He replaces South African lawyer Nicholas Haysom who was expelled by Somali authorities for questioning their legal basis for arresting opposition activists.

James Swan will have his work cut out dealing with the Mogadishu administration led by Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed.

He has spent most of his career serving in African countries undergoing complex transitions.

Swan was US Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Djibouti. He also served in Cameroon, Nicaragua and Haiti.

Haysom has been reassigned by UN boss Antonio Guterres to mediate in finding a solution between pro-democracy demonstrators and the military council that ousted Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.

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It comes as France has announced its intention to return African works of art looted during the colonial era.

Senegal’s first President Leopold Senghor presented a post-colonial cultural vision of Africa 52 years ago.

Spending up to a quarter of the national budget on the arts,  he hosted world festivals of featuring the greatest international black artists and entertainers.

Economic realities pushed these into the background until a $34-million Chinese investment enabled President Macky Sall to build the museum in Dakar 

In a structure modeled on Great Zimbabwe, it’s said to compare with the National Museum of African American History in Washington.

First exhibits are from Mali, Burkina Faso, Cuba and Haiti.

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The recommended new approach been submitted to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by a team of experts headed up by Brazilian lieutenant general Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, a former UN commander in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ends intro

The specialist report recommends that the United Nations and troop- and police-contributing countries need to adapt to a new reality.

The blue helmet and the United Nations flag no longer offer natural protection, it says.

Hostile forces don’t understand a language other than force. To deter and repel attacks and to defeat attackers, the United Nations needs to be strong and not fear to use force when necessary.

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He says too many believe they have been victims of slavery, colonialism and apartheid with no control of their own destiny.

Former President Thabo Mbeki says  Africa’s  youth must be empowered to take responsibility for the transformation of Africa.

He tells an Africa Day celebration at the Ditsong Museum of South Africa in Pretoria that young Africans must be taught how first generation African slaves  defeated three Western empires in  Haiti 200 years ago….

….and how Ethiopian Emperor Menelik surprised the world by defeating an Italian army sent to conquer his empire.

Mbeki says these victories and South Africa’s defeat of apartheid at the end of the 20th century are positive lessons that should give heart and courage to the continent’s youth.

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