Briefly

UNITED STATES

Buttigieg, Sanders tied in Iowa caucuses

New results from the Iowa Democratic caucuses show Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders nearly tied with almost all the votes counted. But the race remained too early to call early on Thursday with 97 percent of precincts reporting. Iowa officials attributed their delay in results for Monday's caucuses to technical problems. The chaos surrounding the reporting breakdown has undermined the impact of Iowa's election, which typically rewards winners with a surge of momentum heading into subsequent primary contests. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, former US vice-president Joe Biden and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar are still trailing. The 77-year-old Biden, like Buttigieg already campaigning in the next state to vote, New Hampshire, acknowledged that his poor showing in Iowa was a "gut punch", but insisted he would stick it out.

Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas dies

Kirk Douglas, one of the last superstars of Hollywood's golden age of cinema renowned for his intense, muscular performances in Spartacus and Paths of Glory, died on Wednesday aged 103.The US leading man, producer and director came to prominence in the late 1940s and never lost his popularity, taking on nearly 100 movies over a six-decade career that endured beyond a severe stroke in his later years. His death at his family home in Beverly Hills was confirmed by his son Michael, the Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker. Tributes poured in from across Hollywood and around the world on social media, with many declaring "I am Spartacus!" in a nod to Douglas's legendary role as a rebellious Roman slave.

MALDIVES

Three arrested over stabbing foreigners

Maldives police on Thursday arrested three men over the stabbing of two Chinese nationals and an Australian, and were probing their suspected links with Islamic State, officials said. The three men were stabbed on Tuesday night in Hulhumale, an island seven kilometers north of capital city Male, police said on Twitter. One of the Chinese nationals was a tourist and the two others worked in the city. They were in stable conditions in hospital, police added. A Maldivian radical group affiliated with the Islamic State had taken responsibility for the attack in a video posted online, local media reported on Wednesday.