Sweden issues maritime warning for Russia’s Baltic Sea drill
Swedish authorities have issued a warning to civilian maritime traffic on the Baltic Sea due to the Russian Navy’s military drills and missile tests this week.
Marie Hallerfelt of the Swedish Maritime Administration says April 3 that Russian artillery exercises in three separate areas in the southern and southeastern Baltic Sea means those regions will be temporarily dangerous to navigation from early April 4 until late April 6.
The drills — which reportedly include firing missiles from Russian vessels — are taking place between Sweden, Poland and Latvia and come remarkably close to the southern Swedish city of Karlskrona, which hosts a key naval base.
Latvia’s defense ministry last week summoned Russia’s military attache to express its concern over the naval drill, calling it provocative and an unnecessary demonstration of force. AP
German army approves maternity uniform for pregnant troops
Germany’s military is rolling out a line of maternity uniform for pregnant soldiers following successful field tests last year.
Germany’s defense ministry says some 80 volunteers tested a range of uniforms as well as underwear and tights, and their feedback will be considered.
It said “our goal in the end is to buy uniforms that best meet the requirements of the users.”
In a statement April 4, the ministry confirmed a report by German news agency dpa that it plans to buy 500 sets of uniforms for about 650,000 euros ($800,865).
It said that about two percent of Germany’s 20,000 female soldiers are pregnant. AP
Romanian police fine 5 U.S. Marines over bar tab dispute
Romanian police have questioned seven U.S. Navy sailors based in Romania over an altercation in a bar and fined five of them.
Police spokeswoman Mihaela Gird says officers were called after the sailors left a bar in southern Romania where they allegedly refused to pay for drinks early April 1.
Gird said Monday that the Americans “were noisy, and measures were taken to calm the tense situation.”
The sailors are based at a U.S. missile defense site in the southern Romanian town of Deveselu.
A local police spokesman says five sailors were collectively fined 3,300 lei ($874).
The U.S. Navy says a total of seven sailors were involved and all were released. The Navy says it is conducting an internal investigation. AP
U.S. says its airstrike kills 5 militants in central Somalia
The U.S. military has announced April 1 that it launched an airstrike that killed five extremist militants in central Somalia.
The U.S. Africa Command confirmed to the Associated Press that the airstrike was near El-Bur.
The U.S. said it assessed that no civilians were killed in the airstrike.
Two Somali intelligence officials told AP on April 1 that the airstrike targeted a vehicle carrying senior al-Shabab officials and the dead included a woman. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity for their security.
Al-Shabab officials did not immediately comment on the incident. However, pro-al-Shabab media outlets reported that only two civilians were killed in the airstrike, quoting senior commanders of the militant group.
The U.S. has carried out more than a dozen drone strikes against al-Shabab since last year, after the Trump administration approved expanded military efforts against the extremist group.
The U.S. said the latest airstrike, like others, was carried out in cooperation with Somalia’s government. AP