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Democratic race starts disastrously as 'inconsistencies' delay Iowa results Hours after voting began there were no results as the state’s Democratic party said it was ‘simply a reporting issue’Iowa caucuses latest newsIowa caucuses resultsHow do the caucuses work? The Guardian’s guideThe Democratic presidential primary contest has got off to a disastrous start after results from the highly anticipated Iowa Democratic caucuses were dramatically delayed due to “inconsistencies” in the reporting of the data.The state’s Democratic party said it was performing “quality control” on the numbers “out of an abundance of caution”, after reports on Monday of problems with a phone app used to relay vote tallies. Continue reading......

Voters should not trust Boris Johnson to keep promises, says former Tory minister sacked from COP 26 role - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenPM ‘doesn’t get climate crisis’No 10 reporter ban: civil service chief must investigate, says Starmer 11.41am GMTDominic Cummings, the PM’s chief adviser, was photographed carrying a book called Chinese Spies this morning as he arrived at Downing Street. It’s by the journalist Roger Faligot, and it says China has the largest intelligence service in the world, although the Times’s review (paywall) says Faligot’s account left him wondering “if there is such a thing as an overdevious secret service. In their constant quest to discover the imagined layer...

Coronavirus: Hong Kong reports first death as China's leadership admits ‘shortcomings’ Carrie Lam says measures would be taken ‘to reduce movement across the border’ as death toll growsCoronavirus - live updatesHong Kong has reported its first death from coronavirus, as the toll in China passed 420 and its leadership admitted “shortcomings” in its handling of the outbreak.A 39-year-old man with an underlying health condition died on Tuesday morning, according to the public broadcaster RTHK. Continue reading... Go to Source

Terror offenders should be jailed indefinitely if necessary, says Gove After Streatham attack, experts warn against applying emergency law to current prisonersMichael Gove has said some terrorism offenders should be jailed indefinitely “if necessary” as the government was warned that it faces legal challenges to emergency legislation proposed in the wake of the Streatham attack.The senior cabinet minister said “Islamist extremist terrorists” were in a different category to other offenders and must not be released until the Parole Board had deemed them safe to be on the UK’s streets. Continue reading... Go to Source

Cambridge sociologist’s visa fight ‘sends shockwaves’ through universities Academics say case of Dr Asiya Islam, turned down after 10 years in UK, gives the lie to assurances Britain is open to expertsThe UK is “open to global talent”, the government declared last week, with a new visa designed to woo the best overseas researchers. But angry academics say their protests about the Home Office’s “shocking” refusal to grant residency to Dr Asiya Islam, an “unequivocally superb” Indian sociologist at Cambridge University, have fallen on deaf ears.Senior academics warn that unless the government reins in its aggressive application of immigration rules, talented international researchers will not want to come to the UK. Continue reading... Go to So...

Coronavirus live updates: first Hong Kong death reported as China cases pass 20,000 – latest news Thirty-nine year old man in Hong Kong believed to have had underlying condition. Death is only second outside mainland China – latest updatesChina’s leadership admits ‘shortcomings’ in coronavirus responseCoronavirus: British evacuee falls ill during flight from ChinaHow to protect yourself Hundreds of Canadians await evacuation flight from Wuhan 5.41am GMTThe Chinese women’s football team have been forced to train in hotel corridors ahead of their Olympic qualifying opener in Sydney on Friday. The team has been in isolation at a Brisbane CBD hotel since their arrival in Australia last week due to strict protocols in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Rela...

No terrorism offenders to be released without review, says minister Emergency legislation will retrospectively toughen terms of sentences being served by 220 terrorist offendersStreatham attack latest - live updatesThe government is to introduce emergency legislation to retrospectively toughen the terms of the prison sentences currently being served by 220 terrorist offenders to prevent their automatic release, the justice secretary has announced.In a move likely to face legal challenge, Robert Buckland said that all terrorist prisoners, including those currently in prison, will not be released before their full sentence has been served without an expert risk assessment from the Parole Board. Continue reading... Go to Source

Political journalists boycott No 10 briefing after reporter ban Journalists in Downing Street walk out after Johnson aide tries to exclude some reportersFollow the latest political news - livePolitical journalists have boycotted a briefing at No 10 Downing Street after one of Boris Johnson’s aides banned selected reporters from attending.The walkout took place after a confrontation inside No 10 in which Lee Cain, Johnson’s most senior communications adviser, tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, Independent and others. Continue reading... Go to Source

Pound falls as Boris Johnson takes tough line on EU trade deal Post-Brexit stance by Brussels is threat of tariffs on UK goods unless rules are complied withThe pound fell on Monday after Boris Johnson warned that Britain would not accept alignment with EU rules in any Brexit trade deal, while Brussels threatened to put tariffs on UK goods unless he complies.Sterling sold off sharply after the prime minister and the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier outlined tough opening positions for post-Brexit trade talks, dipping by more than two cents against the dollar and about a cent against the euro. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus: death toll passes Sars virus as dozens more die in Wuhan Wuhan hospitals need more staff and supplies as residents describe increasingly desperate conditionsDozens more people have died in the city at the centre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, where hospitals are severely undersupplied and understaffed and residents have described increasingly desperate conditions.Chinese state media reported 57 new deaths on Monday, all but one in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei which has been under lockdown for almost two weeks as authorities try to contain the outbreak. Continue reading... Go to Source

Second monarch butterfly sanctuary worker found dead in Mexico Body of part-time tour guide Raúl Hernández found days after that of reserve manager Homero Gómez González in MichoacánA second worker at Mexico’s famed monarch butterfly sanctuary has been found murdered, sparking concerns that the defenders of one of Mexico’s most emblematic species are being slain with impunity.The body of Raúl Hernández Romero, a part-time tour guide, was found on Saturday, showing injuries possibly inflicted by a sharp object, according to prosecutors in the western state of Michoacán. Continue reading... Go to Source

Streatham attack: rehabilitation of Islamist terrorists 'rarely works', Johnson claims – live news Prime minister says government to announce plans for ‘fundamental changes’ to system for dealing with convicted terroristsSudesh Amman freed from jail and on police watchlistQuestions for investigators over surveillance of attackerShare your stories 11.53am GMTThe mother of the Streatham attacker Sudesh Amman has told Sky News he was a “nice, polite boy” and that she spoke to him just hours before the attack. Haleema Faraz Khan said she had visited her son at a bail hostel on Thursday and he called her hours before the attack. 11.48am GMTThe prime minister paid tribute to the “speedy and brave” response by the police, but said:The question that everybo...

Brexit: Boris Johnson says UK should not be obliged to accept EU rules to secure trade deal – live news The day’s political developments, including Johnson’s speech on EU trade talks, and Barnier publishing EU’s draft negotiating guidelinesUK will refuse close alignment with EU rules, PM to say 11.57am GMT 11.49am GMTJohnson says de-radicalising people is a very difficult thing to do.That’s is why he no longer believes in automatic early release, he says.That’s why I’ve come to the end of my patience with the idea of automatic early release. Continue reading... Go to Source

Coronavirus: dozens more die in Chinese city at centre of outbreak Wuhan hospitals need more staff and supplies as death toll passes that of Sars virusCoronavirus – latest updatesDozens more people have died in the city at the centre of China’s coronavirus outbreak, where hospitals are severely undersupplied and understaffed and residents have described increasingly desperate conditions.Chinese state media reported 57 new deaths on Monday, all but one in Wuhan, the capital of the central province of Hubei which has been under lockdown for almost two weeks as authorities try to contain the outbreak. Continue reading... Go to Source