Rodrigo Abd/Associated Press Clara Wood Rivas right, at the grave of her 14-year-old son, who was killed in a recent drug raid. AHUAS, Honduras — The orange glow of a burning house brightened the morning sky. Then another and another. Four homes were set ablaze in this muddy river town just hours after the Honduran and American authorities swooped down in helicopters as part of a major drug raid that recovered a half ton of cocaine. “At first we had no idea what was happening,” Sinicio Ordoñez, a local leader, said of the fires. It soon became clear: the burned homes were not part of the raid itself, but retaliatory attacks by residents against their neighbors who were working with drug traffickers. As angry as ... Continue reading →

elisabetheaves 74 photos · 37 followers “Ghost bug, Guadalajara.” Continue reading →

Benjamin Norman for The New York Times Each Sunday at St. Joseph’s in Maplewood, N.J., pickup games take place in what once was the church as Mass is being said on the other side of one wall. Another wintry Sunday morning at 7. And in the bifurcated building of a century-old Catholic parish called St. Joseph’s, the faithful gather. On one side of the church wall, a few congregants beseech God as they join in the celebration of Mass. And on the other side, a few men beseech God as they join in games of basketball, their shouts of “Jesus Christ!” and “Goddammit!” rising above the wheezing of the close but unseen church organ. Benjamin Norman for The New York Times Players in their 40s ... Continue reading →

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- A former president who lost his bid to be re-elected in the Dominican Republic issued a scathing denunciation Tuesday of the country's electoral process but made no mention of any plans to challenge the outcome.Hipolito Mejia told cheering supporters that the results of Sunday's election did not reflect the will of the people. "They are the product of manipulation and an abuse of power," he said in a brief speech.Mejia did not concede, but he didn't say he would seek a recount. Nor did he call for supporters of the Democratic Revolutionary Party to protest the outcome, though police and soldiers were on stand-by in the Caribbean country just in case. The governing party's winning candidate, Danilo Medina, a 60-year-old ... Continue reading →

BY ANTHONY HARRUP MEXICO CITY—Mexico's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, beating analyst expectations on higher industrial output and agricultural production as well as continued strength in domestic demand. The National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, said Thursday first-quarter gross domestic product grew 4.6% from the first quarter of 2011, with industrial production up 4.5%, services up 5% and agricultural production 6.8% higher. The increase was above the 4.3% median estimate of 14 economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires. ...BY ANTHONY HARRUP MEXICO CITY—Mexico's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter, beating analyst expectations on higher industrial output and agricultural production as well as continued strength in domestic demand. The National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, said Thursday first-quarter gross domestic product grew 4.6% from the ... Continue reading →