♦ United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new UN Humanitarian Chief. He replaced Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

♦ Fletcher is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford. He was the British ambassador to Lebanon from 2011-2015 and served as the foreign and development policy adviser to three British prime ministers between 2007-2011.