Briefly: Suspect arrested in murder of Americans

PHILIPSBURG — Police arrested a suspect in the slayings of a South Carolina couple, a spokesman said over the weekend.

Police spokesman Ricardo Henson said the male suspect was arrested before dawn Sunday. He has not been charged yet.

Mr. Henson said more details about the man could not be immediately disclosed but police will issue a statement “as soon as more information can be divulged.”

The bodies of Michael and Thelma King were found Friday in their beachfront condominium on the Dutch Caribbean island.

Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said both Americans appeared to have stab wounds and Mrs. King was tied to a chair.

The Kings were part-time residents of St. Maarten and owned several homes. Friends say they were about to start a spiced-rum business.

ARGENTINA

Government orders sale of broadcast stations

BUENOS AIRES — The government gave one of its leading media critics, Grupo Clarin, a deadline to sell off most of its broadcast stations, saying over the weekend that Dec. 7 will mark the day when media monopolies no longer will be able to put themselves above the law.

Clarin, which owns 240 cable systems, 10 radio stations and four TV channels in addition to its flagship daily newspaper, has challenged the constitutionality of the 2009 media law’s anti-monopoly clauses limiting the number of stations any one company can own.

Clarin, a bitter opponent of President Cristina Fernandez, says many legal scholars support its position that it should have another year to pursue its challenge of the law before being forced to divest.

In a lengthy TV spot that began airing during Saturday’s much-watched soccer games, the government said it’s deadline would bring “diversity and democracy” to Argentina’s media.

It announced that it will immediately put Grupo Clarin’s cable TV stations up for public auction by Dec. 7 if Clarin fails to comply with the law.

Anticipating fresh waves of accusations that it is trying to silence dissent, the spot says: “The Argentine state will not expropriate the news media; the Argentine state will not nationalize the news media. The Argentine state will guarantee their jobs and compliance with a law that democratizes the news media in the Argentine republic.”

Clarin immediately countered with its own TV spot, accusing the government of attempting an illegal maneuver and citing the same media law as giving companies a year to sell off properties in an orderly fashion.

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