DAILY GRAPHIC

The Graphic reports of a blood-chilling murder of a Ghanaian captain and seven others on a ship in the United States. Under the banner headline: "Murder in Cold Blood", the paper says a Ghanaian ship captain, Mr Joe Parker, is reported to be among eight foreign officers murdered on board a United States registered vessel, "M.V. Vanderpool Express", by unknown assailants when the ship docked at Miami, Florida recently. Captain Parker, aged 48, was identified by relatives in the U.S. at the instance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which is investigating the killings. The Graphic says a CNN report on the incident monitored in Accra on July 15, said the motive of the assassins were not immediately known. However, a report from the U.S. indicates that the late Parker, who was the skipper, and the shipmates, threatened to abandon the ship over the shipowners' alleged non-compliance with the crew's salary structure agreement.

Another front page story in the Graphic is a call by the president of the Association of Ghana Industries, Dr J.A, Addsion for innovative marketing strategies to enable industries to survive the country's highly liberalised economy. Dr Addison said " the enterprises have to continuously rethink and re-package their marketing to be able to stay afloat". He was launching the AGI's Market Clinic Programme (MCP) designed to assist entrepreneurs assess their maeketing problems and identify options which can be used to address such problems. The clinc is also to help entrepreneurs identify potential markets, help them develop a basis for maximising internal capital and provide opportunities for industrial sub-contracting and other investments.

"CHRAJ exonerates Ato Quarshie," is another Graphic front page story. The story says the Commission on Human rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has exonerated Dr Ato Quarshie, former Minister of Roads and Highways, of all allegations of using his position as a former cabinet minister to illegally acquire wealth. The paper says in the circumstances, the commission finds that the various allegations of corruption, abuse of office and impropriety made against Dr Quarshie in the Ghanaian Chronicle issue of August 14- 16, 1995, and January 8-9 1997, are unfounded and untrue. This was contained in a report issued by the CHRAJ and signed by its Commissioner, Mr Emile Francis Short on investigations into allegations of corruption against dr Quarshie. GRI