AP International NewsBrief at 6:41 p.m. EST

In complicating move, al-Qaida backs Syrian revolt

BEIRUT (AP) — Al-Qaida's leader has called for the ouster of Syria's "pernicious, cancerous regime," raising fears that Islamic extremists will try to exploit an uprising against President Bashar Assad that began with peaceful calls for democratic change but is morphing into a bloody, armed insurgency. The regime has long blamed terrorists for the 11-month-old revolt, and al-Qaida's endorsement creates new difficulties for the U.S., its Western allies and Arab states trying to figure out a way to help force Assad from power. On Sunday, the 22-nation Arab League called for the U.N. Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria, but Damascus rejected it immediately.

Rioting engulfs Athens, buildings burn before vote

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek lawmakers on Monday approved harsh new austerity measures demanded by bailout creditors to save the debt-crippled nation from bankruptcy, after rioters in central Athens torched buildings, looted shops and clashed with riot police. The historic vote paves the way for Greece's European partners and the International Monetary Fund to release $170 billion ((EURO)130 billion) in new rescue loans, without which Greece would default on its debt mountain next month and likely leave the eurozone — a scenario that would further roil global markets.

Venezuelans vote to choose Chavez's challenger

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Opponents of President Hugo Chavez voted in their first-ever presidential primary on Sunday, choosing a single challenger they hope will have what it takes to finally defeat Venezuela's leader after 13 years in office. Henrique Capriles, the front-runner among five contenders according to pre-election polls, predicted a high turnout.

AP IMPACT: USAID contractor work in Cuba detailed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Piece by piece, in backpacks and carry-on bags, American aid contractor Alan Gross made sure laptops, smartphones, hard drives and networking equipment were secreted into Cuba. The most sensitive item, according to official trip reports, was the last one: a specialized mobile phone chip that experts say is often used by the Pentagon and the CIA to make satellite signals virtually impossible to track. The purpose, according to an Associated Press review of Gross' reports, was to set up uncensored satellite Internet service for Cuba's small Jewish community.

Dominicans: Deadly voyage seemed doomed from start

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Looking back, survivors say, the voyage seemed doomed from the start: The weather was bad and the clearly overloaded boat seemed barely seaworthy as it set out in the inky pre-dawn darkness in what was supposed to be a 36-hour journey to Puerto Rico. Some passengers noted the fiberglass and wood along the side of the boat was coming apart even before they set off from the northern coast of the Dominican Republic. Luis Cortorreal, a 31-year-old house painter making the journey for the first time, said a few people pleaded with the captain to turn back as waves broke over the bow in a wind-driven rain.

Peru: Leftist rebel leader found badly wounded

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian troops captured on Sunday the badly wounded leader of a remnant of the once-powerful Shining Path rebel group, effectively dismantling a well-armed faction that lived off the cocaine trade, President Ollanta Humala said. Humala, a former army lieutenant colonel, flew to the remote coca-growing Upper Huallaga Valley of central Peru to congratulate the police and soldiers who had snared the 50-year-old rebel, Comrade Artemio, and two of his confederates.

Arab League wants UN peacekeepers in Syria

CAIRO (AP) — The Arab League called Sunday for the U.N. Security Council to create a joint peacekeeping force for Syria and urged Arab states to sever all diplomatic contact with President Bashar Assad's regime, the League's latest effort to bring an end to the violence that has killed more than 5,000 people. Syria immediately rejected the moves, spelled out in a resolution adopted by League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo.

US admiral says forces prepared to confront Iran

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — The top U.S. Navy official in the Gulf said Sunday he takes Iran's military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region. Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet, told reporters at the naval force's Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has "built a wide range of potential options to give the president" and is "ready today" to confront any hostile action by Tehran.

9 die in Kosovo avalanche; child pulled out alive

RESTELICA, Kosovo (AP) — Rescuers have pulled a 5-year-old girl alive from the rubble of a house flattened by a massive avalanche that killed both her parents and at least seven of her relatives in a remote mountain village in southern Kosovo. Col. Shemsi Syla, a spokesman for the Kosovo Security Force, said Sunday officers discovered the girl when they heard her voice and cell phone. Her home was buried under 10 meters (33 feet) of snow.

UN consultant shot dead in Cairo

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian woman who worked for the United Nations as a freelance consultant was fatally shot in the head while driving through an upscale Cairo neighborhood on Sunday, security officials said. It was not immediately clear whether the woman, identified as 41 year-old Nermeen Gomaa Khalil, was targeted or killed in a random crime. Police said she was shot by unidentified gunmen passing in another car, but no one has been arrested.