Envoy will take one last crack at Syria deal

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura said yesterday that he will make a final effort before stepping down next month to advance toward a new constitution for Syria – a key step in ending the country’s civil war. De Mistura announced at the end of a Security Council briefing that he is leaving the job in late November for ‘‘purely, purely personal reasons’’ related to his family after four years and four months in one of the toughest UN jobs. He said that objections by the Syrian government are holding up the launch of the committee meant to draft a new constitution.