Mexico City

Authorities in Mexico City imposed emergency anti-smog measures in the capital Thursday for the second time this week after ozone levels soared to three times the safety limit set by the World Health Organization.

In a move that may put Mexico City at odds with the rest of the country, the local legislature approved a far-reaching gay rights bill Monday, voting to allow people of the same sex to marry and to adopt children. The leftist-dominated legislature of this massive city of about 20 million people turned aside opposition from the influential Roman Catholic Church and ended lively debate to approve the measure by a 39-20 vote. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard is expected to sign the bill into law. "Mexico City has put itself in the vanguard," said legislator Victor Hugo Romo.

A slight earthquake rumbled through Mexico City on Monday but caused no damage or injuries, officials reported Tuesday. The tremor, measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale, was centered on the western edge of the capital, officials added.

The population of Mexico City--already one of the largest cities in the world--will soar to 28.5 million by the turn of the century, a study by the city government said Tuesday. The current population is estimated at 18 million.

A moderate earthquake today shook Mexico City, the Pacific resort of Acapulco and areas of central Mexico, causing alarm but no reported damage or injuries, authorities said. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Pacific, 170 miles southwest of Mexico City, off the coast of Acapulco, Mexican officials said. The quake occurred at 7:51 a.m. PST and was monitored at 5.8 magnitude, according to U.S. Geological Survey spokesman Don Finley in Golden, Colo.

The Mexican unit of IBM Corp. has agreed to pay $37.57 million to Mexico City prosecutors to compensate for a failed computer system that nearly landed three IBM executives in jail, officials said Wednesday. The agreement came a month after the Mexico City attorney general's office issued arrest warrants for the three Mexican IBM executives and 19 former city officials involved in the project. The $25.

Televisa, the media giant that has dominated Mexican television airwaves for decades with four national networks, is expected to face its first real competition this week. Bids will be taken Friday on a package of media properties owned by the Mexican government, including two national television networks, a newspaper and a chain of movie theaters. Five groups of investors--one of which counts Capital Cities/ABC among its partners--have qualified to bid on the package.

Under orders from their respective presidents to quickly conclude a proposed North American Free Trade Agreement, negotiators from the United States and Mexico are to meet in the Mexican capital Saturday for a possibly pivotal session. Canada's trade minister is also expected to join the talks. President Bush wants an accord signed before November's election, hoping it will boost his popularity in the key states of Texas and California.

Guatemalan government and rebel leaders are scheduled to resume peace talks today in Mexico's capital after a six-month stalemate. The discussions are aimed at ending the 33-year-old civil war that has killed about 120,000 people in Central America's largest country. Previous talks, initiated when President Jorge Serrano took office in 1991, broke down over human rights enforcement. Currently, the sides are divided over a rebel proposal to negotiate conditions for a cease-fire.

Results are being tallied from hotly contested municipal elections in a state that voted overwhelmingly against the ruling party in Mexico's last presidential election. Even as the count for Sunday's election in Morelos began, the opposition Democratic Revolution Party was accusing the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (known by its Spanish initials as PRI) of fraud. The PRI has ruled Mexico for more than 60 years.