problems facing the economy.

The party has diagnosed that emphasis on meeting fiscal targets and controlling inflation needs to be overcome to spur growth.

Shares of cement companies were trading firm on the BSE on Thursday amid hopes of earnings improvement with Ramco Cements hitting a 52-week high, while Heidelberg Cement rallied 5 per cent intra-day.

In the past month, the share prices of JK Cements, Shree Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement, India Cements, Orient Cement, Birla Corporation, Ramco Cements and Heidelberg Cement have all soared over 10 per cent.

Malaysia's top sugar refiner said it will increase purchases of the commodity from India, which according to two sources is part of efforts to placate New Delhi amid an ongoing spat over palm oil imports.

MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad will buy 130,000 tonnes of raw sugar from India worth 200 million ringgit ($49.20 million) in the first quarter, the company told Reuters. It bought around 88,000 tonnes of raw sugar from India in 2019.

India has once again slammed Pakistan for spewing venom and false narratives of monumental proportions in the United Nations about Jammu and Kashmir.

Speaking at a session of the General Assembly on Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization on Wednesday, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to UN, Nagaraj Naidu, said that Islamabad is indulged in hate speech against New Delhi and spreads false propaganda about J&K at global level every time it speaks at UN or any other international forum.

A case has been registered against former Indian cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin and two others in Aurangabad in Maharashtra after a travel agent lodged a police complaint alleging that they cheated him to the tune of Rs 20.96 lakh, an official said on Thursday.

Azharuddin, however, dismissed the allegation as "baseless", and said he will take legal action against the complainant, Mohammed Shahab.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.