"Reuters": Washington demands the World Food Program stop dozens of projects funded by it.

Alsharq Tribune - Reuters

Reuters news agency reported, citing a letter it obtained, that U.S. authorities have decided to halt funding for the United Nations World Food Program.

The agency said: "Washington has demanded that the United Nations World Food Program stop working on dozens of grants funded by the United States."

The agency noted that current projects by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) are valued at tens of millions of dollars .

Providing food aid to residents in several countries, including Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Haiti, and Mali.

When President Donald Trump took office, he immediately signed an executive order to suspend aid to other countries for 90 days, in order to assess whether these programs aligned with U.S. foreign policy.

The new Trump administration sent about 60 senior officials from USAID on leave, and later, Elon Musk, who heads the new Department of Government Effectiveness, announced that Trump had approved the complete closure of the agency.

Subsequently, USAID announced that it would place most of its employees around the world on administrative leave starting at 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Friday.

This decision temporarily suspends most of the programs managed by the agency, which is responsible for leading U.S. foreign aid programs.

The agency reported that it is working with the U.S. Department of State to develop a plan for organizing and covering the costs of returning employees currently abroad to the United States within30 days.