News brief

Russia holds a U.S. soldier in pretrial detention. The U.S. Army says the soldier arrested in Russia late last week is being held in a pretrial detention facility. U.S. and Russian officials say Staff Sgt. Gordon Black flew to Russia to see his girlfriend and is accused of stealing from her. The Army confirmed on May 7 that he did not seek clearance for the international travel and it was not authorized by the Defense Department. The State Department strongly advises U.S. citizens not to go to Russia, and it is extremely unlikely he would have been granted approval.