El Faro, an online newspaper in El Salvador, reported the truce was the result of a government deal with gangsters to stop the violence in exchange for better prison conditions and other favors, but the government denies that.

MSN: El Salvador's gang truce cuts murder rate

Syria's president, Bashar Assad, he implied, could stop the violence with a click of his fingers.

ECONOMIST: The crisis in Lebanon, Israel and Palestine: Ending will be harder | The

When unrest erupted in Syria last spring, Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, spent hours pleading with Mr Assad to stop the violence and begin reforms.

ECONOMIST: Turkey��s foreign policy: Growing less mild | The