US ban on openly gay military personnel suspended

A US judge has ordered a nationwide halt to enforcement of the country's ban on openly gay military personnel.

US District Judge Virginia Phillips last month ruled the "don't ask, don't tell" policy unconstitutional.

Under the policy, gay people can serve in the military but face expulsion if their sexuality is discovered.

President Barack Obama and some military leaders have called for it to be overturned. A legislative attempt to do so failed in the Senate last month.

The US Department of Justice has 60 days to appeal but may opt not to do so.

Last month the ban was also ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in Washington state. A judge there ordered the US Air Force to reinstate a nurse sacked under the policy.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon has been studying how gay people can be integrated into the US military and is to report on its findings later this year.

Under the policy, established in 1993 under former President Bill Clinton, the US military is forbidden to inquire about service members' sexual orientation, but can expel people discovered to be homosexual.

The lawsuit was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay Republican group, on behalf of openly gay military personnel who had been discharged under the policy.

Supporters of the ban say allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military would lower troop morale and hinder military readiness.

BBC News

Crowd trouble sees Italy tie abandoned

(CNN) -- The Euro 2012 Group C qualifier between Italy and Serbia in Genoa has been abandoned after just six minutes of action, following serious crowd trouble.

Disturbances in the area of the Marassi stadium where the visiting fans were congregated saw the kick-off delayed by over 30 minutes.

And, when play did eventually begin, referee Craig Thomson stopped the match after flares were thrown from the same end as the earlier disturbances, with one appearing to strike Italian goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.

Following consultations between UEFA, Italian and Serbian officials, the players left the pitch, without returning.

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told reporters: "We're not playing this game. I have never seen anything like this before".

Before kick-off, three Serb fans climbed onto a security screen and initially refused to get down, while police, firemen and stewards surrounded the visiting fans as flares and objects were hurled at the Italian fans.

In the other Group C matches, Slovenia claimed a vital 1-0 win in Estonia to move up to second place in the table, level with Italy who still lead the way on goal difference.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland, who held Italy to a 0-0 draw in Belfast on Friday, needed a late Kyle Lafferty goal to scrape a 1-1 draw in the Faroe Islands.

CNN

Messages for miners from around the world

(CNN) -- Efforts to rescue 33 miners trapped in Chile for nearly two months have riveted people around the world. Many have sent messages of hope and encouragement. Here are excerpts, as posted online by the Chilean Mining Ministry:

"We think a lot about you and wish you all the best and a quick rescue. What is the first thing you want to do? Kind regards from Class 5" -- From a class in Vaxholm, Sweden

"God is with all of you, and the Bolivian people are confident that you will leave well. Be strong, miners of Bolivia and Chile, you are our pride" -- Javier Cabrera of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

"I'm Brazilian, I live in London and I'm following closely the developments of all that's being done to get you out. May God be with you all, brave workers!" -- Lucia de Almeida of London, England

"What health envy (we have) of the strength, bravery and unity of the Chilean miners and authorities. Onward and upward, Chileans. May God always protect you." -- Carlos Herrerra C. of Quito, Ecuador

"May God shine a light on all of the people who are working for you so that you can successfully leave. From a Chilean who lives in Brazil." -- Liliana Salazar-Pena of Sao Paulo, Brazil

"A Chilean never slacks off! The world admires your courage. You are not alone, men. Keep going, guys!" -- Rene Contreras Laval of Port Quebec, Canada

"If through the night there is crying, in the morning there will be shouts of joy. Psalms 30:5. God, who we cannot see, is with you all" -- Paula and Tiago Arrias of Berrien Springs, Michigan

"Take strength, brothers. God is with you, the creator of the sky and the land loves you" -- Juan Merino Villalobos of Rancagua, Chile

"Strength, friends! The end is almost near, and soon we will celebrate together the effort of an entire country to see you happy" -- The Mancilla Osses family of Santiago, Chile

"Strength, miners. I give you all my blessings and strength so that the day of rescue goes in optimal conditions." -- Valeria Cortest Tello of Antofagasta, Chile

CNN

Mexican investigator in Falcon Lake case beheaded, Texas lawmaker says

(CNN) -- The severed head of the lead Mexican investigator in the Falcon Lake case, Rolando Armando Flores Villegas, was delivered Tuesday in a suitcase to the Mexican military, Texas Rep. Aaron Pena told CNN.

But a spokesman for the attorney general of Tamaulipas state in Mexico said he had not heard the report.

"We have nothing official," said Ruben Dario-Rios, the spokesman. "We have not heard any report about one of our investigators being killed. We have over 1,000 investigators working for the state".

The report came a day after authorities in the Tamaulipas state attorney general's office gave conflicting information on whether authorities were pursuing a pair of suspects in the case of a U.S. citizen who disappeared during a sightseeing trip on the U.S.-Mexican border in South Texas.

While Luis Homero Uvalle, a spokesman for the office, told CNN the suspects are brothers who are "well known to this area" -- identifying them only as "El 27" and "El 31" -- Dario-Rios, the chief spokesman for the attorney general said, "We have nothing official about suspects in the disappearance of David Hartley. I do not know where that is coming from".

CNN

Flooding displaces nearly 700 people in Nigeria

(CNN) -- Nearly 700 people in a small town within Lagos, Nigeria, will be moved to a relief camp due to heavy flooding that has plagued the region since September, according to a state governor.

Babatunde Raji Fashola made the announcement Monday while on a tour of flood-impacted areas.

In all, 681 people from the town of Ajegunle will be relocated to camps specially built for relief efforts, he said.

The flooding began last month when the Ogun River rose above its banks after the opening of a dam. No casualties have been reported.

While speaking to affected residents, Fashola emphasized that the area is in a flood plain and that people must be ready to move.

He said that the government alone can't solve the problem and they need help from everyone in the area to get through the flooding and limit the damage, asking residents to refrain from using flood-stricken roads.

CNN

Obama administration lifts deep-water drilling moratorium

Washington (CNN) -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday that the Obama administration is lifting the moratorium on deep-water oil drilling it put in place after the Gulf oil disaster.

Operators must comply with new rules and regulations in order to get permission to resume drilling, Salazar said.

"There will always be risks associated with deep-water drilling," Salazar said. "We have reached a point where we have significantly reduced those risks".

The six-month moratorium was first issued by Salazar in May after the April 20 explosion of the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 people and triggered one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

When a federal judge overturned the ban and an appeals court agreed, Salazar issued a second ban in June that was scheduled to expire in November.

Critics of the ban, including Republican leaders, Gulf state officials and Gulf coast residents, said it would only hurt oil and gas workers in the already hard-hit coastal communities where hundreds of jobs were lost because of the disaster.

Salazar said the moratorium provided time to make sure similar accidents involving a failed piece of equipment called a blowout preventer wouldn't occur, and that rig operators were prepared to deal with worst-case scenarios if it did happen.

Under the new requirements, operators must show that their proposed development and exploration plans can deal with potential blowouts and undergo detailed inspections and design reviews of blowout preventers by independent third parties, said Michael Bromwich, the new head of the federal agency that oversees offshore oil drilling.

CNN

Cargo plane crashes near Afghan capital

(CNN) -- Security forces have embarked on a search for a military cargo plane that crashed in the Afghan mountains near Kabul on Tuesday.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force said the crash occurred before 8 p.m. around 25 to 30 kilometers (15 to 18 miles) east of Kabul International Airport.

Ros Mohammad, Afghanistan's deputy minister of transport, said the crash took place around Mahipar Mountain east of the capital.

A source from the Afghan air force said the cargo plane took off from Bagram air base and was landing at Kabul airport, which amounts to a 30- to 45-minute flight, The source wasn't authorized to speak about the matter and asked for anonymity.

An ISAF statement said the plane was not an ISAF aircraft, and Lt. Col. John Dorrian, ISAF spokesman, said the aircraft was from Uganda.

"Early reports indicate the plane is an L-100 Hercules aircraft, the civilian equivalent of a military C-130," the statement said. ISAF said the airport is expected to remain open.

Afghan and ISAF service members were conducting the search-and-rescue mission.

The incident comes on the same day a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a NATO helicopter after it landed in Kunar province. That strike killed an Afghan interpreter and wounded eight people -- seven NATO-led service members and an Afghan police officer. There were 26 people on the craft.

CNN

New issue of jihadi magazine offers terror tips

(CNN) -- The second edition of an online al Qaeda magazine has surfaced with frank essays, creatively designed imagery and ominous terror tips such as using a pickup truck as a weapon and shooting up a crowded restaurant in Washington.

The magazine is called "Inspire" and intelligence officials believe that an American citizen named Samir Khan now living in Yemen, is the driving force behind the publication.

The latest edition was published on the 10th anniversary of the suicide attack on the USS Cole -- struck as it refueled in Aden, Yemen. The first edition came out in July.

An article entitled "The Ultimate Mowing Machine" calls for using a pickup truck as a "mowing machine, not to mow grass but mow down the enemies of Allah".

The article says that such a plan could be implemented in countries where people back the "Israeli occupation of Palestine, the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq or countries that had a prominent role in the defamation of Muhammad".

It said a four wheel drive pickup truck is needed -- "the stronger the better".

"To achieve maximum carnage, you need to pick up as much speed as you can while still retaining good control of your vehicle in order to maximize your inertia and be able to strike as many people as possible in your first run," the article says.

Another tip in the magazine includes the use of firearms.

CNN

Workers building emergency dams to stem second toxic spill

Devecer, Hungary (CNN) -- Workers in Hungary were racing Tuesday to build three emergency dams to stem an expected second toxic spill from an aluminum plant.

Some 500,000 cubic meters of toxic red sludge is in the plant's reservoir, whose wall shows signs of ruptures and cracks, said Gyorgi Tottos, a spokeswoman with Hungary's emergency services department.

Officials say it's only a matter of time before the wall breaks and spews the sludge across the landscape, she said.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso was in Hungary on Tuesday for a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The spill was one topic on their agenda and Barroso reiterated the European Union's promise of assistance and help, Barroso spokesman Cezary Lewanowicz told CNN.

The amount of sludge that remains in the reservoir is about half the amount that spilled out a week ago, inundating three villages, killing eight people, and leaving the landscape covered in red.

It wasn't clear when the emergency dams would be finished. Officials had said the dams would be finished by Tuesday morning, but later they pushed it back to Wednesday morning.

Crews were also trying to remove a layer of liquid from the top of the sludge in the reservoir in order to make the mud less mobile if the wall breaks.

CNN

French unions strike over pension reforms

Paris, France (CNN) -- French unions began a strike Tuesday over pension reforms days after the Senate approved raising the country's retirement age from 60 to 62.

Turnout for the strike -- the fourth in the past month -- was larger than it has been for previous strikes. Workers in French refineries were also joining the labor action, raising the specter of fuel and gas shortages if the strikes continue.

Rather than end the strike after 24 hours, as the unions have previously done, this time they promised to vote on a day-by-day basis whether to continue. A prolonged strike could lead to chaos with transportation and the delivery of goods.

Francois Chereque, head of the trade union French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT), said Tuesday it is the unions' "last chance to make the government back down".

"We understand that a reform is needed, but this one is not fair," he said. "This is going to be a big demonstration and the government is playing with fire. The only way we can make the government back down is by taking a tough line".

Chereque said he wanted the walkouts to last, but he noted many employees don't have the means to pay for repeated strikes.

CNN

Jurors begin deliberations in Anna Nicole Smith drug trial

Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Jurors in the drug trial of Anna Nicole Smith's boyfriend-lawyer Howard K. Stern and two doctors begin deliberations Tuesday morning.

The case raised questions about ethical boundaries in a doctor-patient relationship, the prescribing of painkillers and anti-anxiety medicines and the use of fake names when treating celebrities.

The prosecution alleged that Stern and Drs. Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich conspired to feed the reality TV star and Playboy model's drug addiction and using false names to obtain the drugs over the last three years of her life.

They are not charged in Smith's February 2007 death in a Florida hotel, which a medical examiner ruled was an accidental overdose of a sleep aid combined with a viral flu.

While the prosecution presented nearly two months of testimony, the defense called only one witness -- an expert who concluded that Smith suffered from chronic pain, depression and anxiety, not drug addiction.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Robert Perry suggested during the trial that prosecutors fell short of proving Smith was a drug addict as defined by California law.

The defense argued her drug dependency was legal since it was for legitimate medical purposes, including for treatment of her pain and anxiety.

CNN

Lim makes bid for Liverpool as owners begin court battle

London, England (CNN) -- Singaporean businessman Peter Lim lodged a new offer Tuesday for Liverpool Football Club, as the owners of the team went to court in London to contest an earlier bid.

Lim said his proposal represents a total investment of 360 million pounds ($570.8 million), including 40 million pounds ($63.4 million) for the purchase of new players. The offer is entirely in cash, he said.

Liverpool's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, were at the High Court in London Tuesday opposing the team's acquisition by New England Sports Ventures (NESV), the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox.

Their lawyers said Tuesday the men no longer oppose the sale, but rather the procedure by which the deal was reached. Hicks and Gillett believe superior offers were on the table and, in the end, were not chosen, their lawyers said.

If Hicks and Gillett win, it could see the five-time European champions put into administration.

CNN

Freed Russian spy now adviser of Russian bank

Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- One of the spies freed in a U.S.-Russia swap this summer has been hired as the adviser to a Russian bank, a bank spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.

She is Anna Chapman, one of of the 10 people handed over to Russia by the United States in exchange for four Russian prisoners -- a transfer that conjured the politics and tensions during the Cold War.

Chapman has been hired as adviser of Russia's FundServiceBank's president, Alexander Volovnik, and is responsible for investments and innovations as of October 1.

A written statement published on the bank's website, says that Chapman will be focusing on "IT innovations, and is currently working on a book about the new opportunities that internet offers in that area".

She is also working on a "culturological project related to space exploration," which is why she visited the Baikonur space launch complex recently, the statements says.

CNN

Yucatan may feel wrath of Hurricane Paula on Tuesday

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- Small but powerful Hurricane Paula was closing in on the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Tuesday after strengthening into a hurricane earlier in the day, forecasters said.

As of 8 a.m. ET, the center of Paula was located about 190 miles (310 kilometers) south-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico. It was moving northwest at about 10 mph (17 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm's maximum sustained winds were at 75 mph (120 kph).

The center of Paula is expected to approach the east coast of the Yucatan Tuesday night and Wednesday, forecasters said. Tracking maps show it brushing the peninsula, then heading eastward and affecting western Cuba, possibly as a tropical storm, later in the week.

A hurricane warning was in effect for coastal Mexico from Punta Gruesa northward to Cabo Catoche, including Cozumel, the Hurricane Center said. A tropical storm warning was in effect from Chetumal, Mexico, northward to south of Punta Gruesa, and the from Cabo Catoche to San Felipe. A tropical storm warning for the Honduran coast and the bay islands was canceled Tuesday morning.

Paula is currently a Category 1 hurricane, and some slight strengthening is possible over the next day or two, forecasters said.

CNN