| | | | | | | Hello. Several countries have been airdropping food to the war-ravaged population of Gaza. But some are questioning the effectiveness of the approach, as Luis Barrocho explains. In the US, after Nikki Haley bowed out of the White House race, we explain how her supporters could be crucial to this year’s election - and hear how voters view the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch. Scroll down for quirky Oscars facts and a scary sea beast. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | The challenge of getting aid to northern Gaza |  | | The UN first used airdrops to deliver humanitarian aid in 1973, but they are considered to be a last resort. Credit: Jordan Armed Forces. Credit: Reuters |
| | The US has carried out a second airdrop of food aid into northern Gaza, in collaboration with the Jordanian air force. But humanitarian organisations raising the alarm over malnutrition in the territory say parachuting aid is not enough to meet the population’s soaring needs. |  | | Luis Barrucho, BBC World Service, and BBC Arabic |
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| | How does aid reach the Gaza Strip? | | Aid lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing during the war between Israel and Hamas. But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance in recent months. | | Who has been sending aid via plane? | | More than 20 airdrops of aid into Gaza have taken place over the past few weeks in co-ordination with the Israeli military, with France, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt conducting them alongside the US and Jordan. | | What’s in the parcels? | | One Gaza resident, Ismail Mokbel, told BBC Arabic's Gaza Lifeline radio - an emergency radio service for the territory set up in response to the conflict - that packages of aid dropped on Friday consisted of some legumes and a few women's health essentials. Mr Mokbel said it was not enough: "Thousands of citizens saw the aid falling on them... And when hundreds or thousands wait in such areas, only around 10 to 20 people get things, while the others go back with nothing.” | | | | • | A father’s plea: Ali was one of at least 10 Palestinian children who recently died of malnutrition and dehydration at northern Gaza's only paediatrics hospital. His father has called for help for the other young patients. | | • | West Bank: Israel is planning more than 3,400 new homes in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, in what one minister called a response to a deadly attack. Settlements are considered illegal by most of the international community, although Israel disputes this. |
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AT THE SCENE |  West Palm Beach, Florida, US | | US voters see the country’s future at stake |  | | Not everyone is as convinced by the choice as John Skeadas. Credit: BBC | | Super Tuesday all-but confirmed this year’s US election will be a re-run of 2020. With polls suggesting few will relish a rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, we gauge the mood in West Palm Beach, across Lake Worth Lagoon from Mr Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. | | | Last night we heard dramatic words from the top two presidential candidates, who framed the stakes of the election in existential terms for the nation. And their supporters in Florida echo those sentiments. Suzy Wilkoff, 67 of West Palm Beach, thinks a second Trump presidency would be bad for the country. “If it’s Biden versus Trump, Biden is definitely more qualified. He has an army of people behind him and they truly do care about the country,” she said. But John Skeadas, 70, thinks if Trump had won the election in 2020 "we would be living in a remarkably better country".
Lisa, a 36-year-old who considers herself an independent, disliked both candidates. She told me outside the local library that she felt America’s leaders only cared about “their own agenda". “I don’t think Biden is really fit to run the country at this point,” she said, referring to his age - 81. As for Trump, “I don’t like his personality either,” Lisa said. She told me she wasn’t sure how she will vote in November. |
| | | | • | ‘Neither is fit to be president’: We asked members of our voter panel, who were unenthused by the choice last time around, whether they felt any different now. Here’s what they told us. | | • | A pivotal role? With Nikki Haley bowing out of the Republican race, the big question is where her supporters will turn. Holly Honderich hears they could be crucial to deciding who wins the White House. |
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| | The big picture | | Fun facts about the Oscars 2024 |  | | The Oscars class of 2024 includes first-time nominees Lily Gladstone (in white, left) and Da’Vine Joy Randolph (in black, right) Credit: Richard Harbaugh/AMPAS |
| | Ahead of the Academy Awards on 10 March, entertainment reporter Steven McIntosh has put together 17 must-know facts about this year’s nominees. For example, could you name the four Oscar-nominated couples? By the time you’ve finished our special feature, you’ll have no problem. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | The truth about Emily | | Emily Dickinson’s image as a “patron saint of the shy” gets the 19th Century poet all wrong. | | |
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| | And finally... in Morocco | | A skull and other skeletal remains found at a mine in Morocco have been identified as belonging to a sea lizard species that hunted the oceans 66 million years ago. The creature, Khinjaria acuta, was about 26ft (8m) long - the same as an orca - with "dagger-like" teeth. Researchers have described its appearance as "nightmarish" - and judging by these artist’s impressions, I’d have to agree. |
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| | | | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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| | | | More BBC newsletters | | • | Football Extra: Latest news, insights and gossip from the Premier League, weekdays. Subscribe. | | • | Royal Watch: The full story from royal correspondent Sean Coughlan, every Thursday. Subscribe. | | • | Tech Decoded: Timely, trusted tech news from global correspondents, twice-weekly. Subscribe. |
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