 A summit of the West African regional grouping ECOWAS has appointed the president of Senegal, Bassiro Jomai Fai, to mediate with the military leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which pulled out of ECOWAS on Saturday. A year-long streak of unprecedented world heat has continued, with June recording a 13th consecutive monthly record. The European Union's Climate Change Monitoring Service said it suggests this year could overtake 2023 as the hottest since records began.