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US warship reported heading toward Mideast as Iran, Israel fight

The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz was leaving Southeast Asia on Monday after cancelling plans to dock in Vietnam, amid reports it is headed to the Middle East to boost the US presence as Israel and Iran do battle.At 13:45 GMT, the carrier was traveling through the Malacca Strait toward the Indian Ocean, according to Marine Traffic, a ship-tracking site.A Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP that a planned reception aboard the USS Nimitz on June 20, as part of the ship's expected June 19-23 visit to Danang, had been cancelled.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: US warship reported heading toward Mideast as Iran, Israel fight

UN refugee agency says will shed 3,500 jobs due to funding cuts

The UN refugee agency said Monday it will cut 3,500 staff jobs -- slashing nearly a third of its workforce costs -- due to a funding shortfall, and reduce the scale of its help worldwide.UNHCR carried out a review of its activities, expenditure, staffing and structures following a plunge in humanitarian funding.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been among a host of UN and private aid agencies badly hit by funding cuts by the United States.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: UN refugee agency says will shed 3,500 jobs due to funding cuts

Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 20 waiting for aid

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli troops killed 20 people waiting to collect food on Monday, in the latest deadly incident near a US-backed aid centre in the Palestinian territory's south.Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that "the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire" near the Al-Alam roundabout in the southern city of Rafah, where many were waiting to reach an aid distribution site.Bassal said that "20 martyrs and more than 200 wounded by occupation gunfire" were taken to nearby hospitals.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Gaza rescuers say Israeli fire kills 20 waiting for aid