German parliament approves euro bailout boost

 The bill was adopted by a 523-85 vote, with three abstentions. There were 611 of the 620 parliamentarians present.
 Both the governing and main opposition parties backed the expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). About 20 pro-government deputies had threatened to vote against, but it was not immediately clear how many had done so.
 The list of deputies and how they voted was to be published about an hour later.
 The exact size of the rebellion in Chancellor Angela Merkel's own ranks may spell trouble ahead for her fractious government, which could stalemate it for months. The international community also fears the internal German wrangle may hamper the next stages of a euro rescue.
 The bill increases Germany's guarantee to the EFSF, from 123 billion to 211 billion euros (283 billion dollars).
 To comply with the German constitution, the legislation also ordains that the government may not approve EFSF payouts or changes in EFSF guidelines without the approval of parliament, or the parliamentary budget committee in urgent cases.
 Despite the easy passage of the bill, success or failure for Merkel was to be measured by whether she was able to muster 311 or more votes from her own camp to join the yes vote.
 That is the number of votes she would need if a parliamentary vote of confidence was held. No confidence vote was planned for the time being, but several of her supporters have defined that high bar as the measure of her authority over coalition legislators.