Top story: Sanders predicts he has done ‘very well’
Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories from the Guardian today.
The outcome of the all-important Iowa Democratic caucuses may not be known until later today amid what officials called “quality checks” on the data and reports of problems with a phone app used to relay vote tallies. With the announcement of the result delayed, the 11 candidates vying to challenge Donald Trump for the US presidency in November were left in limbo and forced to make their scheduled speeches to supporters without knowing the outcome. Elizabeth Warren told her campaign workers and backers that “dreams were still possible” before she rushed to catch her campaign plane to New Hampshire for the next primary. Bernie Sanders predicted to his team that he had done “very well” but recent polls show him neck and neck with Warren, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg.
The farcical outcome will lead to renewed calls for another state to “go first” in the nomination selection process, not least because 90% of Iowans are white and not considered diverse enough to have such a big influence on the Democratic race. Follow this and other developments in the saga at our live blog. Interestingly, a whiff of conspiracy emerged earlier in the night when a conservative foundation was accused of trying to undermine the Iowa vote by spreading false information about voting rolls.
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Terror crackdown – The Streatham attack has prompted the government to order that no terrorism offenders will be released from prison without a review. Robert Buckland, the justice secretary, announced the changes after it emerged that neither the police nor the parole board were able to stop the release one week ago of 20-year-old Sudesh Amman, who was shot dead by police after he stabbed two people in the south London suburb on Sunday. Critics accused the government of making policy on the hoof, ignoring sentencing guidelines and scapegoating lawyers. Amman’s mother said that her son had been radicalised in prison and that he had not been “that religious” before serving time in Belmarsh in south London. But police rated Amman as a threat to the public and had him under surveillance since his release two weeks ago.
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Hong Kong death – A 39-year-old man has become the first person in Hong Kong to die from coronavirus, according to local media. The man lived with his mother in the city but is believed to have travelled to Wuhan in January before returning to Hong Kong. Reports said he had a pre-existing “long-term illness” and that he had suffered a heart attack. It is the second death outside China due to the virus, which has now killed at least 426 people and infected more than 20,000. Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, said the government would take further measures to reduce traffic across the border from China. In Beijing the politburo admitted “shortcomings” in its handling of the crisis and said it would be “necessary to strengthen market supervision, resolutely ban and severely crack down on illegal wildlife markets and trade”.
In Australia, universities expressed concern that up to 70 Chinese students trying to enter Australia to begin their academic year have reportedly been detained at airports after the country banned foreigners coming from China. Thousands of Chinese students study in Australia in an export worth £6bn a year. Follow all the latest updates at our live blog.
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Media blackout – Political journalists have boycotted a government briefing after Downing Street banned reporters from some organisations from attending. The walkout came after No 10 tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, the i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, the Independent and others from the official government briefing. As reporters arrived at No 10, approved journalists were told to stand on one side of a rug while those to be banned were told to stand on the other side. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, ITV’s Robert Peston, and political journalists from Sky News, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Sun, the FT and the Guardian were among those who walked out in protest.
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Moi dies – The former Kenyan president, Daniel arap Moi, has died at the age of 95, the country’s government said this morning. Moi came to power in 1978 after the death of the revered independence leader Jomo Kenyatta and ruled until 2002. He survived a coup attempt in 1982 but was later accused of widespread corruption, presiding over a weak economy and human rights abuses including accusations of state torture. The current president, Uhuru Kenyatta, said in statement: “Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ran a good race, kept the faith, and now he is enjoying his reward in heaven.”
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Going electric – Ministers are bringing forward the deadline for phasing out diesel and petrol vehicles by five years to 2035 as they step up Britain’s push to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. As Boris Johnson calls on other nations to match Britain’s 2050 commitment as part of its presidency of UN climate talks this year, he said the government was spending £2bn to meet the emissions target, including up to £1bn to encourage the take-up of electric vehicles, £222m for research into nuclear fusion, and £26m for carbon capture technology.
Today in Focus podcast
Facial recognition technology is getting more sophisticated each year and is now being used commercially as identification instead of passwords as well as being adopted by the Metropolitan police in London. Our UK technology editor, Alex Hern, explores the questions it raises about privacy. Also today: Jamie Grierson on the security response to Sunday’s terror attack in south London.
Lunchtime read: how to cope with the end of Veganuary
Going vegan is becoming more widespread. But for those who might be going back to eating animal produce after completing Veganuary – or for those of you who want to eat more sustainably – look no further than our ethical guide to eating eggs, meat and poultry. Louise Gray, author of the Ethical Carnivore, suggests buying British if you want to feel better about eating steak and look out for labels such as RSPCA Assured and Pasture for Life to source more sustainable lamb, veal and milk.
Sport
Eddie Jones will head to Murrayfield on Saturday having lost five of his past seven Six Nations games away from Twickenham, the latest having come at the weekend in Paris. The England coach is still sweating on the fitness of Manu Tuilagi after he limped out of Sunday’s defeat by France with a groin injury. From bushfire smoke to the treatment of Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe to Novak Djokovic’s meltdown in the final, tennis bounced from one PR disaster to the next at the Australian Open, writes Kevin Mitchell. Max Verstappen has insisted he can beat Lewis Hamilton in a straight fight for the Formula One world championship this season. Shaun Wane has promised to rebuild the relationship between England and Super League clubs after being given the job of coaching the national team until next year’s World Cup. Liverpool have arranged for Jürgen Klopp to watch their FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury on a laptop while he takes a mid-season break and Neil Critchley supervises the team at Anfield. And 12 hours after winning the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes struggled to find the words to describe how it felt to fulfil a lifelong goal.
Business
China has the financial resources to absorb a “marked” economic shock from coronavirus, the rating agency Moody’s says, but it may not be able to bounce back as quickly as it did from the Sars outbreak in 2003. This is because, as our financial editor Nils Pratley points out, the makeup of China’s economy is quite different now and much more dependent on consumer spending than it was 17 years ago. It is also more interconnected to the global economy, meaning that the consequences of a slowdown in China will be magnified elsewhere. Investors brushed off such concerns today as shares rose in Asia after Monday’s selloff. The FTSE100 is set to rise around 0.5% this morning. The pound rose slightly after its slump on Monday and is buying £1.301 and €1.176.
The papers
Most of the papers lead with developments in the aftermath of the Streatham terror attack. The Guardian says “Emergency terror law announced to halt early release of offenders” while the Telegraph has “Wave of terrorists due to be released”. The Mirror says “20 danger jihadis on our streets” but the Express goes higher with “Hundreds of freed jihadis on our streets”. The Times goes on a slightly different line – “Jihadist told inmates he wanted to murder an MP” – and the Metro has a similar story of what the attacker said to other prisoners: “‘Play Call of Duty in real life’”. The Mail splashes on “Team of 20 were tailing terror maniac”.
The i chooses to lead with how its reporter was barred from a No 10 briefing with the headline “Banned”. The FT says “Javid set to miss surplus target as finances head for £12m black hole” and the Sun leads with the 19-year-old mystery over the death of a man in Michael Barrymore’s pool.
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