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A U.S. media storm, generated primarily by cable news outlets Fox and CNN, has descended here, clouding the reputation of this former Dutch colony, many residents and longtime visitors say. Media critics say that what's missing is perspective. Beyond appreciation for the time it takes for an investigation to proceed, particularly under the nuances of Dutch law, statistics confirm Aruba is far safer than almost all other Caribbean islands. "Cable TV is treating this as the crime of the century, or at the least, the obsession of the moment," says Howard Kurtz, media critic for The Washington Post in an...

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AMSTERDAM — The government of Aruba wants US President George W. Bush to intervene to stop a tourist boycott of the autonomous Dutch island in the Caribbean. Alabama governor Bob Riley called for a nationwide travel boycott of Aruba because he accuses the island authorities of not fully cooperating in the search for missing Alabama school graduate Natalee Holloway (18). Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, joined Riley for the announcement of the boycott. Riley asked his fellow governors to join him in urging the boycott of Aruba, CNN reported on Tuesday. "There are no other alternatives to get Aruban authorities to...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama Gov. Bob Riley called for a travel boycott of Aruba on Tuesday until authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island cooperate more fully with the family of a Mountain Brook teenager who has been missing since a graduation trip in May. Riley asked the governors of the other 49 states to join him in urging a boycott of Aruba on behalf of the family of Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old Mountain Brook High graduate last seen on the island May 30. Her mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty, joined Riley at the Alabama Capitol for the boycott announcement. She contends Aruban...

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) -- A court ruled Wednesday that three suspects in the disappearance of a U.S. teenager can remain free without conditions -- overturning an earlier decision that restricted their travel and required them to remain available to investigators. The appeals court ruled there was a "lack of sufficient grounds and serious suspicions" to keep the restrictions on Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, the Aruban prosecutor's office said. The three young men remain suspects in the May 30 disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Holloway,...

Surinamese Deepak Kalpoe, 21, arrives to court in Oranjestad, Aruba, Friday, Aug. 26, 2005. Aruban police arrested Kalpoe and his brother Satish, 18, along with a third person according to government spokesman Ruben Trapenberg, saying he doesn't know if the arrests are connected to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The two brothers had been previously detained and released. (AP Photo/Pedro Famous Diaz) Surinamese Satish Kalpoe, 18, front, gets in a car to go to court in Oranjestad, Aruba, Friday, Aug. 26, 2005. Two Surinamese brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, who had been detained and released in the disappearance of Natalee...

Profile of Natalee Holloway Missing: Natalee Holloway participated in a trip with 125 seniors from Mountain Brook High School to Aruba in the Caribbean. In the early morning hours on May 30, 2005 Natalee was seen leaving a nightclub and getting into a vehicle. She failed to turn up Monday morning for her return flight home and she has not been seen since. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Profile: Natalee Holloway was born on October 21, 1986 to Beth and Dave Holloway. She grew up in the close-knit community of Mountain Brook, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. She...

NEW - Read a letter to the Governor of Alabama from Natalee Holloway's father Aruba Message Board

Mountain Brook High School graduate Natalee Holloway went missing May 30 during a senior trip to Aruba. AP photo