IN a surprise move, Guinean President Lansana Conte appointed the head of the supreme court, Lamine Sidime, as the country’s new prime minister late on Monday. Sidime replaces Sidya Toure, a technocrat named to the premiership in July 1996 to revive Guinea’s economy. News of Toure’s sacking came on the eve of a special parliamentary session on the Budget. This move comes one month after Conte began a new presidential term after getting 56,11% of the vote in the first round of December’s elections. The result was not accepted by the opposition, one of whose leaders, Alpha Conde, was subsequently arrested and charged with offences against the security of the state.