All crew members of the vessel Lehmann Timber remain on the ship, including Estonian mate Ardo Kallo. Lehmann Timber was hijacked by Somali pirates on May 28. The head of the Ukrainian crisis headquarters said that he had a telephone conversation with the vessel's captain on June 30. The captain said all crew members are on the ship and their mental and physical condition is satisfactory.
The Greens chose Marek Strandberg, vice-chairman of the party group in parliament, to be their principal speaker. The Greens' press officer told BNS that another possible candidate for the position was Mikk Sarv. Strandberg was supported by seven members of the board, Sikk got six votes. The board selected from its members a principal speaker who will also perform the duties of board chairman.
Three women were part of a light infantry unit that left for Iraq on July 2 on a six-month mission. The commander of the 32-strong ESTPLA-17 is Lt. Raul Kadase. This is the first time women have been sent into combat in Iraq. Their area of responsibility will be Sab al Bor north of the capital Baghdad. ESTPLA-16 returned from their six-month mission on June 11. The platoon performed 98 patrols and operations, the longest of them lasted for up to 21 hours.
