Flagship

Haley drops out, focus turns to general

Nikki Haley, Donald Trump’s last remaining Republican primary challenger, dropped out of the U.S. presidential race Wednesday after losing 14 of 15 Super Tuesday states. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, didn’t endorse Trump on her exit, saying it is “now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes” of those who didn’t support him, while a pro-Haley super PAC pivoted to a pro-Joe Biden stance. Haley’s non-endorsement is encouraging for Biden’s campaign, Semafor’s David Weigel wrote, as the race effectively moves into a Trump-vs.-Biden phase months before the nominating conventions. In interviews with nearly 40 of Haley’s supporters, The New York Times found they mostly fell into the “double haters” camp in a Trump-Biden matchup, with half reluctantly choosing Trump.

US made 100+ arms sales to Israel

The U.S. has made more than 100 sales of munitions to Israel since Oct. 7, The Washington Post reported, reflecting Washington’s deep involvement in the Gaza conflict even as the White House sharpens its criticism of Israel. The flurry of arms transfers — which weren’t subject to public debate because they fell below a certain dollar amount — underscores the importance of U.S. assistance to Israel, though officials are now finding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “a liability, not an ally,” a Haaretz columnist wrote. Biden is contending with growing backlash from Democrats over his Israel stance ahead of his State of the Union address Thursday, which relatives of Americans held hostage or killed by Hamas are set to attend.

App helps Ukraine with reconstruction

Ukrainians are using a mobile app to file compensation claims and secure government funds to rebuild their homes that were damaged or destroyed after Russia’s invasion, marking the first-ever wartime digital government compensation program for homes. Ukraine “developed the backbone for its digital public infrastructure before the war,” and its eRecovery program has already processed more than 83,000 claims and paid out more than half of them, simplifying what is typically a decades-long, arduous process, Foreign Policy reported. Ukraine’s recovery efforts are ongoing even as attacks continue: A Russian missile struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, reportedly just hundreds of feet from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was meeting with Greece’s prime minister.

Doubt over China’s economic plan

Chinese exports rose 10% in January and February compared to the same time period last year, Beijing said, in what was seen as an effort to present an optimistic economic outlook after setting an ambitious growth target. The early release of the positive exports figure was unexpected, The Wall Street Journal wrote, and accompanied potential plans to cut banks’ reserve requirements, infusing more cash into the financial system. China’s economic blueprint has faced skepticism: A focus on manufacturing and exports could spark a head-to-head trade war with other countries, one China economy expert said, while The Economist argued the country “sees itself in a long-term cold war,” with leader Xi Jinping “unwaveringly focused on the contest with America.”

China’s iPhone sales drop

Apple’s iPhone sales in China — one of the company’s biggest markets — fell 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to last year, according to new research. Overall smartphone sales shrank by 7% during that period, but Apple was hit particularly hard in part because of the resurgence of Huawei — which released its Mate 60 5G smartphones in August and saw a 64% sales jump — and because of aggressive pricing from middle-market brands like Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. Apple responded with discounts, but the slowdown could affect its revenue. Investors were disappointed with Apple’s earnings released last month, and on Tuesday, shares in the company fell 2.8%.

Security beefed for Modi’s Kashmir visit

Ahead of national elections starting next month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit a critical part of Kashmir for the first time since his government quashed the state’s semi-autonomy in 2019, leading to months-long curfews and communication blackouts. Thousands of government employees have been mobilized to attend Modi’s rally in Srinagar on Thursday, The Hindu reported, with their families being vetted for potential militant links in the disputed territory over which Pakistan and India have fought three wars. Security for Modi’s arrival was beefed up with drone surveillance and multiple checkpoints. The visit is targeted more at “mainland India than Kashmiris,” a political observer told Scroll.in, and one regional leader likened it to an emperor’s visit to his newly conquered territory.

Sudan faces ‘world’s largest hunger crisis’

The United Nations World Food Programme warned that more than 25 million people across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad could face “the world’s largest hunger crisis” amid the ongoing civil war. At least 8 million people have been displaced within Sudan and to neighboring countries since fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces last April. A reduced harvest and crippled economy have spiked food prices in Sudan, where less than 5% of the population can afford a meal a day and one in five children are malnourished. The Sudanese government on Wednesday approved the use of a vital crossing near Chad for delivering humanitarian aid to North Darfur after convoys were abruptly halted by authorities.

Australian orbital rocket nears launch

Australia hopes to launch its first private orbital rocket in the next few weeks. The Eris Block 1 can carry a 600-pound payload into space. Australia’s new spaceport has many advantages as a launch site: Being close to the equator gives rockets a boost from the Earth’s spin, and it has large unpopulated areas and the Pacific Ocean for failed rockets to crash in. But only one orbital rocket has ever gone up Down Under: the Black Arrow, the first and only British-made rocket to reach orbit, which launched from Woomera in 1971. The Eris’ manufacturer Gilmour Space aims to have 10 commercial launches a year by 2026, and wants to “put Australian astronauts in space from Australian rockets” by the end of the decade.

Bees learn skills from one another

Bumblebees are able to learn complex tasks from one another, showing a level of social learning thought to be exclusive to humans, a study found. U.K.-based researchers first trained some bees to complete a tricky, two-step puzzle box, earning a sweet reward at the end. Other bees were then able to learn the entire sequence after observing a trained “demonstrator” bee complete the task. The findings raise the possibility of “cumulative culture” among animals, referring to the accumulation of knowledge and skills over generations. The well-documented behaviors of “social insects” like ants, bees, and wasps “may have initially spread by copying … clever innovators,” one of the study’s authors said.

Mixed reviews for Márquez work

An unfinished novel by the Nobel-winning Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez will be published March 12, against his dying wishes. His novels, including One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera, pioneered magical realism, weaving fantastical events with mundane ones. Before his death in 2014, Márquez, who had dementia, told his children to destroy his unfinished work, Until August. They defied him, telling the BBC their father “could only see the flaws” in the work, adding: “Yes, it was a betrayal. But that’s what children are for.” Reviews are mixed: The Guardian said it was “a sketch … blurry and flawed” but that “a sketch from a master is welcome,” while another review said the family “should have respected his wishes.”

March 7

• The European Parliament’s trade committee votes on extending suspensions on import duties and quotas for Ukrainian farm produce.
• The Indian state of Kerala launches the country’s first government-backed OTT streaming platform, showcasing content curated by a state-chosen panel of personalities.
• The Frankfurt airport is set to be closed for all departures due to strikes.

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Two cohabitating grandmothers — aged 86 and 96 — are the stars of an Oscar-nominated documentary. Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó, a 17-minute film, captures the everyday lives of Taiwanese-American director Sean Wang’s paternal and maternal grandmothers, who live together in California. “I wanted to show people how amazing and beautiful and complex people like my grandmothers are,” Wang, who moved in with them during the pandemic, told NPR. He said living with them and experiencing their joy was “juxtaposed” by the anti-Asian hate crimes that made headlines around the same time. They’re now getting ready to attend the Oscars this Sunday, where Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó is nominated for Best Documentary Short Film.

• After Big Oil’s waves of consolidations, Big Solar could be next.
• Nikki Haley suspends presidential campaign.
• U.S. braces for foreign interference in 2024 election.