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From critic to negotiator: JD Vance to spearhead US efforts in Iran ceasefire talks

It was a war JD Vance never wanted. Now the United States vice president has been tasked with ending it. Vance headed to Pakistan today with orders from President Donald Trump to turn the shaky Iran ceasefire into a lasting peace deal. For the 41-year-old Vance, who has kept a notably low profile during the Middle East conflict, it will be one of the biggest moments of his career. But the man widely regarded as a leading contender in the 2028 US presidential election will face huge challenges too when talks begin Saturday in Islamabad. “I cannot think of a case where the vice president ran formal negotiations like this,” Aaron Wolf Mannes, a lecturer at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and an expert on the American vice presidency’s role in foreign policy, told AFP. “This is high risk, high reward.” Vance built his political brand as an avowed anti-interventionist who wanted to keep America out of any more foreign wars, such as in Iraq, where he ser...
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World Food Programme warns Lebanon facing food security crisis due to US-Iran war

Lebanon is facing a food security crisis as the Iran war disrupts supplies of goods inside the country, the United Nations World Food Programme said on Friday. A fragile two-day-old ceasefire has halted the campaign of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, but it has not so far calmed a parallel war waged by Israel against Iran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. "What we're witnessing is not just a displacement crisis; it is rapidly becoming a food security crisis," said World Food Programme country director Allison Oman, speaking via video link from Beirut. She warned that food was becoming increasingly unaffordable due to rising prices and demand among displaced families. Price of vegetables has soared The price of vegetables has soared by more than 20% and bread prices have increased by 17% since March 2, the WFP said. "What we're now seeing is a very worrying combination: prices are rising, incomes are disrupted, and demand is increasing as displacement continues for many families," Oman stated. Lebanon faces a two-layered crisis, in which some markets have fully collapsed - especially in the south, where more than 80% of markets are no longer functioning - while those in Beirut are under increasing strain, Oman said. Many traders in conflict-affected areas in southern Lebanon are reporting that less than one week of essential food stocks remain, she added. The ability to deliver food aid into hard-to-reach areas in the south, which has faced heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes since March 2, was becoming increasingly difficult. While the Qasmiyeh bridge, which was previously struck, is now operational, movement remains difficult. Ten WFP convoys have reached the south to provide aid to some of the estimated 50,000 to 150,000 in need of humanitarian support in that part of the country. "This escalation is pushing vulnerable communities even closer to the edge," said Oman, adding that, due to this latest escalation, about 900,000 people across Lebanon were facing food insecurity - a number that was set to rise.

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