Shine wearing off Kerry’s Mideast peace bid

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Hopes the new and indefatigable Secretary of State John Kerry could charm Israel and the Palestinians back into talks are fading at the edges as months pass with no sign of a breakthrough, analysts say.

True, the top US diplomat has visited the region four times since coming to office in February, and he has also been warmly received and on the whole spared the usual insidious whispering campaigns in the local media.