Iowa caucuses: Cruz beats Trump and Clinton claims narrow win

Former US President Jimmy Carter believes Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination for this year's election - and predicted Republican Donald Trump will "fade away".

Democrat Mr Carter also argued that although Ted Cruz has an advantage among the Republicans after his win in Iowa, Marco Rubio has a "better chance ultimately" because of the former's "radical beliefs".

A smiling Mr Carter said given the choice between Trump or Cruz for the presidency, he would back Trump because he is "completely malleable".

Mr Carter, who served as president from 1977 until 1981, was giving a speech in the House of Lords.

He predicted voters would desert Trump when they considered the idea of having him lead them for the next four years, and also praised the performance of Democrat Bernie Sanders, who he predicted would win the New Hampshire primary next week.

US Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul has suspended his 2016 campaign.

The announcement comes two days after the Iowa caucuses, where the Kentucky senator finished in fifth place with 4.5 percent.

Paul said in a statement: "It's been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty."

US Republican presidential hopeful Rand Paul has suspended his 2016 campaign, two days after the Iowa caucuses.

The US senator from Kentucky, a libertarian-leaning candidate, finished in fifth place in Iowa with 4.5 percent.

Ted Cruz has called his win in the Republican Iowa caucus "a tremendous victory for the grass roots".

Speaking to ITV News' Washington Correspondent Robert Moore, the Republican presidential hopeful said "people are ready for a change".

Cruz caused a huge upset by beating Donald Trump in Iowa's Republican caucuses, while Hillary Clinton claimed a narrow victory over rival Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has declared victory over Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucus.

In a statement, the official Clinton campaign said there was "no uncertainty" that Hillary Clinton had won the nominating contest.

The Democrat rivals were deadlocked with both receiving roughly 50% of the vote in what Bernie Sanders previously declared as a "virtual tie."

Polls show former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Senator Bernie Sanders are too close to call in Iowa.

The Democrat rivals came in deadlocked both receiving roughly 50% in what Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, declared as a "virtual tie."

The party said it was awaiting results from a "small number of outstanding precincts" and had reached out to the campaigns for help contacting the chairs from those sites.

ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston said the tie was a "bigger story" than Donald Trump falling into second place in the caucus - noting a "huge surge" by the man he described as "America's Jeremy Corbyn".

Bernie Sanders says he and Hillary Clinton are in a "virtual tie" to win the Democratic Iowa caucuses.

Sanders said he expected to have half the Iowa delegates campaigning for him at the Democratic National Convention in July, where the party's candidate will be confirmed.

The self-style Democratic socialist said "given the enormous crisis...it is too late for establishment politics and establishment economics."