Top story: Some can’t afford to stay off work
Hello, Warren Murray with you at a time when “hope you’re well” is no longer an empty salutation.
The government is failing to grasp the threat of gig economy workers spreading coronavirus by continuing to work because they don’t get sick pay and can’t afford unpaid time off, unions say. They number more than a million, and many visit hundreds of addresses every week delivering parcels and takeaways and carrying passengers in minicabs. The government has suggested they should claim benefits but that involves delays and not all would be eligible. Uber has told drivers with symptoms to stay at home but did not reply when asked how it would compensate them.
In our latest wrap-up of the global situation: South Korea has declared “war” on Covid-19 after recording 600 new infections, while the WHO chief has said the world is in “uncharted territory” but the pathogen can be contained with the right measures. At home: UK supermarkets have drawn up “feed the nation” contingency plans to cope with any panic-buying, including scaling back the variety of foods and groceries available, instead focusing on maintaining supplies of staple products. Depending on how things play out, government emergency measures might include stopping mass gatherings and even a “lockdown” of cities, with police and the army on patrol – but experts say the UK is a long way from such a scenario.
A music teacher is among the three latest coronavirus cases confirmed in the UK, with the total number standing at 39. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has been forced to redraw next week’s budget to focus on shoring up the economy against the impact of coronavirus. Now, thank goodness for some lighter subject matter – a guide to foot-shakes and elbow-bumps as social protocols are adjusted round the world to avoid catching or spreading Covid-19. More at our live blog.
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Not your average Tuesday – Today is Super Tuesday in the US, with 14 states (and American Samoa) to vote on who should be the Democrats’ nominee against Donald Trump in the presidential election. They include California, the most populous state. Amy Klobuchar, the moderate senator from Minnesota, has dropped out of the race overnight and moved to endorse Joe Biden. Recent days’ polling has shown a tightening race between Bernie Sanders and Biden – the former is currently ahead in the delegate count for the party convention, but centrist Democrats have been flocking to support the latter.
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Trade deal is Trump change – The British economy would be at most 0.16% larger by the middle of the next decade under a comprehensive trade deal with the US, the government has admitted, laying bare the limited benefits of striking an agreement with Donald Trump. A Department for International Trade (DIT) document says the British economy stood to benefit from an “ambitious and comprehensive” trade deal to the tune of only a fraction of GDP, equivalent to £3.4bn after 15 years. Economists warned benefits would be far outstripped by losses from crashing out of the EU.
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Bibi ahead – Benjamin Netanyahu and his rightwing allies are ahead in the Israeli election but are still one seat short of the majority needed to form a government. Exit polls from the third election in a year show that the prime minister’s Likud party will win around 37 seats but that his coalition will fall short of the 61 needed for power. His opponent, Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, is predicted to win about 33 seats after a campaign focused on Netanyahu’s upcoming criminal corruption trial. Netanyahu was triumphal at a party rally: “We stood in front of strong forces. They told us we are going to lose, that it was the end of the Netanyahu era. We turned lemons into lemonade.”
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Abuse bill – The government is understood to be examining ways to stop the use of the “rough sex” defence in courts, as a long-awaited domestic abuse bill has its first reading in the Commons. The bill also includes plans to force abusers to take lie detector tests where they are deemed at high risk of causing serious harm. The legislation pledges to ban perpetrators from cross-examining their victims in court and could require councils to find safe accommodation for victims and their children. Perpetrators may be forced to take part in alcohol or drug treatment programmes.
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‘Time of floods and fires’ – The former BBC and Sky weather presenter Francis Wilson has said TV forecasters have a “moral obligation” to tell their audience that the “time of floods and fires” the world is experiencing is caused by global heating: “We need to tell people to stop warming the atmosphere, to stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. That way, viewers won’t lose sight of the fact that they can actually do something about it.” Humans are missing out on almost three years of life expectancy because of outdoor air pollution, say researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, but more than a year could be clawed back if fossil fuel emissions were cut to zero, while cutting all controllable air pollution would gain us more than 20 months.
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Just not cricket – Village cricketers had to play two seasons in exile and fund a “trajectory report” on where their balls might land after Shropshire council failed to consult properly before allowing a house to be built on the fringes of their home ground. Describing as “injustice” the treatment of Hinstock cricket club, the ombudsman has ordered the council to build and maintain a 15-metre-high boundary fence to allow it to return to its home ground. And the council is paying for the trajectory report too.
Today in Focus podcast: All eyes on Super Tuesday
The Guardian US political correspondent Lauren Gambino looks at which Democratic candidates are likely to dominate as we reach Super Tuesday – the biggest moment in the US election calendar apart from polling day itself. And: Polly Toynbee on the shock resignation of the Home Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam.
Lunchtime read: Rise and fall of Greece’s neo-Nazis
A decade ago, the violent racist movement Golden Dawn exploited a national crisis and entered mainstream politics in Greece.
The party has since been caught up in the biggest trial of Nazis since Nuremberg, and is now crumbling – but its success remains a warning. Also today, our new series This is Europe examines the factors in the rise of the far right and doubling of support for Eurosceptic parties.
Sport
A Six Nations TV paywall would cut the cord to thousands of rugby fans, and taking live audiences for granted in return for £300m is a huge gamble for a sport with a skinny link to the public, writes Robert Kitson. England’s hopes of clinching the Six Nations title in Italy this month remain alive after tournament organisers decided against postponing any further matches owing to the coronavirus outbreak. Wales are holding their breath over the availability of the fly-half Dan Biggar for their match at Twickenham on Saturday after his club coach Chris Boyd said they must “wait and see” if he will be fit.
With the outcome of their season hinging on their progress in the FA Cup, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta saw his faith in youth rewarded by a clinical away victory over Portsmouth. The season-opening Formula One race in Australia will go ahead despite the increasing threat from the coronavirus, organisers have stated. England’s cricketers will swap handshakes for fist bumps in Sri Lanka as they look to steer clear of any illnesses and make advances in the World Test Championship. Australia’s bid to win a fifth Women’s Twenty20 World Cup suffered a blow with all-rounder Ellyse Perry ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a serious hamstring injury. And Ian Poulter has led a backlash against comments made by Paul Azinger, accusing the US TV commentator of showing “disrespect” by disparaging the European Tour.
Business
Global shares and oil prices have extended their rebound with policymakers around the world moving to ease economic fallout from coronavirus. The latest to move was the Reserve Bank of Australia, which cut its main interest rate to a new record low of 0.5% overnight. The improved confidence supported US S&P 500 futures, which rose 0.5% in early Asian trade on Tuesday, a day after the S&P 500 gained 4.60%, the biggest gain since December 2018. The FTSE100 is set to lift 0.42% at the opening bell. The pound is on $1.278 and €1.146.
The papers
The Guardian leads with that “feed the nation” story as supermarkets make plans to keep staples in supply. The Mail has “Volunteer NHS army to tackle ‘mass epidemic’” – similar in subject matter if not tone to the Telegraph’s “NHS seeks volunteers to fight virus”.
The Metro leads with the story of “Patel ‘bully’ victim” as the home secretary’s behaviour as a boss continues to come under intense scrutiny. Others have that on their fronts too including the Times – though its splash is “PM plans no-go zones to combat coronavirus” (here is our coverage of that angle).
“Boris warns: virus likely to spread within days” – the Express seemingly credits the PM with raising the Covid-19 alarm. “UK prepares for spring outbreak” says the i. Is the Sun ready to forgive Harry and Meghan? “Queen & Harry KISS AND MEG UP” is its headline, after the prince and his grandmother held “heart-to-heart talks” (we do hope that’s a file picture of them exchanging pecks on the cheek, otherwise they would be flouting aforementioned coronavirus safety advice). The Mirror has “Boris breaks baby news as ex-wife mourns mum”. Finally, the FT: “OECD warns virus threatens to cut global growth in half” – the Guardian business desk is across that story too.
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