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Trump administration sued over transgender military ban

A sign is pictured with picketers outside the White House on Saturday "gay vet supporting trans rights"Image copyrightAFP
Image captionThe US President said transgender people should not serve in the military 'in an capacity'
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to US President Donald Trump's directive banning transgender service personnel.
The case was filed on behalf of six serving transgender members of the armed forces.
Mr Trump signed a memo to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving on Friday, after announcing it on Twitter last month.
The policy was lifted by Barack Obama's administration last year.
The ACLU argues that the ban is discriminatory and violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection.
It described the ban as "cruel" and being based on "myths and stereotypes" and a "desire to harm transgender people".
It was the second lawsuit announced on Monday, after a separate complaint was filed on behalf of LGBT groups and three other transgender individuals. Two sought to join the armed forces, and a third is already a serving member.
Between 4,000 and 10,000 US active-duty and reserve service members are believed to be transgender.
On a statement on the ACLU website, Joe Block, a senior staff lawyer for the ACLU's LGBT & HIV Project said: "Each and every claim made by President Trump to justify this ban can be easily debunked by the conclusions drawn from the Department of Defence's own review process.
"Allowing men and women who are transgender to serve openly and providing them with necessary health care does nothing to harm military readiness or unit cohesion."
a protestor holds a Image copyrightAFP
Image captionLGBT activists have held a number of demonstrations against the military ban
One of the listed plaintiffs in the case has served in the US navy for 11 years, including a stint in Afghanistan.
She, like thousands of others, has been left in limbo after President Trump left Defence Secretary Jim Mattis to decide whether to retain existing transgender recruits.
The recruitment ban was justified on grounds of cost and the memo halts the use of government funds for sex-reassignment surgery for active personnel.
The justification was heavily criticised when it was revealed the US military spent ten times as much on erectile dysfunction medication as it does on transgender healthcare.
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Russia's controversial Crimea bridge gets giant arch

Railway arch construction on Kerch bridgeImage copyrightMOST.LIFE
Image captionRailway arch: The controversial bridge is a statement of Russian political control
Russian engineers are installing a giant railway arch in the channel between Russia and Crimea, as a 19km (12-mile) road-rail bridge takes shape.
It is a flagship political project, as Russia claims Ukraine's Crimea peninsula - which it annexed in March 2014 - as its own territory.
It will take about a month to fix the arch, weighing 6,000 tonnes, to massive supports in the water.
The road section of the Kerch Strait bridge will also have a giant arch.
The project's official website (in Russian) - www.most.life - says the bridge should be completed by the end of next year, when the first cars will cross it. Then rail traffic will start crossing it in 2019.
The EU and US have ratcheted up sanctions on Russia since first imposing restrictions over the seizure of Crimea.
Western firms and politicians are banned from doing business with the Russian-installed Crimean government, or with Russian economic actors there.
Russia's Vesti TV news says the Kerch Strait bridge will be Russia's longest.
Map showing Crimea and Simferopol
The bridge will not impede shipping, the project website says, as it will stand 35m (115ft) above the water.
The four-lane highway is designed for a capacity of 40,000 vehicles per 24-hour period.
Russia sees the bridge as a key strategic tool for developing Crimea, more efficient than the current ferry service.
Crimea's land border with Ukraine is tense and heavily militarised, making cross-border deliveries slow and difficult.

Crimean Tatars on trial

Ukraine and Western governments accuse Russia of crushing political opposition in Crimea, whose leadership is solidly loyal to President Vladimir Putin. Ethnic Russians are the majority group in Crimea, which used to be part of imperial Russia.
In April 2016 the Crimean Tatars' Mejlis - an assembly representing the ethnic group's interests - was banned by Russia as an "extremist" organisation.
Ruslan Zeytullayev, a Crimean Tatar activist serving a 15-year jail term in Russia's southern city of Rostov, has sent an open letter to the UN, urging international pressure on Russia to get "political" prisoners released. A month ago he went on an indefinite hunger strike.
Russia found him and three other Crimean Tatars guilty of membership in a "terrorist" group - Hizb ut-Tahrir - and jailed them all.
The group is not listed as "terrorist" in Ukraine. Amnesty International said the case raised "numerous fair trial concerns" - notably, several prosecution witnesses had retracted their pre-trial statements.
A leading Crimean Tatar activist and deputy head of the Mejlis, Akhtem Chiygoz, is expected to be sentenced by a Russian court on 11 September. He is accused of organising "mass disturbances" during a pro-Ukrainian rally in 2014 before Russia's annexation of Crimea.
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German killer nurse Niels H probed over 84 more murders

The nurse, known as Niels H, was jailed for life two years ago
A nurse serving a life sentence for murdering two patients in northern Germany is now a suspect in at least 84 other murder cases, police say.
The 40-year-old, named only as Niels H under German reporting rules, was convicted of attempted murder in 2006 and murder in 2015.
His victims received lethal drug doses at units where he worked.
Relatives of patients who died in clinics where he worked had urged police to investigate further.
A commission was set up in 2014 to investigate the scale of his crimes, which could make him Germany's worst post-war killer.
The medication caused heart failure or the collapse of patients' circulatory systems.
Judges said he was motivated by a desire to win approval by resuscitating the patients he had drugged.
During his 2015 trial, he admitted applying the drug to about 90 people at an intensive care clinic in the town of Delmenhorst.
Media captionNiels H hid behind a folder during his trial
Police say the abnormalities stretch back to 2000 at another clinic in Oldenburg.
They said staff had a meeting there in 2001 to discuss the strange levels of deaths and resuscitations, but did not report the levels to police, and Niels H was able to move to the Delmenhorst clinic.
A special police commission was set up in 2014 to investigate the case.
It has been analysing hundreds of medical records and exhumed 134 bodies to test samples for drug residue.
The investigations have been made more difficult because many patients were cremated.
"The findings continue to breach any imagination," said Oldenburg police chief Johann Kuhme. "It is simply not possible to say how many people were killed."
Mr Kuhme warned the number could still rise further. The new charges are now likely to be filed at the beginning of 2018, he said.
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Actor Ed Skrein quits Hellboy after whitewashing criticism

Actor Ed Skrein attends the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, CaliforniaImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionThe rapper and actor is known for roles in Deadpool, The Transporter Refueled and Game of Thrones
British actor Ed Skrein has pulled out of a role in the upcoming Hellboy reboot after a backlash because he was cast as a character of Asian heritage.
The Deadpool star, 34, said he did not know the race of Major Ben Daimio when he accepted the part in the comic book adaptation.
He said he was stepping down "so the role can be cast appropriately".
The initial casting prompted accusations of Hollywood "whitewashing" following other recent rows.
Skrein noted in a statement posted to his 34,000 Twitter followers that there had been "intense conversation and understandable upset" since he was cast in the film as the Japanese-American character.
"It is clear that representing this character in a culturally accurate way holds significance for people, and that to neglect this responsibility would continue a worrying tendency to obscure ethnic minority stories and voices in the arts," he said.
The move won immediate praise from many on social media, including from people who were not previously fans.
"Thank you for doing this. You just gained a follower and I'll definitely check out the next thing you work on," one person said.
There have been several recent controversies over actors being cast as characters of different races in film adaptations.
But Skrein's decision marks the first time a white actor has left a high-profile film project after receiving criticism, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film's producers - Larry Gordon, Lloyd Levin, Millennium and Lionsgate - said in a statement that they supported his decision.
"Ed came to us and felt very strongly about this. We fully support his unselfish decision," the statement, as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter, said.
"It was not our intent to be insensitive to issues of authenticity and ethnicity, and we will look to recast the part with an actor more consistent with the character in the source material."
Hellboy is due to be released next year.
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Nhiều học sinh bị cay mắt, mẩn ngứa sau khi trường phun thuốc diệt muỗi

Một số học sinh trường Quang Trung, quận Đống Đa, Hà Nội, bỗng nhiên cay mắt, mẩn ngứa, nghi do dị ứng hóa chất diệt muỗi.

Theo lãnh đạo Trường Trung học cơ sở Quang Trung, chiều 11/8 trường tiến hành phun hóa chất diệt muỗi phòng bệnh sốt xuất huyết. Sau một ngày đêm được phun thuốc, trường đã tổ chức vệ sinh toàn bộ lớp học. Sáng 14/8, một số học sinh đến trường bỗng nhiên thấy cay mắt, ngứa, nổi mẩn da, nguyên nhân có thể do bị dị ứng thuốc diệt muỗi. 10 em được cô giáo cho nghỉ học buổi chiều.
nhieu-hoc-sinh-bi-cay-mat-mn-ngua-sau-khi-truong-phun-thuoc-diet-muoi
Một số học sinh trường Quang Trung cay mắt, mẩn ngứa sau khi trường phun thuốc diệt muỗi. Ảnh: P.T.
Trường đã gửi thông báo tới toàn thể phụ huynh về sự việc, kèm theo hướng dẫn bố mẹ dùng thuốc nhỏ mắt cho con, chườm đá nếu bị ngứa. Trong trường hợp nổi mẩn mề đay thì cho uống thuốc dị ứng.
Theo tiến sĩ Nguyễn Nhật Cảm, Giám đốc Trung tâm Y tế Dự phòng Hà Nội, việc dị ứng thuốc diệt muỗi có thể xảy ra với trẻ có cơ địa nhạy cảm dị ứng. Hóa chất dùng để phun diệt muỗi đều là loại được Bộ Y tế cấp phép, đảm bảo an toàn, thời gian cách ly tối thiểu từ một đến hai giờ, vì thế người dân không nên quá lo lắng.
Sau khi phun thuốc diệt muỗi, cần chờ cho thuốc khô khoảng 30 phút là có thể vào nhà. Người bệnh đường hô hấp, cơ địa dị ứng hoặc trẻ nhỏ dễ bị kích ứng (có thể bị ho) nên tránh khỏi nơi phun thuốc lâu hơn 2-3 giờ.
Hiện Bộ Y tế cho phép lưu hành 3 hóa chất diệt muỗi gồm deltamethrine, permethrine và malathion. Khi có ổ dịch thì đàn muỗi tại khu vực dịch nhiễm virus dengue, vì thế cần phun thuốc để diệt nguồn gây bệnh, không cho đốt người lành để truyền bệnh. Khi diệt muỗi trong phạm vi gia đình, người dân nên tham khảo ý kiến của các nhà côn trùng học hoặc liên hệ với khoa kiểm soát bệnh truyền nhiễm hay dịch tễ của Trung tâm y tế dự phòng quận, huyện, tỉnh để được hướng dẫn.
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IS conflict: Iraqi jets bomb Tal Afar ahead of ground assault

Iraqi federal police armoured vehicles are transported to the frontline outside Tal Afar (15 August 2017)Image copyrightAFP
Image captionThe Iraqi federal police said armoured and special forces units were "regrouping" outside Tal Afar
Iraqi warplanes are bombarding the jihadist group Islamic State's positions in Tal Afar, in preparation for a ground assault on the town.
Tal Afar became the last IS stronghold in northern Iraq in July after the government declared victory in the city of Mosul, 55km (35 miles) to the east.
It is not known when the offensive will begin, but army, police and special forces units are heading to the town.
Thousands of civilians have meanwhile fled the area, according to the UN.
Tal Afar, which had a predominantly Shia Muslim population of 200,000 before it fell to IS in June 2014, sits on a major road between Mosul and the Syrian border that was once a key supply route for the jihadist group.
In November 2016, a month after the launch of the Mosul offensive, the Shia-led paramilitary Popular Mobilisation (Hashd al-Shaabi) force took the road to the west of the town and captured an airbase just to the south.
Shia paramilitary fighters take a rest during a live ammunition training exercise in Najaf city, southern Iraq, 14 August 2017Image copyrightEPA
Image captionShia paramilitary fighters - seen here during an exercise in Najaf - have helped surround Tal Afar
The route was later severed on the eastern side of Tal Afar as troops sought to prevent IS sending reinforcements and supplies to Mosul.
Federal police chief Lt Gen Raed Shakir Jawdat discussed plans to retake the town on Monday, saying armoured and elite units were "regrouping in combat positions".
Popular Mobilisation spokesman Ahmed al-Assadi told AFP news agency on Tuesday that its commanders had met their army and police counterparts to "decide on the plan to free Tal Afar".
Although the bombardment of the town by Iraqi air force and US-led coalition warplanes has intensified in recent days, targeting IS headquarters, tunnels and weapons stores, there are no indications as to when Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi might announce the start of the assault.
However, an unnamed officer overseeing the operation told the Associated Press that troops were not expected to push into Tal Afar for another few weeks.
Map showing control of Iraq and Syria (7 August 2017)
Last month, a senior Iraqi commander who once served as mayor of Tal Afar said between 1,500 and 2,000 militants and their family members were holed up inside the town.
Maj-Gen Najm al-Jabouri told Reuters news agency the jihadists were "worn out and demoralised" and that he did not expect a fierce battle for the town like the one for Mosul, which lasted almost nine months and took a heavy toll on Iraqi forces.
He described the terrain in Tal Afar as "favourable" to Iraqi forces, noting that only one part of the town had narrow streets comparable to those seen in Mosul's Old City. Few civilians are believed to be left in Tal Afar, with 49,000 having fled since April.
UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator Lise Grande described the conditions in Tal Afar as "very tough", with shortages of food and water, and said civilians escaping were having to walk for up to 20 hours to reach safety and assistance.
Neighbouring Turkey has said it will be watching the operation in Tal Afar closely. The town was once home to a sizeable ethnic Turkmen community and Turkish officials have expressed concern that Iraqi Kurdish and Shia Arab forces may attempt to prevent them returning once it is recaptured.
Beside Tal Afar, IS controls territory around Hawija, 170km (105 miles) to the south-east; and from Ana to Al-Qaim in the Euphrates river valley, 220km to the south.
In a separate development on Wednesday, officials said seven Iraqi security personnel had been killed in an attack by five suicide bombers wearing explosive belts in the Baiji region, 175km south-east of Tal Afar.
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