Combined briefs package

China, India and Pakistan have increased their nuclear weapons by about 10 warheads each in the past year, and other nuclear states appear set on maintaining their arsenals, a Swedish think tank reports. At the start of the year, China had raised its number of nuclear warheads to 250 from 240 in 2012 as part of a process to modernize its defense, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. Pakistan and India also increased their arsenals by about 10 warheads each to 110 and 100 respectively. Meanwhile, the U.S. and Russia continued their disarmament in accordance with the new START treaty that they signed in 2010. The U.S. reduced its number of warheads to 7,700 from 8,000, and Russia cut its arsenal to 8,500 from 10,000.

MARYLAND

Ex-instructor acquitted of sex assault

A former instructor at the Naval Academy has been found not guilty of aggravated sexual assault in an alleged attack on a female midshipman two years ago, an academy spokeswoman said Sunday. Marine Corps Maj. Mark A. Thompson, 43, was found guilty of indecent acts, failure to obey an order or regulation and conduct unbecoming an officer in the 2011 incident, spokeswoman Jenny Erickson said. He is to be sentenced today.

MISSOURI

Wrongful death lawsuit filed in blast

The parents of a woman killed in an explosion and fire at a Kansas City restaurant have filed a lawsuit against several companies. Megan Cramer, 46, died Feb. 19 in a gas explosion that destroyed JJ’s restaurant and injured several other people. A drilling project was under way outside the restaurant, where Cramer was a hostess, when a gas line was severed. Cramer’s body was recovered the day after the explosion. Other lawsuits have also been filed since the explosion.

GERMANY

Central Europe hit by floods

Authorities in parts of central Europe issued disaster warnings and scrambled to reinforce flood defenses Sunday as rivers swollen by days of heavy rain threatened to burst their banks. Several people have died or are missing in the floods in Germany, the Czech Republic and Switzerland since Thursday. Some residents also have been evacuated from flooding in southwestern Poland. Czech officials expected waters of the Vltava river to reach critical levels in Prague late Sunday. In Germany, where at least four people have died or are missing, Chancellor Angela Merkel promised federal support for affected areas and said the army would be deployed if necessary.

ISRAEL

Soldiers punished for racy photos

The Israeli military said Sunday that it has disciplined female soldiers who posed for photos in underwear and combat gear and posted the images on Facebook. The incident was the latest in a string of episodes involving young Israeli soldiers on social media that have drawn reprimand from the military. Israeli news site Walla said the women were new recruits stationed on a base in southern Israel. One picture showed the soldiers removing their fatigue uniforms to expose their underwear and back sides. In another, five women posed in what appeared to be a barracks room, dressed only in helmets and a small amount of combat equipment. The faces of the soldiers were blurred in the photos.

FLORIDA

Llama, kangaroo run amok

A 6-foot-tall, 7-year-old llama outran authorities in Tallahassee for a while, even leaping over a 4-foot fence to avoid capture, Leon County Lt. Tony Drzewiecki said Sunday. Scooter the llama, who broke out of his penned-in yard in Tallahassee, was finally captured by three county sheriff’s deputies using a stun gun. Scooter’s owner, Jack Conrad, discovered him missing sometime Friday night and searched for him until the early morning hours of Saturday, Drzewiecki said. Outside of Tampa, meanwhile, authorities chased an errant kangaroo for 10 hours before stopping it Sunday with tranquilizer darts. Authorities in the town of Lacoochee were searching Sunday for the owner of a 200-pound male kangaroo captured after a nearly 10-hour chase.