World in brief: Earthquake rattles nervous residents

A strong earthquake struck central Mexico on Monday, swaying tall buildings in the capital and rattling nerves in a city already tense from a swine flu outbreak.

Near the epicenter in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, two women aged 67 and 75 died of heart attacks, and four homes and a perimeter wall collapsed in and around the resort of Acapulco, state police reported.

“I’m scared,” said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker standing outside her Mexico City office building moments after it hit. “We Mexicans are not used to living with so much fear, but all that is happening – the economic crisis, the illnesses and now this – it feels like the Apocalypse.”

There were no reports of injuries or major damages in Mexico City.

The quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and was centered near Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of Mexico City or 50 miles from Acapulco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

Government agrees to stop airstrikes

Sri Lanka agreed to stop firing heavy weapons into the northern war zone to safeguard thousands of civilians trapped there, but resisted growing pressure Monday for a cease-fire in its war with the Tamil Tiger rebels.

The rebels accused the government of instantly violating its promise by launching airstrikes from three sides on a village in a densely populated no-fire zone, a pro-guerrilla Web site reported.

A flurry of diplomatic activity has so far failed to halt an offensive that has forced the rebels out of the shadow state they once ran in the north of this Indian Ocean island nation and left them cornered in a tiny coastal strip.

U.S., Indian and European officials have expressed growing concern for the estimated 50,000 ethnic Tamil civilians still trapped in the war zone amid U.N. reports that nearly 6,500 noncombatants have already been killed in the recent offensive.

CARACAS, Venezuela

Ministry recalls diplomat from Peru

Venezuela has recalled its ambassador in Lima to protest Peru’s decision to grant political asylum to a prominent opponent of President Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela’s foreign ministry said Peru should have arrested and extradited Manuel Rosales rather than granting asylum to the Venezuelan opposition leader facing corruption allegations in his homeland.

The ministry said in a statement issued on Monday that Peru’s decision “constitutes a mockery of international law.”

It said Venezuela was recalling its ambassador in Lima and evaluating its diplomatic relations with Peru.

Rosales has called the charges against him a “political lynching” ordered by Chavez and says a fair trial in Venezuela is impossible.

From wire reports