Sudan has accused Chad of carrying out air raids inside its territory, and said it was assessing how to respond.

One Sudanese official described the alleged raids as an act of war and said there had been casualties – though another official said no-one was hurt.

The accusation comes 10 days after Chad said Sudan had backed Chadian rebels.

The two states have long traded accusations of supporting rebels in each other’s territory, especially around Sudan’s war-torn Darfur area.

Chadian communications Minister Mahamat Hissene was quoted by AFP news agency on Friday as saying he was “surprised to learn that the regime in Khartoum is protesting against a Chadian air force action: this is obviously the pot calling the kettle black”.

He was also quoted by AP news agency as saying he would “wouldn’t be surprised” if there were raids since the Chadian military had been chasing rebels out of the country.

‘Waiting for instructions’

Earlier, Sudanese foreign ministry spokesman Ali Sadiq said two Chadian aeroplanes had carried out strikes on areas 60km (40 miles) inside Sudan.

The raids had taken place in deserted areas and there were no casualties, he was quoted as saying by AFP.

But Ali Youssef Ahmed, head of protocol at Sudan’s foreign ministry, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “They attacked. They bombed and there were casualties.”

The Chadian planes crossed the border just south of Geneina, Darfur, he said.

He said that three, rather than two, planes had been involved.

Sudan has summoned the Chadian ambassador and alerted the UN Security Council, the Arab League and the African Union, a statement from Mr Sadiq said.

“The Sudanese army is ready to respond but is waiting for instructions from the leadership,” he said.

Last week Chad’s government said it had repelled a rebel “invasion” from Sudan, and accused Khartoum of backing the rebel forces.

That accusation came two days after Chad and Sudan had signed a reconciliation agreement in Qatar.

Officials in Chad said 220 rebels were killed and 120 captured.

Rebels have been trying to topple Chadian President Idriss Deby for more than three years.

Although Khartoum has repeatedly denied backing the rebels, analysts note the insurgents have operated out of Sudanese territory for several years.

Sudan has also long accused Chad of supporting rebels in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

In May 2008, Khartoum accused N’Djamena of backing Darfur-based insurgents who launched an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital.

Many Darfur rebels are from the same ethnic group as Mr Deby, and ever since their uprising began, he has been accused of offering them support.

Source: BBC

AngloGold’s earnings came bang in line with market consensus – it reported adjusted headline earnings of US$150 million, or US$0.42 a share, in the period to end-March compared with a loss of US$17 million, or US$0.05 a share, in the quarter to end-December.

The gold price in the March quarter averaged US$908/oz, up 14% on the December quarter, while the rand/dollar exchange rate average was flat, sending the rand gold price up by 14% to a record high of R290,000/kg.

South African gold producers sell their gold in dollars and received earnings in rand. “The improved earnings are due to higher spot gold prices, a lower hedge discount and weaker local operating currencies,” chief financial officer Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said.

“We remain committed to reducing the hedge book further and achieving the narrowest possible discount to spot gold prices.” AngloGold shares rose as much as 2%, and traded 1.21% up at R314.03, beating a 0.4% rise in the gold share index.

Mark Cutifani, AngloGold’s chief executive, told a media conference call he expected the gold price to rise, and forecast it would trade between US$850/oz and US$1,000/oz this year, which could boost earnings further if costs were contained. “The price should rise beyond the US$1,000 level next year, driven mainly by investment funds,” he said.

AngloGold, which has one of the biggest forward sales among its peers, cut its hedge book commitments by 154,000oz during the March quarter, and promised even further reductions.

Forward sales have been used by mining companies to fix selling prices for nuggets not yet mined to protect profits, but AngloGold’s hedge book has been limiting the company from benefiting from the strong spot price of gold.

Mr Cutifani said the company – Africa’s largest gold producer, with around 21 operations across four continents – would slash its hedge book by up to 150,000 ounces in the current quarter. Mr Cutifani, who has said before that he is not a fan of the gold hedge, said he wanted to cut the hedge book to below 4Moz by end-2010 from 5.84Moz by the end of March. The company has so far cut its forward sales by almost 50% over the past year.

“Our strategy of reducing the hedge book by almost half over the past year is yielding real results, giving a good kicker to our received gold price,” he said. Mr Cutifani said second-quarter production would be 1.14Moz. First-quarter output fell 13% to 1.103Moz partly due to safety-related closures in South Africa and operational woes at its Geita Gold Mine in Tanzania, although these had now been rectified and output should rise, Mr Cutifani said.

Total cash costs for the group would rise by up to US$485/oz in the second quarter, after rising 5% to $445/oz in the first quarter. Mr Cutifani said AngloGold had formally received a go-ahead from the Colombian government, which awarded the firm exploration permits covering a portion of AngloGold’s vast La Colosa concession, which requires some US$200 million over the next three to four years for initial exploratory work.