MEXICO CITY, 8:29 a.m. Dec. 29 (AP)
Authorities believe dozens of Mexicans were in Thailand and other Asian countries when they were struck by a deadly earthquake and enormous tidal waves earlier this week, Mexican news media reported Wednesday. At least five are known to have survived, and thus far, none has been confirmed dead.

Tens of thousands of people were killed in 11 countries from Asia to Africa after Sunday's massive earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra sent 500 mph (800 km/h) waves surging across the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. More than 1,500 were killed in Thailand, among them more than 700 tourists vacationing at resorts on Phuket island.

CANCUN, Mexico, 6:17 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Police investigate shooting of Russian at Mexican resort: A 31-year-old Russian man was shot to death Tuesday morning at a luxury apartment in this Caribbean resort recently besieged by drug-related violence, police reported.

MEXICO CITY, 1:16 p.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Population study: Mexico is world's 11th-most populous country, with 105 million people in 2004: Mexico's population increased by almost 1.1 million in 2004 to reach an estimated 105,909,000, allowing the country to maintain its place as the 11th largest in the world in terms of population, the government reported Tuesday.

MEXICO CITY, 7:54 a.m. Dec. 28 (AP)
Oil-spill cleanup makes progress on Mexican beaches, but pollution persists: Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos on Monday announced it had recovered about two-thirds of the estimated 5,000-barrels of oil that spilled last week into a river feeding the Gulf of Mexico.

MEXICO CITY, 8:27 a.m. Dec. 27 (AP)
Tractor-trailer flips over in Mexico state, setting taxi afire and killing its three occupants: A tractor-trailer flipped over and fell on top of a taxi, killing the taxi's three occupants, after the truck's driver lost control on a curve on the outskirts of the capital Monday.

AYOQUEZCO DE ALDAMA, Dec. 26 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
A home-grown plan: On a cool December morning just minutes shy of lunchtime, Raquel Ynez Reyes stands in her kitchen slashing the thorns off dozens of floppy nopal cactus pads.

VERACRUZ, Mexico, 5:18 p.m. Dec. 23 (AP)
Mexico blast sends crude oil into river, Gulf of Mexico: Mexico's state-owned oil monopoly will be fined more than US$200,000 (euro150,000) as the result of an explosion that caused 5,000 barrels of crude oil to spill into a river and the Gulf of Mexico, where local beaches were affected, a federal environmental protection official said Thursday.

MEXICO CITY, 3:18 p.m. Dec. 22 (AP)
Mexico's supreme court agrees to review president's opposition to budget approved by Congress: The Mexican Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to review an appeal filed by President Vicente Fox that claims the lower House of Representatives overstepped its bounds with changes it made to the proposed 2005 federal budget. The court froze the contested portions of the budget while it reviews the case.

MEXICO CITY, 10:46 p.m. Dec. 21 (AP)
Jorge Castaneda challenges Mexico's political party system with independent run for the presidency: Barnstorming by bus throughout Mexico, Jorge Castaneda's low-budget, independent presidential campaign is designed to be a little unorthodox.

MEXICO CITY, 2:29 p.m. Dec. 22 (AP)
Mexican city bans indoor nudity: Alarmed by glimpses of sweaty citizens in the buff, the city council in the southeastern city of Villahermosa has adopted a law banning citizens from allowing themselves to be seen nude by the public, even while in their own homes, officials confirmed Wednesday.

MEXICO CITY, 9:29 p.m. Dec. 21 (AP)
Mexican soccer officials: Woman star rejected from signing with men's team can't play in exhibition game, either: A star woman soccer player who has been prohibited from signing with a professional men's soccer team also was excluded Tuesday from an upcoming friendly exhibition match with men players.

Dec. 21 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
DEA offers $5 million reward to nab drug trafficker: As U.S. and Mexican authorities tighten the noose around the region's Arellano Félix drug cartel, they are trying to prevent rival drug groups from getting stronger.

MEXICO CITY, 8:25 a.m. Dec. 21 (AP)
Facing U.S. Christmas tree invasion, Mexico seeks to grow its own: Faced with the growing tide of imported Christmas trees, Mexico has set a goal of growing its own.

MITONTIC, Mexico, 6:04 p.m. Dec. 20 (AP)
Mexican official shot dead in front of city hall: A city official was shot dead early Monday by unidentified assailants moments after he sent out a public call for help in this small mountain city in southern Chiapas state. Shortly afterward, a police officer on his way to inform the victim's family was found dead of unknown causes.

Dec. 21 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Parrots returned home to Mexico: The exotic birds were hatched in the Mexican tropics but wound up as contraband headed to a swap meet in Los Angeles. They never made it because their smugglers couldn't get past border inspectors.

MEXICO CITY, 8:42 p.m. Dec. 20 (AP)
Mexico's president to let Supreme Court resolve budget dispute with Congress: Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday he will appeal the legislature's 2005 budget with the Supreme Court, saying the lawmakers overstepped their powers and failed to develop a workable spending plan.

MEXICO CITY, 9:05 a.m. Dec. 20 (REUTERS)
Mexico mayor romps home in 'farce' referendum: The leftist mayor of Mexico City, the favorite for presidential elections in 2006, has won 95 percent in a referendum on his rule that was was paid for by city funds and derided by critics as a publicity stunt.

MEXICO CITY, 8:31 p.m. Dec. 17 (AP)
Minnesota woman, husband acquitted of homicide charges in Mexico after alleging torture: An American woman and her Mexican husband who said they were tortured by police and forced to confess to killing a Mexican girl were acquitted Friday of the murder charges.

MEXICO CITY,, 9:36 a.m. Dec. 17 (REUTERS)
Mexican drug gangs target U.S. citizens for kidnap: Marauding drug gangs in a violent Mexican border city have turned to kidnapping U.S. citizens for ransom as they seek to diversify their criminal activities, the U.S. government warned Friday.

ACAPULCO, Mexico, 8:00 p.m. Dec. 15 (AP)
Alleged thief beaten to death by Mexican bus passengers: A man who pulled a gun on fellow bus passengers, allegedly shot one to death and tried to rob the rest, was shot with his own gun, beaten and stoned to death by the passengers on a highway in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero on Tuesday.

MEXICO CITY, 5:02 p.m. Dec. 15 (AP)
Plane crash kills three from Mexican natural gas company: The director and two associates of a Mexican gas consulting company were onboard a twin-engine plane that crashed outside the northern city of Monterrey, killing all five people on board, a co-worker confirmed Wednesday.

MEXICO CITY, 2:58 p.m. Dec. 15 (REUTERS)
Mexican cannibal kills, grills lover for breakfast: A Mexican man killed his lover in a drunken, drugged fight then cooked the man's body in tomato and onion sauce and ate it over three days.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, 6:25 a.m. Dec. 15 (AP)
Mexican, Central American leaders try to improve security, integration: Presidents from Mexico and Central America met Wednesday to find new ways of battling gangs and criminals while gradually tearing down border and customs restrictions.

CHULA VISTA, Dec. 15 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Woman blames bad judgment for Mexico jail stint: Dawn Marie Wilson, who spent a year and a half in a Mexican prison for buying large quantities of controlled substances without a Mexican doctor's prescription, said she takes part of the blame for her plight.

CHULA VISTA, Dec. 16 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Woman not blameless for plight: Dawn Marie Wilson, who spent a year and a half in a Mexican prison for buying large quantities of controlled substances without a Mexican doctor's prescription, said she takes part of the blame for her plight.