Stars & Stripes

NAPLES, Italy — After a 20-year presence in Sigonella, Sicily, the Navy is moving its Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 to Rota, Spain, officials announced Friday.

For the first time, flu shots will be mandatory for students to attend Defense Department schools in Europe, education officials announced this week.

Taxi drivers prefer 20-year-old yellow Corollas with the steering wheel on the right side, British style. Families opt for a practical Corolla in a neutral color from the late ’90s. Young men with good jobs might go for a flashier new Corolla with a spoiler and a sporting decal across the back window saying “Special Drag and Street Fighter””or maybe just “Corolla.””

Yokota base officials are cracking down harder on civilians who owe money to the military hospital.

SEOUL — Officials from North Korea and the American-led United Nations Command held a “substantive” third planning session on Friday morning to prepare for higher-level talks about the March sinking of a South Korean patrol ship, a UNC spokesman said.

Not even Mother Nature could slow down Jason Perry as he fought through lightning delays and downpours en route to his fourth consecutive U.S. Air Forces in Europe golf championship Thursday at Ramstein Air Base’s Woodlawn Golf Course.

Its imposing cliffs, ancient fortifications and desolate location helped make Masada a safe palatial refuge for King Herod the Great years before it was taken over by Jewish rebels and then seized by Roman soldiers in 73 A.D.

You can’t find wine this good just anywhere. Germany is world-renowned for white wines, especially Rieslings. The fertile, granular soil, temperate climate and long hours of summer daylight in Germany’s southwestern regions are ideal for growing the grapes for these elegant, aromatic varietals.

From a pet bunny toy that runs around twitching its nose to a toy figure that bears a striking resemblance to Michael Jackson, the 49th annual International Tokyo Toy Show held last month showcased thousands of toys for little kids and big kids too.

Most people looking for a quality drink from Italy think of wine. But think again: Beer is the next big thing in Italian cuisine.

A Japanese appeals court agreed with plaintiffs in a noise suit Thursday, calling Marine Corps Air Station Futenma the “most dangerous air base in the world.”

Five Korea-based soldiers — four assigned to northern Area I posts — have been named to attend the All-Army women’s softball tryout camp from Aug. 25 to Sept. 17 at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., according to an All-Army camp message.

DENMARK: Friday through Sunday, up to 600 Vikings will descend upon Moesgård Beach, about six miles south of Aarhus, for the annual Viking Moot, one of the oldest recorded Viking markets in the world.

In retrospect, maybe I had no business placing a bet. Although it sometimes seems like an old-timey sport, betting on horse racing remains a science of sorts, one that I have never bothered to study.

A joint Afghan-NATO team is looking into an allegation by Afghan President Hamid Karzai — one which coalition officials say seems unfounded so far — that 52 civilians were killed in an airstrike in volatile Helmand province.

Fighter jets from Osan Air Base flew mock combat sorties with live munitions Wednesday in the final day of Invincible Spirit, the four-day U.S.-South Korean show of naval and air power.

But putting the brakes on moving 8,600 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam might hinge on additional approval from the Japanese government and other scenarios not specifically outlined in the military’s final environmental impact statement on the project.

An archeological team from the U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii will be heading to the island of Tarawa to look for remains of Marines and sailors still listed as missing from a bloody World War II battle against Japanese forces.

The base will begin using the biometric IDs in December, so everyone who accesses the post needs to register in the system by March 1. Registration will begin Monday.

Increased patrols by international naval forces have pushed some Somali pirates toward the Red Sea, piracy monitoring officials said.