US military planes delivered the first batch of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza on Saturday, US and Israeli officials said. The airdrop was carried out by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), with C-130 aircraft that included both the US Air Force and the RJAF. CENTCOM said the aircraft dropped 66 bundles of aid, including more than 38,000 meals, along the enclave's coastline.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley won the Washington D.C. Republican primary on Sunday, marking the first victory of her 2024 campaign. Haley won 62.9% of the votes, while ex-US President Donald Trump garnered 33.2%. “It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all of his chaos,” Haley’s campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said. Meanwhile, Trump dismissed Haley's win, claiming, “I purposely stayed away from the DC Vote because it is the ‘Swamp,’ with very few delegates, and no upside.”
On Friday, India expressed 'deep shock' at the loss of lives in Northern Gaza, where over 100 people died during the delivery of humanitarian aid. There are conflicting views as to what exactly happened. While the Hamas-led government claims Israel deliberately opened fire at people, Israel has stated that the deaths occurred as a result of a stampede. New Delhi also expressed great concern over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the loss of civilian lives and reiterated its call for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to Gazans.
The Indian government said on Saturday that the delisting of Indian apps by Google cannot be permitted. IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw opposed the move and said that no big tech could decide the fate of the Indian startup ecosystem, which is key to the Indian economy. On 1 March, the tech giant took down the apps from the Google Play Store, citing non-payment of fees of around 11%-26% that it had imposed on in-app payments. While Google says this fee is vital for the development of the Android and Play Store app ecosystem, Indian startups have opposed it for a long time, saying that it is an unfair practice. Meanwhile, amid opposition, several of these apps were reinstated as they agreed to comply with the Google billing policy.
The Chinese embassy in India criticised an Indian media channel for interviewing Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, accusing it of providing a platform for advocating “Taiwan independence.” In response, Taiwan’s foreign ministry asserted that both India and Taiwan are democracies with “free and vibrant presses” that cannot be dictated to, emphasising that neither is part of China. India adheres to the ‘One China policy’ and does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Malaysian officials have indicated a potential revival of the MH370 plane search, considering a proposal from a US company, Ocean Infinity. The Texas-based marine robotics firm, which previously attempted to locate the plane in 2018, presented a new “no find, no fee” plan for a search in the southern Indian Ocean, where the Malaysia Airlines flight is presumed to have crashed a decade ago.