Stars and Stripes Daily Headlines

March 10, 2017     Reported patrols by China underline Beijing’s interest in Afghan security Reports that Chinese forces are patrolling inside Afghan territory near the countries’ shared border, if confirmed, would underline China’s desire to play a larger role in regional stability.   Marines will probe nude-photo scandal; Mattis to discuss issue with all services A Marine Corps task force will investigate the nude-photo scandal and scrutinize internal cultural issues and policies that might have led some male servicemembers to share explicit images of female Marines on the Internet, Gen. Robert Neller, the service’s commandant, announced Friday.   New proposal would restrict VA employees' union activity There’s a new effort in Congress to place restrictions on union activities for employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, following scrutiny over the amount of time workers at the agency spend on union affairs.   AFRICOM: Resource constraints add risk for US forces in Africa Inadequate surveillance, poor supply chain networks and an inefficient personnel-rescue system are putting U.S. forces in Africa at increased risk, U.S. Africa Command warned Thursday.   Backed by US troops, Syrian Kurdish force confident of capturing Raqqa The main Syrian Kurdish force fighting Islamic State militants in northern Syria claimed on Friday that it has enough fighters to take the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa with the help of the U.S.-led coalition — remarks that reflected a veiled warning to Ankara and also to rival, Turkey-backed opposition forces making headway toward the city.   Report reveals details about SEAL unit punished for flying Trump flag The convoy commander noticed that the flag was getting a good deal of attention from civilian drivers, “some of which was negative attention,” according to the documents, but he felt it would be unsafe to pull over on the highway to remove it.   US, Japan wrap up weeklong maritime drills in East China Sea The U.S. and Japan have wrapped up a weeklong exercise in the East China Sea, where tensions have risen with China over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands.   Supporters at Fla. courthouse to back Navy vet beaten after turtle killed Two men accused of torturing a turtle and then beating the disabled veteran who tried to stop them entered not guilty pleas as about a dozen veterans gathered in the courtroom and animal-rights activist demanded justice outside.   Book reveals how the Nazis rode into battle high on crystal meth In the 1930s, a smitten German could buy his fraulein boxed chocolates spiked with methamphetamine. When Germany invaded France in 1940, its soldiers marched on Pervitin, an early form of crystal meth, which kept them perked for the lightning speed of Blitzkrieg warfare.