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AP International NewsBrief at 11:00 a.m. EDT(Associated Press Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Anger over Finnish deal on Greek bailoutBRUSSELS (AP) _ A little-noticed deal requiring Greece to put up collateral in order to receive a bailout loan from Finland triggered similar requests from several other eurozone countries Thursday, complicating a broader 109 billion euro ($157 billion) Europe-wide bailout of Greece. The Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria and Slovakia said that they were also demanding collateral from Greece. Syria comes under mounting pressure amid bloodshedBEIRUT (AP) _ The U.S. and its European allies called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign Thursday as activists reported more bloodshed overnight and a high-level U.N. human rights team said Assad's crackdown on dissent "may amount to crimes against humanity." Assad is coming under mounting criticism for his assault on a 5-month-old uprising. Human rights groups and witnesses accuse Syrian troops of firing on largely unarmed protesters and say more than 1,800 civilians have been killed since mid-March. AP Source: Aruba suspect tried to redeem policySAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ A Maryland man detained in Aruba in the presumed death of his travel partner had an accidental-death insurance policy on her for $1.5 million and sought to claim the money two days after reporting her missing, a person who provided information to the investigation has told The Associated Press. The details of the policy obtained by Gary V. Giordano before his trip to Aruba may help explain why he has been detained on suspicion of involvement in the death of Robyn Gardner during their short getaway to the Dutch Caribbean island. Attackers from Egypt kill 7 inside IsraelJERUSALEM (AP) _ Squads of gunmen armed with heavy weapons and explosives crossed into southern Israel from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Thursday, killing seven Israelis in an audacious series of attacks, officials said. The violence stoked concerns about Palestinian militants exploiting instability in Egypt. The attacks began around midday and lasted for about three hours. Israeli security forces tracked down some of the attackers and killed several in a gunbattle, military spokesman Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai said. Defense officials said three bodies were booby-trapped and Israeli TV channels said seven assailants were killed. There was no word on whether any attackers were captured alive. How Boris Yeltsin defeated 1991 Communist coupMOSCOW (AP) _ No picture better tells the story of Russia's failed 1991 coup than that of a fist-pumping Boris Yeltsin defying Communist hard-liners from the top of a tank. Those who were by Yeltsin's side describe his decision 20 years ago Friday to climb onto the tank as a stroke of political brilliance that proved crucial for the defeat of the coup. They also recall numerous other factors, some less known, that combined to give Yeltsin the victory he needed to become the undisputed leader of Russia as the Soviet Union collapsed. Explosions shake Libyan capital as rebels advanceZINTAN, Libya (AP) _ Five loud explosions shook the center of Libya's capital Thursday afternoon, possibly striking near Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli, as rebels in the western mountains claimed control of the Zawiya oil refinery. The thunderous blasts rattled a hotel where journalists stay in Tripoli. Gadhafi's compound is near the hotel and a frequent target of air raids. Turkey vows more strikes against rebel targetsANKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey's air force attacked 60 suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq, the military said Thursday, and it vowed to continue the assault until the guerrilla group is "rendered ineffective." The attacks, which also involved 168 rounds of artillery, occurred in the largely mountainous region near the Turkey-Iraq border and on Mount Qandil on the Iraqi-Iranian border, where the leaders of the rebel group Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, are believed to be hiding, the military said in a statement. Russia loses newly launched telecom satelliteMOSCOW (AP) _ Russia lost contact with a communications satellite shortly after its launch Thursday, the government space agency said, the latest in a series of failures that has dogged the nation's space program. The Express-AM4 satellite, described by officials as Russia's most powerful telecommunications satellite, was launched atop a Proton-M booster rocket from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Oil companies investigate report of sheen in GulfLONDON (AP) _ A new oil sheen was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, although energy company BP said Thursday the discovery had nothing to do with its operations and was far from the site of its disaster-hit Macondo well. A spokesman for another company involved in investigating the sheen said he believed it had already dissipated since being first spotted last week. Police make new arrest in UK phone hacking inquiryLONDON (AP) _ British police made a new arrest Thursday in the country's tabloid phone hacking scandal, while an actress and her ex-soccer player husband announced they had agreed to a settlement with the now-shuttered News of The World tabloid. Police in London confirmed a 38-year-old man, who they declined to name, was arrested at a London police station after he arrived voluntarily Thursday. He is the 13th person to be arrested so far in the saga _ only one of those arrested has already been cleared. (c) 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |