■ UNITED KINGDOM
Thatcher opens exhibition
Margaret Thatcher, Britain's prime minister during the Falklands War, yesterday opened an exhibition on the 1982 conflict at the Imperial War Museum in London. The nine-month display marks the 25th anniversary of the conflict between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. General Sir Jeremy Moore, who commanded British land forces and accepted the Argentine surrender, and Rex Hunt, the islands' governor at the time, were present at the opening. Thatcher, 81, whose health has declined markedly in recent years, was helped up the museum steps but walked into the hallway alone clutching her trademark handbag.
■ UNITED KINGDOM
Bombing suspects freed
The widow of the alleged ringleader of the 2005 London bombings and two men were freed without charge on Tuesday after being questioned by police investigating the attacks, officials said. Hasina Patel, 29, wife of Mohammed Sidique Khan — the head of the group which struck three subway cars and a double-decker bus — was arrested on May 9 along with three men. Police said three suspects had been released after questioning, but said officers continue to interview a 34-year-old man on suspicion of aiding the bombers, who killed 52 commuters and injured hundreds in attacks on July 7, 2005.
■ UNITED STATES
Boys hold up store
Two adolescent boys are accused of wielding a concealed weapon — a squirt gun wrapped in black electrical tape — to steal cash from a discount store in Leavenworth, Texas. The purple plastic toy was recovered from the downtown Dollar General store by officers who caught the suspects, ages 11 and 14, within minutes of the holdup, police said on Tuesday. "It's very troubling that a kid that is 11 years old can formulate the thought in their mind to do something like this," police Major Pat Kitchens said. No one was injured in the holdup on Monday afternoon. Kitchens said the boys are suspected of walking into the store and displaying the weapon while demanding cash.
■ MEXICO
Gift-wrapped corpse found
Suspected drug gang hitmen killed a man in the seedy northern border city of Tijuana and wrapped him in Christmas gift-wrap in one of the more unusual of the country's daily rash of murders. The victim, in his 40s but not yet identified, was found dumped in a patch of wasteland on Sunday, bundled up in bedsheets. Police unwrapped the sheets to find he had been taped up in festive wrapping paper with a Christmas tree motif. The man's eyes were taped over and his body showed two bullet wounds and signs of torture and strangulation.
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