CARACAS: Candid Camera Allegations of police brutality have long abounded in Venezuela. But last week police were caught red-handed in images filmed by a news crew that appear to prove that officers summarily executed two suspected criminals in custody. After an armed robbery of a Caracas bakery ended in a shoot-out, authorities reported that one officer and three thieves were killed at the scene. But on the following day, Radio Caracas Television broadcast videotape of two of the suspects climbing handcuffed into a police van after the gunfire ended. In later footage, their bodies were shown stretched out on morgue tables, with bullet holes in their chests. Authorities later admitted that only one suspect was killed in the bakery. Six officers were suspended pending an investigation. "I think this is very common, but it doesn't normally come out," said secretary Mariana Rosal. And with good reason. RCTV reported that it received anonymous death threats because of its coverage.

LUSAKA: Deadly Soccer Stampede Triumph turned into tragedy when 10 Zambian soccer fans were crushed to death in the aftermath of their team's victory. The mood was already jittery when the crowd of 40,000 gathered at Independence Stadium to watch Zambia compete against Sudan in a World Cup preliminary match. A recent spate of bomb attacks, blamed on a Zambian opposition group, coupled with the presence in the stands of President Frederick Chiluba, resulted in tightened security and frayed nerves. After the game, which Zambia won 3-0, Chiluba departed by one exit, while security men ensured his safe passage by sealing off the remaining gates. Suddenly the crowd surged forward, and a wall collapsed. In addition to the 10 deaths, more than 50 people were injured. Some witnesses say security men caused the surge by closing exits, while others blame it on a fan screaming that a bomb had been planted--though none was ever found. This was the second disaster to hit Zambian soccer in three years. In 1993, 18 of the country's top players were killed in a plane crash. Said Charles Lungu, 35, a hotel guard who survived the stampede: "First we lose all our good footballers, and now it's their supporters. It is a great tragedy."

VISEU: A Bad Case of the Flutters Residents of Portugal are keeping their doors and windows shut at night no matter how much they may long for a cool breeze. They're desperate to escape a pestilence of annoying nocturnal moths. Myriads of the furry, brown night moths--Autographa gamma--flutter around anyone who ventures out after dark. They also keep stay-at-homes awake by provoking dogs to bark incessantly. The moths have infested every sector of the country but are most attracted by the bright lights of urban areas. Hardest hit has been the northern city of Viseu. Countering fears that the insects are toxic invaders from Africa, entomologists have hastened to reassure residents that the species is harmless. A sudden heat wave on the heels of an unusually high rainfall caused this year's proliferation of the indigenous moths. But knowing the reasons for the infestation is little consolation. "No one likes to find himself surrounded by clouds of unidentified flying insects," complained a Viseu woman. The current generation of moths is expected to die off by mid-July, but since they have already laid their eggs, another--perhaps larger--generation or two could hatch before cold weather ends the breeding cycle.

BERLIN: Smuggling Cigarettes Can Be Fatal For months this city has been the central battlefield in an escalating German turf war fought by rival Vietnamese cigarette-smuggling gangs. So far this year, 15 cigarette sellers--all Vietnamese--have been slain in Berlin. Many victims are onetime contract workers who stayed on after their visas expired. Unable to work legally, they turned to selling smuggled cigarettes on the streets. Investigators have been hampered by language barriers and witnesses' fears of retribution. Last week, however, police arrested three Vietnamese and confiscated a small arsenal that included a pistol they believe was used to kill three cigarette vendors last month. By week's end, prosecutors had filed charges of weapons violations and were preparing murder charges against all three suspects. In addition, after many months of stalling, Hanoi last week identified more than 2,000 Vietnamese it was willing to repatriate among the 40,000 living illegally in Germany.

41 YEARS AGO IN TIME

Keeping Order in the House

Satisfying the disparate demands of the U.N. member countries and the Security Council requires an uncommon Secretary-General: "To millions who cannot pronounce his name ('Just call it Hammershield,' he says. 'That's what it means'), Dag Hammerskjold is 'Mr. U.N.' [He] runs his House with the frugal efficiency of a well-brought-up Swedish housewife. He lopped $1,000,000 a year off the Secretariat's budget...History's verdict on the U.N. is still in the jury box. But Dag Hammarskjold is confident what it will be...He once told an interviewer: 'The day will come when men will see the U.N. and what it means clearly. Everything will be all right [w]hen people, just people, stop thinking of the United Nations as a weird Picasso abstraction and see it as a drawing they made themselves.'" --June 27, 1955