Cameroon sets presidential vote for October 12
The vote will decide who will lead the cocoa- and oil-producing nation of nearly 30 million for the next seven years.
Presidential hopefuls must submit their applications within 10 days after the electoral college is convened, as mandated by the electoral code.
Biya, the world's oldest serving head of state at 92, came to power more than four decades ago in 1982. He has not said whether he plans to seek another term.
He won in 2018 with 71.28% of the vote, according to official results, although the opposition and several independent observers reported widespread irregularities.
Constitutional reforms in 2008 scrapped presidential term limits, allowing him to run indefinitely.
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Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, minister says
SYDNEY, July 13 (Reuters) - Australia will not commit troops in advance to any conflict, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said on Sunday, responding to a report that the Pentagon has pressed its ally to clarify what role it would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan. Australia prioritises its sovereignty and "we don't discuss hypotheticals", Conroy said in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance but by the government of the day," he said. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defence for policy, has been pushing Australian and Japanese defence officials on what they would do in a Taiwan conflict, although the U.S. does not offer a blank cheque guarantee to defend Taiwan. Colby posted on X that the Department of Defense is implementing President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda of restoring deterrence, which includes "urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense". China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future. Australia's largest war-fighting exercise with the United States, involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries, opens on Sunday on Sydney Harbour. Conroy said Australia was concerned about China's military buildup of nuclear and conventional forces, and wants a balanced Indo-Pacific region where no country dominates. "China is seeking to secure a military base in the region and we are working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region because we don't think that's a particularly optimal thing for Australia," he said, referring to the Pacific Islands. Security is expected to be on the agenda when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meets China's leaders this week. He arrived in Shanghai on Saturday for a six-day visit. The Talisman Sabre exercise will span 6,500 km (4,000 miles), from Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island to the Coral Sea on Australia's east coast. Conroy said it was possible China's navy would be watching the exercise to collect information, as it had done in the past. The United States is Australia's major security ally. Although Australia does not permit foreign bases, the U.S. military is expanding its rotational presence and fuel stores on Australian bases, which from 2027 will have U.S. Virginia submarines at port in Western Australia. These would play a key role in supporting U.S. forces in any conflict over Taiwan, analysts say.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
World must be more wary than ever of China's growing economic power
China is pulling every lever at its disposal to counter Donald Trump's economic blockade, and it's working. Trade is recovering after the massive hit from Washington's wide-ranging tariffs on Beijing's exports. According to data provider Macrobond and Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, exports to the US were down by about $15bn (£11bn) in May, but up by half that figure to other countries that trade with the US. Exports to African countries have also risen sharply. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Australia and the UK. The latest addition to China's growing list of conquests occurred last week when its premier, Li Qiang, and Brazil's beleaguered president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed a slew of cooperation agreements, including ones covering artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace, further consolidating Beijing's Belt and Road scheme of tied investments. It matters to everyone that China's power and influence are expanding because the aims of its autocratic regime undermine the economic and political resources of the rest of the world. China might, by some, be considered the great provider, but its pseudo-communist regime is a malign actor on the international stage, much as Russia has become, and its search for ways to thrive must be strictly circumscribed. Without tough action, its voracious appetite for resources, information and intellectual capital will eat all of us. There are spies in every major university syphoning information back to Beijing about new developments and business opportunities. When intellectual property and patents can be hacked, they are duly stolen. Digital information is harvested on a vast scale and put into huge databases, waiting for developments in AI to allow for a more systematic analysis by Chinese officials. It might seem like a paranoid interpretation of China's day-to-day workings when Britons cast their eye over their own government and believe it barely capable of boiling an egg. China, though, is a very different place. Talk to local officials and you will quickly notice how concerned they are about the basics as much as they are about reasserting China's preindustrial revolution status as the world's greatest economic power. How to feed 1.4 billion people is a daily task and a constant worry. Nothing must stop the effort to keep the wheels of today's economy turning and the mission to usurp rivals such as the US and turn neighbours into supplicants. Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, knows this ahead of a trip to three Chinese cities this weekend for talks about trade and investment and the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, understands how carefully he must tread when considering injections of Chinese cash and knowhow to build new offshore windfarms. What Beijing can offer is hugely attractive. It's not just the 10% depreciation in its currency against the dollar that makes its exports even cheaper than they were just a few months ago. It has cut-price digital infrastructure products that will transform an economy, an especially appealing offer to the industrialising nations also being punished by Trump's tariffs such as South Africa, Brazil and the Philippines. In the post-pandemic period of panic gripping much of the world, where the costs of making any kind of improvements are growing and government debts are escalating, China is one of the few big investors outside the Middle East with significant financial firepower. Cheap goods offset inflationary pressures while tantalising investments lure countries that Beijing knows are struggling to deliver on election promises. In this turbulent world, the UK, the EU and Australia can fend off China's demands for greater access in return for investment – primarily access to digital information. They can use polite language when they say no. Or they can cite China's alliance with Russia if they need a more forceful excuse. Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil. In this way it has embraced pariah status. Albanese says he will take back the port in Darwin from Chinese control. Likewise, Miliband should block Chinese investment in UK energy infrastructure. And David Lammy, the foreign secretary, should support planning objections to China's proposed new embassy in London, which the MoD has warned will be a huge spying station. Keeping China at bay when it has so much to offer won't be easy. It pays the wages of university lecturers by sending tens of thousands of students to the UK. It sends us cheap electric cars and much else from its vast warehouse of electrical and electronic products. That shouldn't be an excuse for adopting a breezy, laissez-faire attitude. We might not have wanted to take sides. There is no issue with the people of Russia and China, but their governments have forced us to be more independent, and take the financial hit that comes with that.
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- The Guardian
World must be more wary than ever of China's growing economic power
China is pulling every lever at its disposal to counter Donald Trump's economic blockade, and it's working. Trade is recovering after the massive hit from Washington's wide-ranging tariffs on Beijing's exports. According to data provider Macrobond and Beijing-based consultancy Gavekal Dragonomics, exports to the US were down by about $15bn (£11bn) in May, but up by half that figure to other countries that trade with the US. Exports to African countries have also risen sharply. Meanwhile, Chinese officials are poised to strike deals to deepen economic cooperation with countries ranging from Brazil and South Africa to Australia and the UK. The latest addition to China's growing list of conquests occurred last week when its premier, Li Qiang, and Brazil's beleaguered president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, signed a slew of cooperation agreements, including ones covering artificial intelligence (AI) and aerospace, further consolidating Beijing's Belt and Road scheme of tied investments. It matters to everyone that China's power and influence are expanding because the aims of its autocratic regime undermine the economic and political resources of the rest of the world. China might, by some, be considered the great provider, but its pseudo-communist regime is a malign actor on the international stage, much as Russia has become, and its search for ways to thrive must be strictly circumscribed. Without tough action, its voracious appetite for resources, information and intellectual capital will eat all of us. There are spies in every major university syphoning information back to Beijing about new developments and business opportunities. When intellectual property and patents can be hacked, they are duly stolen. Digital information is harvested on a vast scale and put into huge databases, waiting for developments in AI to allow for a more systematic analysis by Chinese officials. It might seem like a paranoid interpretation of China's day-to-day workings when Britons cast their eye over their own government and believe it barely capable of boiling an egg. China, though, is a very different place. Talk to local officials and you will quickly notice how concerned they are about the basics as much as they are about reasserting China's preindustrial revolution status as the world's greatest economic power. How to feed 1.4 billion people is a daily task and a constant worry. Nothing must stop the effort to keep the wheels of today's economy turning and the mission to usurp rivals such as the US and turn neighbours into supplicants. Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, knows this ahead of a trip to three Chinese cities this weekend for talks about trade and investment and the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, understands how carefully he must tread when considering injections of Chinese cash and knowhow to build new offshore windfarms. What Beijing can offer is hugely attractive. It's not just the 10% depreciation in its currency against the dollar that makes its exports even cheaper than they were just a few months ago. It has cut-price digital infrastructure products that will transform an economy, an especially appealing offer to the industrialising nations also being punished by Trump's tariffs such as South Africa, Brazil and the Philippines. In the post-pandemic period of panic gripping much of the world, where the costs of making any kind of improvements are growing and government debts are escalating, China is one of the few big investors outside the Middle East with significant financial firepower. Cheap goods offset inflationary pressures while tantalising investments lure countries that Beijing knows are struggling to deliver on election promises. In this turbulent world, the UK, the EU and Australia can fend off China's demands for greater access in return for investment – primarily access to digital information. They can use polite language when they say no. Or they can cite China's alliance with Russia if they need a more forceful excuse. Beijing supplies Russia with much of what it needs in wartime in return for cheap oil. In this way it has embraced pariah status. Albanese says he will take back the port in Darwin from Chinese control. Likewise, Miliband should block Chinese investment in UK energy infrastructure. And David Lammy, the foreign secretary, should support planning objections to China's proposed new embassy in London, which the MoD has warned will be a huge spying station. Keeping China at bay when it has so much to offer won't be easy. It pays the wages of university lecturers by sending tens of thousands of students to the UK. It sends us cheap electric cars and much else from its vast warehouse of electrical and electronic products. That shouldn't be an excuse for adopting a breezy, laissez-faire attitude. We might not have wanted to take sides. There is no issue with the people of Russia and China, but their governments have forced us to be more independent, and take the financial hit that comes with that.
