Gwinnett Daily Post

Quake jars residents in Mexico City

MEXICO CITY - A strong earthquake struck central Mexico on Monday, swaying tall buildings in the capital and sending office workers into the streets.

The quake rattled nerves in a city already tense from a swine flu outbreak suspected of killing as many as 149 people nationwide.

"I'm scared," said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker. "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."

Co-worker Harold Gutierrez, 21, said the country was taking comfort from its religious faith, but he too was gripped by the sensation that the world might be coming to an end.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Elephants fleeing troubled Zimbabwe

HARARE, Zimbabwe - Growing pressure from poaching and human encroachment in Zimbabwe has driven hundreds of elephants to migrate from the country and at least one leopard to stalk an upmarket Harare suburb, conservationists said Monday.

The independent Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force appealed in its latest monthly bulletin for more action - and money - to preserve the troubled nation's wildlife.

In Zimbabwe's economic meltdown, "humans are encroaching more and more into areas previously reserved for wildlife," the task force said.

As many as 400 elephants have crossed the Zambezi River in recent months, said Johnny Rodrigues, head of the task force.

Pakistan: Bin Laden may be dead - or not

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's president said Monday his intelligence agencies believe Osama bin Laden may be dead, but he added there is no proof. Other Pakistani officials and a U.S. counterterrorism official said they thought the al-Qaida chief is alive.

U.S. officials said bin Laden is most likely hiding in the mountains along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, in particular the lawless tribal regions.

"We continue to believe that bin Laden is alive," said the U.S. official, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter on the record.