The United Nations has named a new chief of its peacekeeping operations. Veteran French diplomat Herve Ladsous was appointed to take on the high-profile job. Ladsous takes over his post from Alain Le Roy, who left last month. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said in a statement the former ambassador brings acute political judgement and a profound understanding of the challenges facing the world body. Ladsous will be in charge of some 120,000 peacekeepers and a more than $7-billion budget for missions in Haiti, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and elsewhere around the world. The UN does not have its own military, but relies on soldiers sent from member countries to staff its missions.