Health minister says officials ‘really concerned’ after three deaths from the infectious disease
Guinea has entered an Ebola “epidemic situation” with seven cases confirmed, including three deaths, a leading health official in the west African nation has said.
“Very early this morning, the Conakry laboratory confirmed the presence of the Ebola virus,” Sakoba Keita said after an emergency meeting in the capital.
Continue reading...Tycoon sentenced to five years in prison for bribing officials and forging documents to gain mining rights in Guinea
The Israeli diamond and minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz has been convicted of corrupting foreign agents and forging documents by a Geneva court, in a trial over an attempt to reap lavish iron ore resources in Guinea.
Steinmetz, considered by some to be Israel’s richest man, was sentenced to five years in prison but had faced a maximum of 10 years in the case.
Continue reading...Director-general warns of ‘catastrophic moral failure’ if richer countries hoard treatment
The world is on the edge of a “catastrophic moral failure” in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, with just 25 doses administered across all poor countries compared with 39m in wealthier ones, the head of the World Health Organization has said.
It was the sharpest warning so far from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus about the dangers of vaccine hoarding since inoculations started being administered in 49 mostly high-income countries.
Continue reading...Analysis: Amid rising trade tensions, Chinese interests are keen to develop a high-quality deposit in Guinea. Analysts warn any restrictions on Australian sales to China would ‘send shockwaves through the market’
Across China and around the clock, furnaces fuelled by Australian iron ore pump out the steel the country needs to build its way out of the coronavirus downturn.
But as China’s trade war with Australia has become louder, working its way from unofficial stoppages to swingeing tariffs on barley and wine, so too have rumblings that the country may slow or end its use of Australian ore.
Continue reading...Cleaner was sacked while isolating with coronavirus symptoms as others fell ill
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and cleaning firm OCS have been accused of ignoring pleas to investigate a potential coronavirus outbreak among workers at the department after at four cleaners say they fell sick with suspected symptoms.
The MoJ cleaning team, employed by cleaning firm OCS and sub-contractor PRS, were told at the start of lockdown that they were essential workers and were to continue to commute into central London.
Continue reading...The Yé Ké Yé Ké singer’s son said he was unable to travel to France for his usual treatment owing to coronavirus-related restrictions
The Guinean musician Mory Kanté has died aged 70. His son Balla Kanté told the AFP news agency that his death was the result of untreated chronic health problems.
“He suffered from chronic illnesses and often traveled to France for treatment, but that was no longer possible with the coronavirus,” said Balla. “We saw his condition deteriorate rapidly, but I was still surprised because he’d been through much worse times before.” Kanté died in hospital in the capital, Conakry.
Continue reading...Once hailed as a champion of democracy, Alpha Condé is threatening to outstay his welcome as Guinea’s president
Even before the pandemic there were postponements. Before that, there were protests. From a large armchair positioned beneath his own portrait, the 82-year-old president of Guinea is not answering the key question preoccupying his country whether or not he wants to remain in situ until he is 94.
In the Sekhoutoureah presidential palace in Conakry, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and trousers, Alpha Condé is flanked on one side by a large photograph of himself alongside Barack Obama in the White House. On the other, framed photographs on a table show him shaking hands with the Turkish leader, Recep Erdoğan, and with China’s Xi Jinping. There’s also a golden bust of Chairman Mao and a hefty book about the Beninese politician Robert Dossou.
Continue reading...Opposition boycott of referendum all but ensures new basic law will be approved
Despite the coronavirus threat and an opposition boycott, Guinea has held a constitutional referendum that opponents of the president, Alpha Condé, fear could allow him to govern for 12 more years.
Opposition supporters heeding a call to disrupt the referendum and simultaneous legislative election attacked several polling stations in the capital, Conakry, delaying the start of voting in some districts. Security forces were quick to contain the pockets of unrest and there was no immediate report of significant casualties.
Continue reading...‘We have to keep going,’ say family of teenager killed in west African country’s capital
On the morning of 14 November Abdourahmane Diallo set out on his motorcycle taxi along the pothole-laden roads of Conakry, the bustling capital of Guinea. By nightfall he was dead.
His family said the 16-year-old orphan was shot in the ear by police who were targeting opposition supporters in the Bomboly neighbourhood where the Diallos live. With blood pouring from the wound, Diallo was shuffled between government hospitals, family members said. One hospital said it had no capacity for new patients, another said it had no equipment to treat him. He died that evening.
Continue reading...Mining group agrees to walk away from Simandou project, with all legal actions ceasing
The mining group controlled by the controversial tycoon Beny Steinmetz is to walk away from a massive iron ore project in Guinea as part of an agreement that settles a long-running corruption dispute with the west African nation.
Development of Simandou – one of the world’s biggest iron deposits, containing billions of tonnes of high-grade ore – has been hindered by years of legal wrangling as well as the enormous cost of the required infrastructure, estimated at more than $20bn (£15bn).
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