UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
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UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new aid chief for the world body amid worsening humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and elsewhere, largely driven by conflict.

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

Fletcher - who is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford - 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, the UN said in a statement.

He "has strong experience of leading and transforming organizations and bringing an understanding of diplomacy at the highest levels," the UN said.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said he did not know when Fletcher would take up the role.

The announcement comes as UN efforts to tackle humanitarian needs around the world are significantly underfunded.

The UN has appealed for $49 billion in 2024 to help 187.6 million of the people in need across 73 countries. But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Fletcher will lead, said on Wednesday that so far it has only received $16.21 billion.



Iran’s Khamenei Calls for Death Sentence for Israeli Leaders

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Iran’s Khamenei Calls for Death Sentence for Israeli Leaders

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij volunteer militia in Tehran on November 25, 2024. (KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

The supreme leader of Iran, which backs the Hamas and Hezbollah fighters combating Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, said on Monday that death sentences should be issued for Israeli leaders, not arrest warrants.

Ali Khamenei was commenting on a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense chief and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri.

"They issued an arrest warrant, that's not enough... Death sentence must be issued for these criminal leaders", Khamenei said, referring to the Israeli leaders.

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza".

The decision was met with outrage in Israel, which called it shameful and absurd. Gaza residents expressed hope it would help end the violence and bring those responsible for war crimes to justice.

Israel has rejected the jurisdiction of the Hague-based court and denies war crimes in Gaza.

The warrant for a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that triggered the war on the long-blockaded Palestinian enclave, and also charges of rape and the taking of hostages.

Israel has said it killed Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in an airstrike in July but Hamas has neither confirmed nor denied this.