Top story: ‘Together we’ll defeat Donald Trump’
Hello, I’m Warren Murray, please allow me to introduce Wednesday’s news.
Joe Biden appears to be running away with the Democratic primaries after appearing to beat Senator Bernie Sanders overnight in four or more states. Results are still being counted after six states voted but Biden crucially won Michigan, which was billed as make-or-break for his opponent. The former vice-president also had projected wins in the primaries in Mississippi, Missouri and Idaho, leaving Washington and North Dakota still to declare.
Sanders has faced some calls to drop out of the race after his disappointing performance. However he seems unlikely to do so – he kept his 2016 campaign going until shortly before the party’s nominating convention. Sanders did not speak after the night’s results but his campaign says he still intends to debate Biden on Sunday. Speaking in Philadelphia, Biden appeared to be pivoting to the general election, thanking Sanders’s supporters for their “tireless energy”. “We share a common goal, and together we’ll defeat Donald Trump,” Biden said. “We’re going to bring this nation together.” Five things to think about after this latest primary bout.
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Sunak’s budget priorities – The chancellor is today expected to pledge billions of extra pounds to ease the strain on the NHS and reassure Britain that the government can cope with the Covid-19 outbreak. Rishi Sunak is likely to announce measures to safeguard jobs, extend the scope of sick pay and protect businesses’ viability by deferring tax payments. There has been speculation in the City that the Bank of England will make an unscheduled cut to interest rates to complement Treasury action. Larry Elliott and Ben Quinn provide a checklist of what to expect from the chancellor, from Covid-19 to Brexit (remember that?). Patrick Butler writes that with cash-strapped local government on the frontline of natural disaster, climate change and now coronavirus, Sunak needs to throw councils a lifeline.
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Covid-19 in the ministry – The UK health minister Nadine Dorries has been diagnosed with coronavirus. How she caught it is unknown, but the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire has been self-isolating at home since Friday. Arsenal has postponed its Man City game and sent several players into self-isolation after they had contact with the Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis, who tested positive. A sixth person has died of coronavirus in the UK and the total number of cases has reached 373. England’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Jenny Harries, says the UK’s epidemic will begin to peak in the next two weeks. China today has reported only 24 new cases, and 22 more deaths nationwide, as well as a record low in new infections in Wuhan. In the US there are now more than a thousand known cases of infection. More news throughout the day at our live blog.
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Midweek catch-up
> Harvey Weinstein, the convicted rapist, is to be sentenced in a New York court today. He faces from five to 29 years in prison. A witness who testified about being raped by Weinstein tells why this day matters.
> As the US withdraws troops from Afghanistan, the American commander in the region says the Taliban are failing to keep “their part of the bargain” and are continuing to launch attacks.
> The Metropolitan police face fresh criticism in an official report due on Friday about the disastrous Operation Midland, in which the fantasist Carl Beech falsely smeared prominent figures with allegations of a fictitious paedophile ring.
> Prosecutors have accused Russia of trying to sabotage the investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight 17 in Ukraine in 2014. Submissions are being made in Amsterdam ahead of the trial of four suspects.
> A third of people in the UK believe former British colonies were better off in the empire. A global YouGov survey also reveals Britons are more likely to still want an empire than people in places like Netherlands, Belgium, Germany or Japan – though the Europeans still tend towards a rose-tinted view of imperial times.
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Plea over deaths linked to welfare cuts – UK mental health charities and psychiatrists have called for an independent inquiry into the deaths of vulnerable people who relied on welfare benefits. They cite findings by the National Audit Office (NAO) that welfare officials had internally investigated 69 cases of suicide linked to benefit issues in the past six years but there was no evidence lessons were learned or recommendations implemented. There is growing disquiet over the DWP’s handling of benefit-related deaths after revelations about the case of Errol Graham, a 57-year-old grandfather with severe mental illness who died of starvation after his payments were cut off.
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Young drinkers go nolo – So-called “nolo” drinks (no or low-alcohol) have been tipped as the UK’s biggest drinking trend for 2020, pushing craft beer out of the top spot. The annual British craft beer report from the Society of Independent Brewers (Siba) reveals today that one in three young adults have cut down on their alcohol consumption while a record 23% are teetotal. “Low or no-alcohol beers have never been better and some of the best examples are made by small independent breweries,” said Neil Walker, spokesman for Siba. Meanwhile this year’s BeerX event in Liverpool – expected to attract more than 2,000 visitors over Wednesday and Thursday – will go ahead as planned despite fears about coronavirus – but Siba is imposing a ban on handshakes and sharing beer glasses (I mean who would anyway!).
Today in Focus podcast: Italy is closed
Peter Beaumont charts the spread of Covid-19 that has led to the country being placed in lockdown, while Lorenzo Tondo describes its impact. And: Christina Figueres on tackling the climate crisis.
Lunchtime read: Closed borders and ‘black weddings’
The influenza of 1918 killed up to 100 million people. Laura Spinney asks: what lessons does it offer for our current health crisis?
Sport
The pace of disruption caused by the coronavirus has accelerated across the sporting world as more football matches are moved behind closed doors, new medical measures introduced and fresh questions are raised about the viability of the Tokyo Olympics. José Mourinho warned that Tottenham would find it “very difficult” to qualify for the Champions League next season after RB Leipzig ended their participation in this year’s competition by winning their last-16 match 3-0 to go through 4-0 on aggregate. Josip Ilicic scored four goals as Atalanta beat Valencia 4-3 at an empty Mestalla to move into the quarter-finals 8-4 on aggregate.
Two Gold Cup-winning jockeys got a lesson in tactics from Rachael Blackmore, who pinched the Mares Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with a decisive move around the home bend on board Honeysuckle. Neil Jenkins does not think Wales’ defeat at Twickenham was a dirty game, but he said there was “no place in the game” for the action of Joe Marler on Alun Wyn Jones when he grabbed the Wales captain’s genitals. And the world might be heading for economic crisis as the impact of the coronavirus hits home but the PGA Tour has presented a picture of sharp financial growth.
Business
The airline industry, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, has been given some succour after the EU suspended its “use it or lose it” rules for prized runway slots which have led to carriers flying empty planes just to keep future access. Asian shares took another battering overnight as investors remain jittery about the continued spread of the disease and unconvinced about US stimulus plans. The FTSE100 is on course to shed 0.6% at the opening bell. The pound is buying $1.293 and €1.139.
The papers
The Guardian’s picture lead is the story of Ilaitia Cokanasiga, a former British army sergeant whose two sons are English rugby internationals. He is stuck in Fiji, prevented by immigration rules from returning to the UK to rejoin his wife as she undergoes cancer treatment. Our print edition splashes on the “Coronavirus budget” to be handed down today by Rishi Sunak.
Can the chancellor vanquish Covid-19 just by opening his red briefcase? You might think so, going by some of the headlines. It’s “Budget billions to beat the virus” in the Mail (I would have loaned them “vanquish” if they’d asked); the Express has “We’re ready”, saying the NHS is kitted out to test 10,000 people a day. “Budget will offer billions to beat virus and rebuild Britain” says the i.
“Sunak to signal end of austerity with massive leap in borrowing” – the FT goes for virus-free furniture. “Virus: banks offer home loans relief” – the Metro sounds like it’s on about a side-effect that has a pleasing effect on bank managers. But here’s the Telegraph with clarification: “Virus sufferers given break from their mortgages”. Its picture splash is the divorcing Peter and Autumn Phillips keeping up an appearance at Cheltenham. The Times leads on Nadine Dorries: “Health minister with coronavirus had been in No10”. The Express reports on the Jamie Bulger killer Jon Venables making a “new bid for freedom”.
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