- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- Hezbollah fires at Israel as wars rage on Yom Kippur
- Analysts warn more detail needed on new China economic measures
- China tees up fresh spending to boost ailing economy
- China says will issue special bonds to boost ailing economy
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Dodgers drop Padres 2-0 to advance in MLB playoffs
- Alexei Navalny wrote he knew he would die in prison in new memoir
- Last-minute legal ruling allows betting on US election
- Despite hurricanes, Floridians refuse to leave 'paradise'
- Israel observes Yom Kippur amid firestorm over Lebanon strikes
- Trump demonizes migrants in dark, misleading speech
- X says 'alert' to manipulation efforts after pro-Russia bots report
- US, European markets rise before Boeing unveils sweeping job cuts
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Comoros shock Tunisia, Salah, Mbeumo strike in AFCON qualifiers
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Germany win in Nations League as 10-man Dutch rescue point
- Undav brace sends Germany to victory against Bosnia
- Israel says fired at 'threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- Ecuador's last mountain iceman dies at 80
- Milton leaves at least 16 dead, millions without power in Florida
- Senegal set to announce breakaway development agenda: PM
- UN says 2 peacekeepers wounded in south Lebanon explosions
- Injury-hit Australia thrash 'embarrassing' Pakistan at Women's T20 World Cup
- Internal TikTok documents show prioritization of traffic over well-being
- Israel says fired at 'immediate threat' near UN position in Lebanon
- New US coach Pochettino hails Pulisic but worries over workload
- Brazil orders closure of 2,000 betting sites
- UK govt urged to raise pro-democracy tycoon's case with China
- Sculptor Lalanne's animal creations sell for $59 mn
- From Tesla to Trump: Behind Musk's giant leap into politics
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- Supercharged hurricanes trigger 'perfect storm' for disinformation
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Djokovic proves staying power as he progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
- Sheffield Utd boss Wilder 'numb' after Baldock death
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- Fans immerse themselves in Marina Abramovic's first China exhibition
- Israel says conducting review after UN peacekeepers wounded in Lebanon
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Djokovic 'overwhelmed' after 'greatest rival' Nadal's retirement
- Zelensky in Berlin says hopes war with Russia will end next year
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Djokovic proves staying power as progresses to Shanghai semi-finals
Cooking with love: recipe book honors Mexico's missing
When Yadira Martinez makes her son's favorite dish it feels like he is back home, so she and other mothers decided to share recipes in a cookbook dedicated to their missing children.
"When I prepare his eggs I feel that he's here, that he'll come and sit down to eat with us," Martinez said at her house in Irapuato in Guanajuato, one of Mexico's most violent states.
And proceeds from sales of the recipe book are helping to pay for the tireless search by her and other mothers for their children.
Around 3,700 people have gone missing in Guanajuato state in central Mexico, out of a total of more than 112,000 nationwide.
Most disappearances have taken place since 2006, when the government deployed the military in the war on drugs, leading to a spiral of violence.
Using an onion, tomatoes and chili peppers, Martinez makes the Mexican-style eggs with fried beans that her son Jaime loved so much until he disappeared in 2018 at the age of 22.
"Stuffed pepper for Antonio" and "Lasagna for Raymundo" are among more than 70 other dishes in the book aimed at keeping memories of the missing alive.
Karla Jimenez shared a recipe for enchiladas, the favorite dish of her brother Juan Valentin, who disappeared, aged 37, in 2020.
The book has a note on each missing person and their families' struggles to find them.
"We all have a favorite dish. We have all cooked with love for someone, or someone cooked for us with love," said Zahara Gomez Lucini, the photographer behind the project.
"It's about talking about the missing in a different way, not just about the search for them or their death, but also about what they like, what they don't like, what music they listen to," she added.
Some 2,000 copies of the cookbook have been printed since October 2022.
Half of the profits from sales are donated to search groups.
- Desperate search -
Martinez has worked with the collective "Hasta Encontrarte" ("Until I find you") for four years looking for her son and other missing persons.
The mothers report having located 180 bodies in Guanajuato since forming the group in 2021.
On one recent day, members used metal rods to search a patch of land after receiving an anonymous tip about possible remains.
"Afterward, we sniff the rods to see if there's a smell of putrefaction. It might be because there is an unmarked grave," said Carla Vasquez, 20, who is looking for her missing brother.
Armed police guarded the mothers from the dangers posed by criminal groups -- a reflection of the risks they face even looking for the missing.
In May 2023, a mother searching for her son was murdered in Guanajuato, where cartels vie for control of lucrative drug-trafficking routes.
Despite the dangers, the state is a major tourist destination and an industrial hub home to factories of foreign auto giants.
Guanajuato "attracts German or North American investments, but it's also a state that attracts drug trafficking groups," said security analyst David Saucedo.
In addition to the many missing, more than 420,000 people have been murdered in Mexico since 2006.
The country's forensic system is overwhelmed, and tens of thousands of unidentified bodies lie unclaimed in morgues or mass graves.
L.Harper--AMWN