Aruba

Family of missing teen increases reward

The family of Natalee Holloway increased the reward Thursday for help finding the Alabama teenager who has been missing for more than six weeks.

There is now a $200,000 reward for her safe return and $100,000 for information that helps authorities solve the mystery surrounding her disappearance, the teen’s mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said at a news conference.

Holloway, 18, disappeared May 30, hours before she was to catch a return flight to Mountain Brook, Ala., at the end of a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island. Extensive searches by Dutch marines, Aruban police and about 2,000 volunteers have found no trace of her.

“By offering the substantial cash rewards, a plea is made to everyone with any useful information to please call the tip line,” Twitty said.

Previously, the family had posted a reward of $175,000 for Holloway’s safe return while donors offered more than $50,000 for information on the teen’s whereabouts.

The teen’s family has also hired a private investigator to help in the search, said Vinda de Sousa, an attorney for Twitty.

Mexico City

Emily fizzles but still triggers flooding

Hurricane Emily fizzled to a tropical depression as it moved inland Thursday, but still threatening heavy rains and flooding in northern Mexico.

The center of the storm was about 35 miles southwest of Saltillo, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 30 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported.

The storm was expected to dissipate later Thursday, but was still capable of producing heavy rains that could trigger further flooding and mudslides, the center said.

The rains caused the partial collapse of a bridge in Monterrey on Thursday morning, rupturing a natural gas pipeline that then burst into flames, Mexican news media reported. The fire was brought under control, and no injuries were reported.

Berlin

Koehler orders parliament dissolved

Germany’s president agreed Thursday to dissolve parliament and hold early elections next month that could give the country its first woman chancellor.

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had sought the early balloting, saying he had lost the mandate to govern after his Social Democrats badly lost a key regional contest May 22.

President Horst Koehler agreed, and the election will be held Sept. 18.

Schroeder’s chief challenger will be Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union, who is leading in the polls by about 17 or 18 points, giving her a chance to become Germany’s first woman chancellor.

Analysts say she would likely get along better with President Bush’s administration than did Schroeder, who forcefully opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.