■ MEXICO
Kidnapped dog found
An elite sniffer dog kidnapped five days ago was found abandoned in a Mexico City park on Monday and reunited with its police handlers. Working on a tip, federal police found Rex IV tied to a tree in a park, a Public Security Ministry spokesman said. The dog was snatched from Mexico City airport on Aug. 22 while it was en route for an operation in Sinaloa state. The thieves left a black mongrel puppy in its place. Two transport company employees have been arrested, the spokesman said.
■ CHILE
Security chief's term upheld
The Supreme Court has upheld a life sentence for a retired chief of the feared Pinochet-era security services for the 1987 killings of 12 suspected urban guerrillas. Retired General Hugo Salas Wendzel was convicted in 2005, along with several subordinates from the National Information Central, in the killing of 12 suspected members of the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front. The government initially said the suspected guerrillas had been killed in clashes with security agents, but a judicial investigation revealed they were killed in three separate incidents after being arrested. Salas Wenzel was released during the appeals process and will be notified so that he can serve his sentence.
■ UNITED STATES
Store sues over video
Two brothers sacked from their jobs in a Califon, New Jersey, grocery store for filming a rap parody at the store now face a defamation lawsuit from A&P. Their former employer claims the video by Mark and Matthew D'Avella motivated at least one customer to boycott the supermarket. A&P wants at least US$1 million in compensation and for the D'Avellas to remove Produce Paradise from the Internet. The brothers' video was posted on Aug. 6 and they were fired on Aug. 23.
■ COLOMBIA
Quake rumor triggers panic
Rumors of an earthquake on Tuesday led to the collapse of emergency phone lines and forced thousands of office workers to evacuate high-rise buildings in Bogota. A man identifying himself as an engineer from Ingeominas geological institute sparked the rumor by calling several businesses and government offices and warning a quake would strike Bogota at 5 pm. Workers rushed to evacuate hospitals and high-rises, and an emergency phone line temporarily collapsed under the weight of 50,000 calls. Ingeominas later disavowed the prank call on its Web site.
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