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Third suspect is released in holloway case

Aruba

An Aruba judge Friday ordered the release of the last of three suspects re-arrested last month in the disappearance of American Natalee Holloway, ruling the evidence was not strong enough to continue holding him. Joran van der Sloot, 20, was arrested Nov. 21 along with two other suspects, Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, who were released from jail Dec. 1 after a similar ruling. The three were the last people known to see Holloway, 19, of Mountain Brook, Ala., before she vanished on May 30, 2005, but have denied any role in her disappearance. Holloway was 18 when she disappeared.

South Korea

Tanker oil reaches sensitive shoreline

Oil from a damaged supertanker has reached an ecologically sensitive shoreline on South Korea's western coast, a Coast Guard official said today. About 4 miles of coastline near Mallipo beach, about 95 miles southwest of Seoul, has been affected by the oil, said Jung Se Hi, a spokesman at the Coast Guard headquarters in Incheon. The region is popular for its scenic beaches and is also the site of fish farms and a national maritime park. It's an important rest stop for migrating birds. About 2.7-million gallons of oil gushed from a Hong Kong-registered supertanker after a Samsung Corp. vessel slammed into it on Friday.

Mexico

Third musician is found dead

A trumpet player was found dead with his hands and feet bound and a plastic bag over his head in southern Mexico, in what authorities said was apparently the country's third murder of a musician in less than a week. Jose Luis Aquino, 33, had been hit repeatedly on the head, a spokesman for the Oaxaca state attorney general's office said Thursday - the same day that two other slain musicians received posthumous nominations for Grammy Awards.

France  

Suspect is held in office bombing

Police detained a suspect in an overnight raid in connection with the deadly explosion of a parcel bomb at a Paris law firm, and they have ruled out terrorism, officials said Friday. An office secretary opened the wooden box after a messenger delivered it to the law office Thursday, and two homemade explosives went off, killing her and seriously injuring a lawyer. Police said the suspect is a 45-year-old architect.

Elsewhere

Washington: Northern Ireland leaders Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, bitter enemies turned partners in government, concluded their first joint visit to Washington with a celebration of peace with President Bush at the White House Friday.

Russia: The Foreign Ministry lashed out Friday at U.S. criticism of last weekend's parliamentary elections, suggesting it was the product of prejudice and could hurt relations between the two nations.

Associated Press

[Last modified December 8, 2007, 01:44:36]