the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
on Monday called for an immediate two-week humanitarian pause in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
to mark Ramadan as talks got underway in Geneva to try and resolve the bloody conflict.
"I hope this week starts the beginning of the end of the fighting," Ban said.
"Ramadan begins in two days," he said, stressing that the holy Moslem month should be a period for "harmony, peace and reconciliation".
"I have emphasised the importance of another humanitarian pause for two weeks," Ban said.