Peace Efforts Fail

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian guru known best for founding the Art of Living foundation, which has a vast global community of followers, claims to have attempted to start peace talks with the militants of the Islamic State. But his efforts proved futile.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is naming Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to replace his outgoing special envoy to Yemen, who resigned after his peace plan to halt the war there failed, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Peace talks between Libya's warring factions and the two governments they back will start within days, a UN special envoy said on Monday, after efforts to bring together senior representatives from both sides in Geneva failed last month.

Israel-Hamas fighting looked headed for escalation after US Secretary of State John Kerry failed Friday to broker a weeklong truce as a first step toward a broader deal and Israel's defense minister warned Israel might soon expand its Gaza ground operation "significantly."

US Secretary of State John Kerry made a last-minute push on Sunday to revive Middle East peace talks as Israeli media said that days of exhaustive shuttle diplomacy had failed to break the deadlock.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, an Indian guru known best for founding the Art of Living foundation, which has a vast global community of followers, claims to have attempted to start peace talks with the militants of the Islamic State. But his efforts proved futile.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is naming Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed to replace his outgoing special envoy to Yemen, who resigned after his peace plan to halt the war there failed, diplomatic sources said on Thursday.

Peace talks between Libya's warring factions and the two governments they back will start within days, a UN special envoy said on Monday, after efforts to bring together senior representatives from both sides in Geneva failed last month.

Israel-Hamas fighting looked headed for escalation after US Secretary of State John Kerry failed Friday to broker a weeklong truce as a first step toward a broader deal and Israel's defense minister warned Israel might soon expand its Gaza ground operation "significantly."

US Secretary of State John Kerry made a last-minute push on Sunday to revive Middle East peace talks as Israeli media said that days of exhaustive shuttle diplomacy had failed to break the deadlock.