Ghana Telescope - Accra Ghana

Brazil prison riot leaves at least 18 dead


A prison riot in northern Brazil has left at least 18 inmates dead after fighting broke out between rival gangs.

Several victims were reportedly decapitated by cell mates and their heads thrown out of the windows.

The rebellion, which has now ended, erupted on Monday at the jail in the state of Maranhao when a group of prisoners wrestled a gun off a guard and went on the rampage.

Inmates had demanded better conditions in the overcrowded jail.

Guards released

Prisoners at the Pedrinhas prison in Sao Luis, the capital of Maranhao, overpowered and shot a guard during an inspection on Monday. He and five other guards were taken hostage.

The wounded guard was freed on Monday and taken to hospital, where he was said to be stable. The other guards were released unharmed on Tuesday.

State secretary for security Aluisio Guimarares told Agence France-Presse news agency that police had retaken control of the prison and restored calm.

There are frequent riots in Brazilian prisons, which are often overcrowded.

The Pedrinhas prison was built to house 2,000 men but currently holds about 4,000.


Nigerian militants seize workers from oil rig



Gunmen in Nigeria have attacked an oil rig and seized up to seven workers after a recent lull in such raids.

Afren, the company which operates the rig, said two workers had been wounded. Those seized are reportedly from the US, France, Canada and Indonesia.

The raid came as an e-mail was sent to journalists warning of new attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta.

Violence in the oil-producing region had subsided after the main militant group accepted an amnesty last year.

London-based Afren PLC said the gunmen had also attacked a support ship but that both the boat and the rig in the Okoro field off the coast of Nigeria's Akwa Ibom state were now under its control.

The wounded pair have been flown by helicopter for medical treatment, it said.

The company did not provide any further details of Sunday's attack but said drilling operations had been suspended.

It said five workers had been taken hostage but several other reports say seven people were seized - two from France, two from Indonesia, two from the US and one from Canada.

US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley confirmed that two US citizens had been taken.

An e-mail reportedly sent by the main oil militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had carried out the attack and that all those seized were safe and well, Reuters news agency reports.

Violence in the Delta region had caused a sharp fall in Nigeria's oil output until the amnesty offer saw thousands of gunmen lay down their arms.

But a Mend faction is accused of carrying out twin car-bombings in the capital, Abuja as Nigeria was celebrating 50 years of independence on 1 October.


Mystery missile launch reported off California coast



Pentagon officials say they cannot explain reports of a missile launch off the coast of California on Monday.

A CBS News helicopter captured what looked like the vapour trail of a missile rising from the water about 35 miles (56 km) offshore.

"Right now all indications are that it was not [defence department] involvement in this launch" Pentagon spokesman Col David Lapan said.

The Pentagon does not consider the missile a threat.

"So far we've come up empty with any explanation," Col Lapan said. "We're doing everything we can to try to figure out if anybody has any knowledge of what this event may have been."

Under normal circumstances, the launch of a US missile would require several different authorisations and notifications, but none are evident.

It is unclear if the suspected missile was launched from land or sea.

Ghana Cocoa Board Lifts Buying Ban on Three Companies


Ghana, the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, partially lifted a ban on three licensed cocoa- buying companies from operating in its biggest growing region after allegations they were involved in smuggling.

Armajaro Holdings Ltd., Transroyal Ghana Ltd. and Diaby Ltd. complied with the ban placed in April on purchasing beans in the western region near the border with Ivory Coast, and had trained their staff on anti-smuggling, the Accra-based Ghana Cocoa Board said in an e-mailed statement today. They are still not allowed to trade in some districts of the region, it said.

The board, also known as Cocobod, says Ghana has lost about 100,000 metric tons of beans because of smuggling to Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer of the chocolate ingredient, where a liberalized market can fetch farmers higher prices for their produce than in Ghana, where prices are fixed. Cocobod increased the price it paid to farmers for the 2010-11 harvest season by a third to 3,200 cedis ($2,228) per ton, partly to stop smuggling. The season started on Oct. 1.

Thomas Ladi, a finance manager of Transroyal, denied the company was involved in smuggling.

“It is not in our interest to smuggle the cocoa,” he said in a phone interview today. “We make our margin from the number of tons we are able to sell to Cocobod.”

It will take time for the company to re-start operations in the region, since “depots will have to be acquired and staff moved back to the area,” Ladi said.

Cocoa for December delivery increased 26 pounds, or 1.4 percent, to 1,855 pounds ($2,997) a ton by 3:14 p.m. in London.






Gold Advances on Increased Investor Demand for Alternative to Currencies


Gold climbed on speculation that European governments may struggle to pay debt, which boosted demand for the precious metal as an alternative to currencies.

Gold for immediate delivery gained 0.4 percent to $1,398.20 an ounce at 2:30 p.m. in Seoul. The metal reached to an all-time high of $1,424.60 an ounce yesterday on concern that Ireland and Greece will struggle to repay bondholders, and spending cuts may stifle growth in the region.

“Paper money is being printed and printed, but there’s no other alternative,” said C.S. Oh, head of overseas futures team at NH Investment & Futures Co. in Seoul. “There’s no change to the fundamentals in the gold market. The dollar looks a bit stronger now, but it’s poised to weaken in the long term.”

The Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback’s strength against six other counterparts, has fallen 1.2 percent since Oct. 1, while gold has gained 6.9 percent. Bullion typically moves inversely to the U.S. currency. The metal has gained 27 percent this year, heading for the 10th straight annual gain.

Governments have spent trillions of dollars to bolster their economies, driving the value of currencies lower. Last week, the Federal Reserve said it will buy an additional $600 billion of Treasuries through June.

Gold futures for December delivery dropped 0.9 percent to $1,397.20 an ounce on the Comex in New York after reaching a record $1,424.30 yesterday.

Currency tensions may increase protectionism, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters in Singapore today, adding that he doesn’t see a currency war developing. Zoellick also said he’s not advocating a return to the gold standard.

Gold ‘Compass’

There is “some sense” in using gold as tool to guide monetary authorities in the U.S., said Dennis Gartman, an economist and the editor of the Suffolk, Virginia-based Gartman Letter. “We are not proponents of a gold standard,” he said yesterday in his daily note. The metal could be used “as a target, as a guide-post, as a compass.”

Silver for immediate delivery gained 2.4 percent to $27.555 an ounce. The metal fell yesterday as much as 4.5 percent after reaching $29.36, the highest price since March 1980, as CME Group Inc.’s Comex unit raised margin requirements.

The minimum amount of cash that traders must deposit when borrowing from brokers to trade silver futures will rise to $6,500 per contract from $5,000 for exchange members, Michael Shore, a spokesman for the exchange in Chicago, said yesterday.

Spot palladium gained 0.2 percent to $693.88 on ounce and platinum was little changed at $1,762.38 an ounce.