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MEXICO CITY - On Thursday afternoon, thousands gathered around the Angel of Independence on the main avenue of Mexico City to protest the disappearance of 43 students from a teacher's college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Some protestors carried signs demanding the resignation of President Enrique Peña Nieto. Others distributed posters bearing the names and faces of each of the missing 43. Beginning their march toward the Zocalo, they chanted through bullhorns and loudspeakers: Ayotzi vive, la lucha sigue--Ayotzinapa lives, the fight continues.




But that fight is changing rapidly.

From the early protests back in November--when hundreds of thousands of people worldwide took to the streets to demand justice for the victims of Mexico's drug war--much of the idealism has faded. 42 of the 43 students remain missing, irregularities in the investigation remain, and the possibility of ousting Peña Nieto--one of the central demands of the protest movement--seems a distant dream. International outrage has slowed; even Mexico City's own Reforma newspaper pushed the story of Thursday's protest to Page 6.

While the crisis following Ayotzinapa appeared ripe for radical change, much of the conversation in Mexico has turned toward the pragmatic:

How should Mexico approach the midterm elections in June? How can Mexican voters send the loudest message? How can Mexico drain its politics of Narco influence?

Back at the Mexico City protest, a number of protestors called for a boycott of the upcoming elections. "The political parties are not listening," blared the loudspeaker on top of a truck representing the Frente Popular Francisco Villa Independiente--a local housing rights organization--as it snaked down Avenida Reforma. "Cancel your votes. Do not support the corrupt politicians."

The families of the Ayotzinapa victims, for their part, have submitted a formal letter to the National Electoral Institute demanding that the suspension of elections in Guerrero. Drug cartels have infiltrated Guerrero politics too deeply to hold legitimate elections, they hold. They propose devolving municipal power down to local town councils, appointing people of "high moral standards" to direct them. As one sign at Thursday's march read, "Peña Nieto: Guerrero demands justice, not elections."

The conversation around the upcoming elections has highlighted a much broader political crisis in Mexico. To many voters, the PRI, the PAN, and the PRD--Mexico's three largest political parties--all appear equally tainted by the drug war. Even Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, one of Mexico's leading voices on the left and head of the new National Regeneration Movement, has been uncomfortably quiet, implicated in the rise of the Iguala mayor that is responsible for the disappearance of the 43 students. In the wake of Ayotzinapa, no major political voice has emerged to represent the citizens that are crying out for change.

Moving toward June, then, it is entirely unclear if that change will come. The PRI, despite a near-record low approval rate of President Peña Nieto, still leads in the polls. The PRD may take a small hit in the elections, but overall, the June elections are set to reflect little of the mass, nationwide unrest provoked by the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students six months ago.

Many Mexican voters feel caught in a quandary. "Until we see the 43, we should not vote," says Laura Romero Juárez, a representative of the Front of Social Organizations in Defense of Azcapotzalco. "In picking the best of bad options, we still lose. They will still betray you." Others claim that, in boycotting the elections, voters only give way to the worst of bad options. It is the lack of electoral pushback, they argue, that is driving the PRI's projected success in June.

Six months after Ayotzinapa, the haze of protest fever has cleared, and the long, difficult road to change has come into focus. The pragmatic questions Mexico must ask itself in order to arrive there are ugly. But--short of a revolution--this strategic approach is the only way for Mexico to generate change from below, giving voice at last to the many victims of its ongoing violence.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia announced on Sunday that it would join negotiations to establish a new a Chinese-led Asian regional bank that has emerged as a potential challenge to United States influence in a part of the world where the Obama administration has tried to forge stronger ties.

The U.S. has expressed concern the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, will allow looser lending standards for financial transparency, the environment and labor rights. The U.S. also worries the new bank will undercut the World Bank, where the U.S. has the most clout, and the Asian Development Bank, where it is the second-largest shareholder after Japan. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Treasurer Joe Hockey said in a joint statement that the government will sign a memorandum of understanding that will allow Australia to participate as a prospective founding member in negotiations to set up the bank.

"Good progress has been made on the bank's design, governance and transparency over the past few months, but we still have issues that we will address through ongoing consultations," the statement said.

"Key matters to be resolved before Australia considers joining the AIIB include the bank's board of directors having authority over key investment decisions, and that no one country control the bank," it added.

Beijing has pledged to put up most of the initial $50 billion in capital for the bank, which is expected to be set up by year's end. It is intended to help finance construction of roads and other infrastructure.

Working with institutions such as the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank, the AIIB has the potential to play a valuable role in addressing infrastructure needs and boosting economic growth in the region, with potential benefits for Australia, the joint statement said.

India and all 10 members of Southeast Asia's regional bloc are among the more than 30 governments that have so far sought to join the bank before a March 31 deadline.

While Japan, which has tense relations with China, is still holding out, the Obama administration appears increasingly at odds with sentiment in the very region where it has tried to strengthen its relationships over the past five years.

Abbott said last week that he expected skeptical countries including the United States and Japan would also join if China gave required assurances on transparency and board management.

TORONTO, March 29 (Reuters) - An Air Canada flight crash landed in the east coast city of Halifax and went
off the runway early on Sunday, local media reported, with the airline confirming 23 passengers and crew suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The airline said the incident happened shortly after midnight, and 18 of the 23 admitted to hospitals for observation and treatment of minor injuries have been released.

Air Canada said the Airbus A320 flying from Toronto was carrying 133 passengers and five crew members. The airline did not give the cause of the accident but said it was cooperating fully with investigators.

Local media reported it was snowing heavily at the airport at the time of the accident.

Photos posted online by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada showed the nose of the airline broken off and at least one engine badly damaged in the crash. (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tsbcanada/16342568434/)

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia's prime minister said Sunday a leading suspect in a deadly museum attack on foreign tourists has been killed in anti-terrorist operations, as tens of thousands of Tunisians marched through the capital to denounce extremist violence.

State news agency TAP cites Prime Minister Habib Essid as saying that Khaled Chaieb, also known as Abou Sakhr Lokman, was killed overnight in an operation in the Gafsa region near the Algerian border. Chaieb is believed a prominent militant in al-Qaida's North African arm, and suspected of leading or helping lead the March 18 attack on the National Bardo Museum.

Twenty-two people, mainly foreigners, and two gunmen were killed in the March 18 attack on the National Bardo Museum.

French President Francois Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and several foreign ministers and legislators from other countries are joining an anti-terrorism ceremony in Tunis after the march.

The Tunisian government called on all major political parties to join the march from the seat of government at Bab Es-Saadoun to the museum.

The international visitors are showing solidarity with Tunisia, whose fragile new democracy was deeply shaken by the museum attack, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

Tunisian protesters unleashed revolts across the region known as the Arab Spring, and Tunisia is the only country to have built a democratic system as a result.

Authorities are struggling with scattered extremist violence linked to various radical Islamic groups, largely linked to neighboring countries Algeria or Libya.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ali Aroui said Sunday that nine suspected "terrorists" were killed when security forces clashed with the suspects in the southwest region of Sidi Aich, near the Algerian border. He said several extremists were wounded in another clash in the northwest region of Kef, as part of security operations around the country ahead of the march.

While I was presenting a program on sugar and artificial sweeteners and offering suggestions to change to healthier options, an overweight participant said, "But Margaret, everything we eat has artificial sweeteners." I asked her what diet plans she has used throughout the years. She mentioned tens of different ones, and I replied, "No, everything you eat has artificial sweeteners." She was not eating natural food that promotes lasting health. She had become dependent on diet food.

Usually by the time someone calls upon me to help them with their weight loss, they have already been to every diet center and tried every fad that money can buy. Their focus is always the quickest route to weight loss. After years of trying all these diets, they are heavier and very often suffering health consequences associated with being overweight. Many have Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, blood pressure, or joint pain, and very often low self-esteem or poor body image. The ironic part is this could have been avoided if they had learned how to eat and care for their well-being instead of continually buying into the $60 billion dollar diet industry.

People look for the quick fix, to produce the weight loss for them. There isn't one. There is no timeline on a successful weight loss. Consider weight loss the byproduct of a lifestyle that includes eating food that nourishes you, and being active. Concentrate on your actions and not on the scale. Focusing only on the scale is a short-lived weight loss.

Stop listening to other people's opinions or statements. Others will make comments from their own insecurities. If you allow these comments to derail your efforts, how committed are you?

Dieting is not a bad thing. A healthy lifestyle is never about perfection, it's always about practice. Repeating healthy habits in all settings is the practice needed.

Diet only means the way you eat. If you eat healthy you have a healthy diet; if you are sick or preparing for a medical test and must only have fluids, then you have a liquid diet; and if you eat poorly, you have a poor diet. Your diet is your choice, but diet has come to be known as a deprivation. Diet and deprivation are not the same! Change the meaning of diet in your vocabulary. My definition of diet is:

D - Decide (How)
I - I'll
E- Eat
T-Today

Diet = Decide How I'll Eat Today.

You decide how to eat each day. You make the choices from what you know and what you make available. If it's not working, seek advice from a reputable coach or counselor. See the fads, gimmicks, half naked before and after pictures, and celebrities paid to tout a diet program for the marketing tactics that they are. Read everything you can that will give you the necessary information and use your own logic to decipher what works best for you. Focus on your actions and believe in yourself.

When you eat well, you live well.
When you eat healthy, you are healthy.
When you nourish your body, you nourish your mind.