China has begun two clinical trials (NYT) of an antiviral drug that may be able to fight the coronavirus, a spokesperson for the drug’s manufacturer said.
 
The drug, which has been tested without adverse effects on Ebola virus patients, will be given to one group of patients who are severely ill and another group who are hospitalized but not as sick. Researchers also recommend the study of other antivirals to fight the coronavirus, including ones used for HIV, as well as the malaria drug chloroquine (SCMP). If the coronavirus is not contained, it could join the list of four coronaviruses that have become endemic in humans, or reoccur seasonally like the flu, infectious disease experts told STAT. 

In Islamabad, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the construction (VOA) of a $1.2 billion project that is set to bring three hundred megawatts of electricity to Afghanistan and one thousand megawatts to Pakistan each year from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
 
India: Authorities extended the detentions (Hindustan Times) of two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir after they completed a six-month detention that began when India revoked Kashmir’s special status. 
 
In Foreign Affairs, Pratap Bhanu Mehta writes that the Indian government’s moves in Kashmir are eroding democratic freedoms.

Qassim al-Rimi, founder and leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was killed (Politico) by a U.S. air strike in Yemen last month, the White House announced.
 
Syria: Syrian Kurds will hold trials (Guardian) for fighters belonging to the self-proclaimed Islamic State from more than fifty countries due to a lack of an international consensus about what to do with them, the Syrian Kurdish external affairs ministry announced.

Separatists fighters vowed to disrupt Sunday’s general elections and have abducted candidates, election officials, and people found with voting cards in recent days, Voice of America reported.
 
Botswana: About sixty Zimbabwean refugees who were granted asylum a decade ago lost an appeal (VOA) to remain in Botswana. In 2017, the UN High Commission on Refugees decided that the refugees could safely return to Zimbabwe.

Left-wing nationalist party Sinn Fein rose in polls ahead of Ireland’s general elections (FT) tomorrow to break even with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael party.
 
Germany: The newly elected state premier of Thuringia, Thomas Kemmerich, said he wished to resign (DW) and dissolve the state parliament after being elected with support from the far-right Alternative for Germany party, calling their backing a “stain.”

El Salvador will not yet accept (AP) asylum seekers originally bound for the United States due to its inability to provide them with necessary support, Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill Tinoco said. Last year, San Salvador signed an agreement with Washington to allow migrants at the U.S. southern border to apply for asylum in El Salvador.
 
Brazil: A judge dismissed cybercrime accusations (AP) against American journalist Glenn Greenwald relating to information Greenwald’s media outlet published that contained private information obtained by a hacker.

Hopefuls for the Democratic Party nomination for president are set to debate (FiveThirtyEight) tonight in New Hampshire, while official results from Monday night’s Iowa caucuses remain undeclared (WSJ). Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders both declared victory in Iowa.
 
CFR tracks the candidates’ positions on foreign policy issues.