A new round of direct talks between the US and Iran have been postponed after Vice-President JD Vance delayed a planned trip to Switzerland.

The White House announced late on Thursday that Vance would not be travelling to the talks and said the logistics had not been “simple or predictable”.

It comes a day after the US dropped its naval blockade of Iran after the two countries signed a deal aimed at ending the conflict.

While the deal also said fighting should end in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry reported Israeli strikes had killed at least 47 people overnight and into Friday.

Israel’s military said it had targeted the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, and that four of its own soldiers had been killed.

Hours before the White House issued its statement, Hezbollah-linked Lebanese media reported that the talks had been suspended due to ongoing Israeli air strikes.

But later, on Friday, a US official said an immediate ceasefire had been agreed between Israel and Hezbollah to end the fighting in Lebanon, coming into force at 16:00 local time (14:00 BST).

Confirming the agreement, Israeli military spokesperson, Brig Gen Effie Defrin, said: “We are in a ceasefire. The [Israel Defense Forces] IDF is prepared to continue fighting if called upon to do so.”

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect after US and Iranian negotiators had been due to meet for what US officials described as “technical discussions” on the next steps of the US-Iran deal agreed earlier this week.

That deal calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, and for Lebanon’s territorial integrity and sovereignty to be respected.

Washington said plans for the next round of negotiations relating to the deal had “not been finalised”. It added that the US looked forward to “beginning technical talks as soon as possible”.

Switzerland’s foreign ministry later confirmed the talks at the Burgenstock mountaintop resort had been “postponed”, although it said preparations were continuing.

Swiss military and police officials had been patrolling the luxury hotel set high on a mountain overlooking Lake Lucerne, and a media centre had been set up for journalists.

The government has agreed a new funding package with pharmacy negotiators in England, leading some pharmacies to call off protests that were planned for later this week.

One group representing thousands of local pharmacies was preparing to take action involving cuts to opening hours from Tuesday, but they say that will be delayed while they consider the deal.

Others have said the funding package is a “step in the right direction” but it still will not cover all cost increases pharmacies are facing, including a rise in National Insurance.

Announcing the deal, ministers said they were working to turn around a “decade of underfunding and neglect”.

Community pharmacies have been warning of closures and cutbacks in the face of what they say are unsustainable pressures.

Among these are a rising workload, funding which has not kept pace with inflation and the prospect of higher employer National Insurance contributions.

And all this as they are expected to help more patients with some conditions to take the pressure off GPs.

Government funding for pharmacies in England stood at £2.6bn in 2019/20. But over the next few years that did not go up with inflation.

In the current financial year (2024/25) it has been at £2.7bn.

The government has now announced a new deal for pharmacies in England, which will see funding rise to £3.1bn next year (2025/26).

The deal will also include more mental health support for patients and increased consultations and blood pressure checks.

And the deal includes a plan – announced on Sunday – to enable women to get the morning-after pill for free from pharmacies.

As part of the deal, the government will also write off £193 million of debt for community pharmacy owners.

Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said: “We’re working to turn around a decade of underfunding and neglect that has left the sector on the brink of collapse.

“This package of record investment and reform is a vital first step to getting community pharmacies back on their feet and fit for the future.”

There was a cautious welcome from representatives of High Street chemists but warnings that the extra funding would not be enough to cover rising costs.

Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said the government’s announcement was a “welcome step in the right direction” but it “does not alleviate pressures and will not stop closures”.

Community pharmacies in England are “on life support”, she said, adding the rise in National Insurance and business rates makes the situation “even more acute”.

Another community pharmacy group, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), had announced that protest action would begin on Tuesday.

It had previously warned that pharmacists were facing a “financial cliff edge” from 1 April, when many of their costs are due to rise.

The NPA advised about 6,000 members in England to start “working to rule” from this date.

This was due to involve cutting opening hours to around 40 hours a week – the minimum required under their contracts – and would have meant possible weekend closures.

But the organisation says that this will be delayed while it consults members on the new deal.

NPA chair Nick Kaye said Monday’s announcement was a “step forward”.

“However, the truth is that because of a decade of neglect it also falls a long way short of the NHS’s own estimates of the true cost of providing pharmacy services,” he added.

The NPA is “ready to work with ministers to close the funding gap, reform the system and deliver the sustainable, stronger pharmacy service that millions of people need so much”, he said.

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump created a task force Friday to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, which will bring the globe’s premier soccer tournament to North America at a time when his on-again, off-again tariffs have ratcheted up tensions across the continent.

“I think it’s going to make it more exciting,” Trump said of playing the World Cup amid sharp rhetoric between leaders of the host nations. “Tension’s a good thing.”

The task force, which Trump will chair, will coordinate the federal government’s security and planning for the tournament, which is expected to draw millions of tourists to the US, Canada and Mexico.

“It’s a great honor for our country to have it,” Trump said of the World Cup after meeting with officials from FIFA, the international soccer governing body. He said he’d like to attend multiple games.

Preparations are ramping up across the continent alongside tensions between the US and its neighbors as Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs before backing off, spooking markets and leading to fears of a trade war and economic downturn. He also speaks pejoratively of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and muses about Canada becoming a US state, which has boosted national pride north of the border.

For 2026, the World Cup will expand to 48 teams playing 104 matches across three nations, the first time the tournament will be split between countries. Seventy-eight of 104 matches will be played in the US, with 13 games each in Mexico and Canada, and as many as six matches a day. The final will be played July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the task force will ensure that each of the visitors who will travel from around the world “feels safe, feels happy and feels that we are doing something special.”

“So we’re here to create and to make the best show on the planet ever,” Infantino said. He gave Trump a personalized game ball and unveiled an elaborate trophy that will go to the winner of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will pit top soccer clubs against each other this summer ahead of next year’s matchup of national teams.

Trump later brought Infantino to show off the trophy at the start of a White House cryptocurrency summit. The US, where soccer has grown in popularity but remains a niche sport, represents a major growth area for soccer, he said.

Infantino likened producing the World Cup to holding three Super Bowls daily for a month, a dizzying security and logistical challenge for the host governments.

The Trump administration will face a second test on the global sports stage in 2028, when the summer Olympics will be held in California, the first time the Games will have been in the US since Salt Lake City hosted in 2002.