logo
Guinea's prime minister announces elections in December 2025

Guinea's prime minister announces elections in December 2025

Yahoo12-05-2025

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - The prime minister of junta-ruled Guinea announced a new date of December 2025 for elections, seeking to reassure investors in a speech at an African business forum on Monday.
Guinea is ruled by military leader Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power in a coup in September 2021, and in 2022 proposed a two-year transition to elections but then did not take steps to organise a vote.
The junta later set and missed a deadline of December 31, 2024 for a return to a civilian administration.
Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah announced the new date on Monday at the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, while speaking about the West African country's Simandou iron ore project.
The announcement comes a month after the government set September 21, 2025, as the date for a constitutional referendum, which authorities have said would be a precursor to any election and a return to constitutional rule.
"The constitutional referendum will be on September 21 and the legislative and presidential elections will be in December," the prime minister said.
"I can assure you that Simandou's first train will arrive before the elections."
In July 2024 the junta presented a draft of a new constitution which may allow Doumbouya to participate in the next presidential election.
Guinea's two former ruling parties are currently suspended. The other major opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, has been placed under surveillance.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UK and India discuss 'counter-terrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire
UK and India discuss 'counter-terrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire

Yahoo

time43 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

UK and India discuss 'counter-terrorism' cooperation after Pakistan ceasefire

By Krishna N. Das NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Britain and India on Saturday discussed expanding their "counter-terrorism" collaboration following recent fighting between India and Pakistan, Britain's foreign minister told Reuters after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. British foreign minister David Lammy is the highest-profile Western official to have visited both New Delhi and Islamabad since the South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire last month after their worst fighting in nearly three decades. The latest tensions began in April after the killing of 26 men in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on "terrorists" backed by Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denied. India then attacked what it called "terrorist infrastructure" in Pakistan, leading to escalation from both sides until a May 10 ceasefire. "We want the situation to be maintained, but of course we recognise fragility, particularly in the backdrop of terrorism, terrorism designed to destabilise India," Lammy said in an interview at the residence of the British High Commissioner in New Delhi. "We are keen to continue to work with our Indian partners on counter-terrorism measures." He said he discussed the next steps with both Modi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, but gave no specifics. Last year, India and Britain discussed combating the financing of terrorism, cooperation between law enforcement and judicial bodies and information sharing. Lammy said he also discussed boosting trade between the world's fifth and sixth largest economies. The countries concluded talks for a free trade deal early last month. "I know that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is very much looking forward to coming to India very soon to sign the free trade agreement," Lammy said. "There is so much that our two nations can continue to do together."

Top 10 African countries with the highest cumulative debt to China (2000–2023)
Top 10 African countries with the highest cumulative debt to China (2000–2023)

Business Insider

timean hour ago

  • Business Insider

Top 10 African countries with the highest cumulative debt to China (2000–2023)

Over the past two decades, China's financial engagement with Africa has grown remarkably, primarily through infrastructure-focused loans. China's financial involvement in Africa has grown significantly, focusing on infrastructure-oriented loans. The Chinese Loans to Africa Database tracks loan agreements from 2000 to 2023, showing trends in lending amounts and loan dynamics. Angola leads as the top borrower, repaying loans through oil-backed mechanisms for reconstruction needs. These loans have helped build roads, railways, power plants in several African countries, but they have also raised questions about debt sustainability, repayment risks, and the long-term autonomy of African economies. The Chinese Loans to Africa Database, compiled by Boston University's Global Development Policy Center, provides a comprehensive record of loan agreements between China and African countries over a 13-year period, from 2000 to 2023. It reveals not only the total loan amounts but also the number of individual loan agreements signed between African countries and Chinese lenders. After several years of decline, Chinese lending to Africa increased in 2023 the first rise since 2016. This recent uptick shows a shift in Beijing's strategy toward projects with clearer financial viability, as China becomes more selective with its lending. Below is a ranking of the ten African countries with the highest total debt to China, based on the cumulative loan amounts and the number of loans recorded from 2000 to 2023. Rankings of top 10 African countries by debt to China Rank Country Total Loan Amount (USD) 1 Angola $46.0 billion 2 Ethiopia $14.5 billion 3 Egypt $9.7 billion 4 Kenya $9.6 billion 5 Nigeria $9.6 billion 6 Zambia $9.5 billion 7 South Africa $6.9 billion 8 Sudan $6.3 billion 9 Ghana $6.1 billion 10 Cameroon $5.9 billion Angola tops the list, borrowing $46 billion from China through 270 loans. Much of this debt stems from post-civil war reconstruction efforts, particularly in the oil and infrastructure sectors. Angola's model of repaying loans with crude oil became one of the earliest examples of resource-backed Chinese lending on the continent. Ethiopia comes second, with $14.5 billion borrowed via 66 agreements, highlighting the country's deep reliance on Chinese funds for its railways, power projects, and telecommunications infrastructure. Key developments like the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway have been financed almost entirely through Chinese lending. Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria follow closely, each holding debts between $9.5 and $9.7 billion. Egypt's loans have supported transportation, electricity, and real estate projects, while Kenya's financing was pivotal in constructing the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Nigeria, similarly, has used Chinese funds for rail, road, and power initiatives. Zambia's debt of $9.5 billion comes from a notably high 82 loans, the largest number in the top ten. This suggests frequent borrowing, likely for smaller-scale or diversified infrastructure efforts. The remaining countries, South Africa, Sudan, Ghana, and Cameroon, each owe over $5.9 billion, reflecting years of engagement across transport, energy, and public service sectors. The growing debt to China shows Africa's dependence on external capital for development. On one hand, Chinese loans have enabled tangible infrastructure improvements that traditional Western financiers often hesitate to fund. On the other hand, the continent faces mounting concerns about debt distress, limited fiscal space, and vulnerability to external shocks.

ECB should watch out for price hikes from U.S. tariffs, Schnabel says
ECB should watch out for price hikes from U.S. tariffs, Schnabel says

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

ECB should watch out for price hikes from U.S. tariffs, Schnabel says

By Francesco Canepa DUBROVNIK, Croatia (Reuters) -The European Central Bank has made "great progress" in taming inflation but it should watch out for fresh price hikes caused by U.S. tariffs, ECB policymaker Isabel Schnabel said on Saturday. The ECB cut interest rates on Thursday for the eighth time in the past year and signalled at least a policy pause next month as it waits for the growth and inflation outlook to become clearer. Schnabel, the most prominent voice in the hawkish ECB camp that favours higher interest rates, celebrated inflation returning to the bank's 2% target. "I think we've made great progress, and as you know, our most recent inflation number was even below 2%," Schnabel told a conference in Dubrovnik. "Of course, that was to a very large extent driven by energy, but we do see that also the more persistent components are coming down and that is that is very, very good news." Croatian central bank governor and fellow hawk Boris Vujcic said the ECB was "nearly done" cutting rates provided that inflation settles at 2% as expected. But with the ECB now projecting inflation at 1.6% next year, other ECB policymakers, and especially Portugal's central bank governor Mario Centeno, are even worrying it may slow down too much. Schnabel said the ECB should rather switch its focus on possible, new "shocks", such as a global trade war waged by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration against its trading partners. She cited academic research showing that a 1% increase in producer prices around the world would result in a 0.2% increase, on average, in domestic producer prices in major economies. "Even in the absence of retaliation, the tariffs would be expected to be inflationary and even more so if there is retaliation," she said. As an example, Schnabel cited China's decision to restrict its exports of rare earths, which is forcing automakers and their suppliers to shut down production of certain models. China said on Saturday it was willing to accelerate the examination and approval of rare earth exports to European Union firms. Schnabel also cited ECB research showing that the effect of so-called trade diversion -Chinese producers shut out of the United States flooding European markets with their goods - was small. "If the effects were not small, you can be sure that there would be counteracting measures coming from the European Commission," Schnabel said. She argued all this suggested trade tensions would affect all economies, limiting the scope for the ECB's and U.S. Federal Reserve's monetary policies to diverge. "I expect this trade conflict to play out as a global shock that's working through both lower demand and supply," she said at the conference hosted by the Croatian central bank. "We can discuss which of the two effects on inflation is larger because that determines the net effect. But in any case, I would not expect a sustained decoupling (between the ECB and the Fed)," she said. Speaking on the same panel, Bank of England policymaker Megan Greene stuck a different tone, saying trade fragmentation should help bring down inflation in Britain, giving the BoE an "opportunity for monetary policy divergence going forward". (Reporting By Francesco CanepaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store