World Briefs

MOGADISHU, Somalia

As a heavily armed U.S. destroyer patrolled nearby and planes flew overhead Sunday, a Somali pirate spokesman told The Associated Press his group was demanding a $20 million ransom to release a cargo ship loaded with Russian tanks.

The spokesman also warned that the pirates would fight to the death if any country tried military action to regain the ship, and a man who said he was the ship's captain reported that one crew member had died.

Pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated ship Faina off the coast of Somalia on Thursday as it headed to Kenya carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts.

The ordnance was ordered by the Kenyan government.

BAGHDAD

Hundreds of Iraqi Christians rallied in northern Iraq on Sunday to protest a new elections law they say denies their rights because it doesn't guarantee their minority any seats on provincial councils.

At least 25 people were killed by attacks in Baghdad and restive Diyala province, including a series of car bombings in the capital that targeted shoppers.

Amid growing criticism Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed parliament to restore the quotas.

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Eight kidnappers of a group of European tourists and their Egyptian guides led soldiers on a high-speed desert chase on Sunday, ending in a firefight that left all but two of the gunmen dead, Sudan's military spokesman said.

The two surviving kidnappers told Sudanese soldiers that the tourists were being held by 35 more gunmen in Chad.

LONDON

British bank Bradford & Bingley will be nationalised soon, according to reports on Sunday, as the global financial crisis appeared set to claim another corporate scalp.

The BBC website, without citing its source, said an announcement was due soon and added that parts of Bradford & Bingley would be sold almost immediately to another bank or banks.

JERUSALEM

The U.S. has provided Israel with an advanced radar system that will give it early warning in case of an Iranian missile attack, Israeli officials said Sunday, confirming a new defense tool in what is potentially the Mideast's deadliest feud.

Israel considers Iran its biggest threat, a view reinforced by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's repeated calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.

The radar system, to be run by some 120 U.S. military personnel, was delivered last week, the Israeli defense officials said.