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US military amends records of those discharged with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

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US military amends records of those discharged with ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Defence secretary says the step helps to ‘redress the harms’ done by the policy, which forced LGBTQ service members to hide their identities.

The United States military has upgraded the records of service members discharged under an old anti-LGBTQ policy known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in an effort to make amends.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that 851 service members who lost their positions under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” had their status changed to “honourable discharge”.

Those who received discharges in categories other than “honourable” often lost out on military benefits, which range from educational funds, healthcare, pensions and other forms of compensation.

“Brave LGBTQ Americans have long volunteered to serve the country that they love. Some of these troops were administratively separated from military service under the now-repealed ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy,” the statement reads.

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“Under President [Joe] Biden’s leadership, the Department of Defense has taken extraordinary steps to redress the harms done by ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and other policies on these former Service members.”

The move is the latest effort to address the legacy of the discriminatory policy, which was issued by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1994.

The directive allowed LGBTQ people to serve in the military so long as they kept their identities hidden. Any openly gay or bisexual people were otherwise vulnerable to expulsion.

Clinton championed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as an alternative to previous military policy, which banned homosexuality outright. The Democrat had hoped to end the ban if elected president but was unable to, as he faced stiff resistance from military leaders and members of Congress.

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That ultimately led to the rise of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Military personnel were not required to reveal their sexual orientation, nor were officials supposed to inquire.

Critics, however, pointed out that the new policy was equally discriminatory. It was ultimately repealed in 2011, allowing LGBTQ people to serve openly in the military.

However, some 13,500 service members were discharged while “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was in force.

The Biden administration has attempted to address historical anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the military, even beyond “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”.

In June, Biden issued “unconditional pardons” to those service members convicted under the now-repealed Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for consensual sex.

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Previously, Article 125 barred sodomy and other “unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex”. Thousands of people had been court-martialed under the law.
Biden’s pardon, however, helped some of those affected regain access to lost benefits.

In the case of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, the Defense Department announced that it would proactively review old records in September 2023.

“After a year of exceptional work, the Military Department Review Boards directed relief in 96.8% of the 851 cases that they proactively reviewed,” said Austin.

Not all of the 13,500 service members needed to have their records reviewed, however, since some had been honourably discharged, had not served in the military long enough to qualify for certain benefits, or were dishonourably discharged due to other reasons.

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

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Israeli Strikes Kill a Journalist and Injure Another in Lebanon

Israeli strikes killed one journalist and wounded another in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, rattling a tenuous cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said the Israeli military had targeted the journalists in the town of Tayri, where they took shelter in a nearby house after an airstrike struck a vehicle in front of the car they were traveling in. About an hour and a half later, a second strike hit the house they were hiding in, according to a statement by a Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which employed the journalist who was killed.

The Lebanese Red Cross said its teams came under fire while trying to evacuate the journalists from the house, forcing them to withdraw. The rescue crews were targeted by a warning strike and machine-gun fire, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Zeinab Faraj, a photojournalist, was rescued from the house. The other journalist, Amal Khalil, who was a reporter for Al-Akhbar, remained trapped under rubble for hours before emergency medics recovered her body, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

In addition to Ms. Khalil, the two people in the car in front of her were killed in the strikes, Al-Akhbar reported.

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Amid the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon, Israel has continued strikes against what it says are Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, citing its right to self-defense. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group, said that it had fired rockets and drones into Israel on Tuesday in response to what it said were violations of the cease-fire. Earlier on Wednesday, the Lebanese News Agency reported that an Israeli drone strike killed one person and wounded two others in another part of the country.

The Lebanese health ministry called the strikes in Tayri a “blatant double breach, involving both the obstruction of rescue efforts for a civilian known for her media and humanitarian work, and the direct targeting of an ambulance clearly marked with the Red Cross.”

The Israeli military denied in a statement that it had prevented rescuers from reaching the injured journalists, and said the incident was under investigation.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military said Israeli forces had spotted two vehicles emerging from a military building used by Hezbollah. The military observed the vehicles cross what the spokeswoman called the forward defense line, determining the move to be a violation of the truce agreement.

The spokeswoman confirmed that the Israeli military had struck one of the vehicles and the building some of the occupants of the second vehicle had taken shelter in.

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Ms. Khalil had covered southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah exercises strong control, since at least 2006. In a tribute to Ms. Khalil, a colleague from Al-Akhbar said she embodied the resilience of the southern Lebanese through her relentless reporting, refusing to leave the front lines of war where thousands of Lebanese had been displaced.

“As with every act of aggression, wearing a press vest did not protect those who wore it from the treachery of the Israeli enemy,” Al-Akhbar said in a statement. “Instead, it has become a danger to journalists’ lives, as part of a systematic Israeli policy aimed at silencing anyone who seeks to expose the crimes and practices of the occupation.”

In a forceful statement on social media, Nawaf Salam, the Lebanese prime minister, accused the Israeli military of war crimes for targeting journalists and obstructing access to medical aid. He said that Lebanon would pursue action to ensure Israel is held accountable with international bodies.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that it was outraged by the attack, and that it raised serious concerns of deliberate targeting.

“The repeated strikes on the same location, the targeting of an area where journalists were sheltering, and the obstruction of medical and humanitarian access constitute a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” said Sara Qudah, CPJ’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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Former Mexican beauty queen found shot dead as investigators examine possible family involvement: reports

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A former Mexican beauty queen was found shot to death in her Mexico City apartment, with investigators examining the possible involvement of her mother-in-law, according to local reports.

Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead inside an apartment in the Polanco neighborhood, one of the city’s most affluent areas, Reporte Índigo, a Mexico-based news outlet, reported. 

Authorities said the death is being investigated as a homicide, after initial findings indicated she suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Emergency responders were called to the scene, where paramedics confirmed she showed no signs of life.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Flores Gómez’s mother-in-law, Erika María, as well as a man described in reports as her partner or husband, may have been involved in her death.

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CALIFORNIA HIKER’S BODY FOUND NAKED IN BIG SUR BACKCOUNTRY

Carolina Flores Gómez was found shot dead in her luxury apartment April 15 in Mexico City. Her mother-in-law has been named the main suspect in the suspected homicide. (Jam Press)

The man, identified as Alejandro, accused his mother of killing Flores Gómez, Mexican news outlet Azteca Guerrero reported.

The outlet also reported that the woman’s mother-in-law was present at the scene when the gun was fired and that authorities are looking into the timeline of when the incident was reported.

WIDOW, SON OF LATE CHICAGO COMMISSIONER FOUND SHOT DEAD INSIDE HOME IN SUSPECTED HOMICIDE

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Mexican prosecutors have opened a homicide with intent case in the death of former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez.  (Jam Press)

Preliminary reports cited by Mexican news outlet Diario Puntual indicate that a security guard at the building did not hear gunshots, adding uncertainty about how the crime occurred.

Authorities in Baja California, Mexico, also responded to the case, Diario Puntual reported.

CIA PERSONNEL KILLED IN MEXICO CRASH TIED TO CARTEL OPERATION; QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER US ROLE

Former beauty queen Carolina Flores Gómez, 27, was found dead in her Mexico City apartment. (Jam Press)

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Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda expressed solidarity with the victim’s family and called for the case to be clarified. 

State prosecutor María Elena Andrade Ramírez also said there is coordination with Mexico City authorities to support the investigation.

Flores Gómez previously competed in beauty pageants and was crowned Miss Teen Universe Baja California in 2017.

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The case has drawn attention in Mexico amid ongoing concerns about violence against women, with advocacy groups calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death.

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The investigation into the matter is open and ongoing.

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks

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‘Blockade and threats’: Iran blames US siege of ports for stalled talks
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