Coronavirus sparks xenophobia and stock fall
As the death toll from the Coronavirus outbreak in China continues to climb--it has surpassed 360 victims--CNBC and The Guardian are live blogging with the latest news. CNN says a 44-year-old Chinese man in the Philippines has become the first fatality outside of China. The New York Times (paywall) reports that some scientists believe the virus is spreading more like influenza and likely to become a pandemic. The BBC has time-lapse footage of the Huoshenshan hospital in Wuhan city hospital being built in just 10 days to handle Coronavirus patients. But Aljazeera reports on Chinese Canadians who say they are experiencing xenophobia as a result of reporting on the virus, and, in The Independent, Sophie Lau reports on instances of xenophobia from around the world. Chinese stock markets plunged as the country returned to work after the new year, the FT (paywall) reports. Here in Luxembourg, tests on a patient at the CHL suspected of being infected proved to be negative.
Iowa kick starts 2020 US election
Democratic hopefuls have descended on the state of Iowa for the first caucus in the party’s nomination race for the 2020 presidential election. Reuters says the contest among the leading candidates is close, with Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden tying for first place, and Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg closing in on the front two. Fortune has a guide to how the caucus works. CNN picks its five most likely scenarios. Politico says it has information that the Sanders campaign may try to publicly claim victory after the first vote, which could sway the final results.
Johnson to set out trade talk aims
British prime minister Boris Johnson is to give a keynote speech on “unleashing Britain's potential” later today in which he will outline his aims for negotiating future trade terms with the EU. Bloomberg says Downing Street's game plan appears to be based on “hardball tactics”, while Reuters reckons Johnson’s strategy reiterates his belief that Brexit means sovereignty trumps the economy. Reports suggest that Johnson will say the choice is between a Canada-style or Australia-style agreement. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar told the BBC on Sunday that a Canada-style deal with the UK is possible if there is a level playing field. But The Guardian cites an EU source saying that an Australia-style agreement doesn’t exist and that the UK government appears to have decided that Australia “sounds much more popular than the WTO”.
Terror suspect shot dead in London
A man shot dead by police on Sunday evening after stabbing three people in Streatham, south London, had been released from prison a week ago, the BBC reports. Sudesh Amman, who also had a hoax device strapped to his body, had served half of his sentence for terror offences.
AirAsia stocks fall on bribery investigation
Reuters reports that shares of AirAsia Group plummeted early on Monday after Malaysia’s securities commission announced it would investigate whether the airline had received a $50 million bribe from Airbus to win plane orders. The Times (paywall) has an in-depth report on the Airbus bribery scandal.
Somalia’s locust emergency
A plague of desert locusts has been deemed a national emergency in Somalia. The country’s ministry of agriculture says the swarm “poses a major threat to Somalia's fragile food security situation”, Aljazeera and the BBC report.
Leila Janah and Andy Gill RIP
The Wall Street Journal and CNN pay tribute to social entrepreneur Leila Janah, who has died at the age of just 37. The Guardian and The New York Times honour Andy Gill, guitarist and founder of influential post-punk band Gang of Four, who has passed away at the age of 64.
“1917” wins big at Baftas
Sam Mendes was named best director and his WWI drama “1917” won best film and best British film, as well as a handful of technical awards, at the Bafta ceremony on Sunday. “Parasite” won best foreign language film and best original screenplay, and other Delano favourites “Klaus”, for best animated film, and “Bait”, for outstanding British debut, were also worthy winners. The Guardian has a full list, Vogue has a gallery of red carpet dresses, and the BBC has a highlights reel.
Superbowl win for Chiefs
24-year old quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the youngest ever Super Bowl MVP when he led the Kansas City chiefs to a thrilling 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The Guardian has a report, NFL has the big play highlights. For those less interested in the actual sport, Time has a look at the best Superbowl commercials, and Sports Illustrated has a full video of the half-time show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts