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This Happened

This Happened—January 12: Earthquake In Haiti

An earthquake in Haiti that killed 220,000 people happened on this date in 2010.

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Why was the 2010 Haiti earthquake so devastating?

The earthquake registered a magnitude 7.0, which is a high level of energy at the point of impact. But it occurred at 6.2 miles below the surface, a shallow depth, which meant its powerful energy had a devastating effect at ground level.

What were the effects of the Haiti earthquake?

The tremor lasted just 35 seconds, but it killed over 220,000 people. Five million people were left homeless, and 1.5 million people were forced to live in makeshift camps with rainy season just weeks away.

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Ideas

A Writer's Advice For How To Read The Words Of Politics

Colombia's reformist president has promised to tackle endemic violence, economic exclusion, pollution and corruption in the country. So what's new with a politician's promises?

Image of Colombian President Gustavo Petro speaking during a press conference in Buenos Aires on Jan 14, 2023

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, speaks during a press conference in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 24, 2023.

Manuel Cortina/ZUMA
Héctor Abad Faciolince

-Essay-

BOGOTÁ — Don't concentrate on his words, I was once advised, but look at what he's doing. I heard the words so long ago I cannot recall who said them. The point is, what's the use of a husband who vows never to beat his wife in January and leaves her with a bruised face in February?

Words are a strange thing, and in literal terms, we must distrust their meaning. As I never hit anyone, I have never declared that I wouldn't. It never occurred to me to say it. Strangely, there is more power and truth in a simple declaration like "I love her" than in the more emphatic "I love her so much." A verbal addition here just shrinks the "sense" of love.

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