INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The United States has lifted a pause on food donations, the U.N
World Food Programme said, ending a suspension that an aid watchdog on Monday warned had left 500,000 metric tons of food currently at sea
commodities produced by U.S
farmers for donation - despite a waiver for emergency food assistance - after U.S
also told WFP to stop work on dozens of U.S.-funded grants, orders that were received five days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued
the food waiver.Several of the suspended grants were under the Food for Peace Title II program, which spends about $2 billion annually on
The program, which makes up the bulk of U.S
international food assistance, is co-administered by the U.S
Department of Agriculture and the U.S
Agency for International Development.The U.S
State Department did not respond to a request for comment.The USAID grants that WFP was told to stop work on are worth tens of millions of
dollars and provide food aid in impoverished countries including Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Central African
foreign aid has created chaos and confusion, say humanitarian officials, who have been left to work out whether to take the financial risk
of continuing programs without assurance that they are covered by a waiver.The Office of Inspector General for USAID said in a report
