Syria Denies New Massacre Claims

AP, BBC NEWS

DAMASCUS - Damascus denies reports of new mass killings in Syria's central Hama region as pressure continues to build on the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Syria discarded as "absolutely baseless' claims by opposition groups about a new massacre in which government forces allegedly killed some 100 people, AP reports.

The reports of fresh violence come a day after 55 countries agreed to beef up economic sanctions against Assad. UK Prime Minister David Cameron condemned the "brutal and sickening" killing of civilians and urged for concerted international action, according to BBC News.

Many countries have sent Syria's ambassadors packing in recent days, protesting against the massacre last week in Houla that killed more than 100, including children and women gunned down in their homes.

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politics

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.