South Korean Premier Resigns Over Ferry Disaster

People hold a candlelit vigil in Ansan for passengers who were travelling aboard the South Korean ferry that sank off the coast of JindoGetty

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won has resigned, taking responsibility for the April 16 ferry tragedy in which hundreds of people, mostly school children, died.

The prime minister apologised to the people of the country and owned moral responsibility for the security lapses that led to the tragedy, the poor response of the government and the chaotic rescue measures.

"As I saw the families who lost their loved ones and the people's sadness and fury, I thought it was only natural for me to step down, holding responsibility for everything that has happened," Chung told a nationally-televised news conference on Sunday.

"I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards," the prime minister, who holds the No.2 position in the government, said.

"I believed I, as the prime minister, certainly had to take responsibility and resign," he added.

The Sewol ferry capsized during a trip to the holiday island of Jeju from the southern port of Incheon with 476 people on board, most of them students and teachers on a field trip.

“I offer my apology for having been unable to prevent this accident from happening and unable to properly respond to it afterwards.”

- South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won

While the confirmed death toll in the tragedy is 187, more than a hundred people are still missing and presumed dead. As many as 174 people were rescued in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy and search operations in the subsequent days have failed to find a single survivor.

The tragedy's massive scale was heightened by misleading bits of information provided by the authorities.

Soon after the news of the disaster spread, the authorities had said all the passengers had been rescued, giving false hope to parents of hundreds of children.

It was also revealed later that the incident was handled wrongly by the crew, who instructed the scared students to remain inside the cabins as the ship began sinking.

The government has ordered an investigation into the mismanagement of the incident and arrested all surviving 15 crew members. They face charges of criminal negligence of duty and abandoning passengers.

The investigators are particularly looking at the actions of the captain, who delayed his order for evacuation, which resulted in more deaths.

The anger of the people was directed at the government for failing to enforce regulatory controls and allowing ship operators to ignore safety measures.

Chung's resignation has to be approved by President Park Geun-hye.

Afghanistan Election Results Fail to Produce Clear Winner

Abdullah Abdullah (l) and Ashraf Ghani (r) will enter a run-off after neither secured an absolute majorityReuters

Afghanistan's election will go to a second run-off next month after neither of the two leading candidates managed to secure an absolute majority in their bid to replace President Karzai, who has led the country since the U.S. invasion.

Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah emerged on top with some 44.9% of the vote. Ashraf Ghani, the former World Bank economist, attracted 31.5%. The third candidate, Zalmay Rassoul, received just 11.5%. For an absolute majority, 50% of the vote is required.

pt: Dr Farooqi expressed hopes to BBC that "ECC will throw out the fraudulent votes & announce a more cleaner result" #AfghanElections

— Daud Junbish (@DaudJunbish) April 26, 2014

The results have been verified by the chairman of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Ahmad Yousuf Nouristani. However, both Abdullah and Ghani have complained about the results. Allegations of fraud must be investigated so the final results won't be published until 14 May. Any run-off must then take place within 15 days. Before the election both men ruled out a power-sharing deal. Abdullah said:

"We have not talked or negotiated with anyone about forming a coalition government."

#AshrafGhani's spokesperson Dr Farooqi to BBC - "500K fraudulent votes were included in final preliminary result which affected the stats"

— Daud Junbish (@DaudJunbish) April 26, 2014

Whoever is eventually elected will face the daunting task of attempting to provide stability and growth following the final withdrawal of foreign troops before the end of the year – which can't come too soon for Western governments. Only today five British troops died when their helicopter crashed in the Kandahar region.

'Kidnap Westerners' Urges Al-Qaeda Chief al-Zawahiri

Ayman al-ZawahiriSite Intelligence Group

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Muslims to kidnap westerners to be used as bargaining chips in negotiating the release of jailed Islamist militants.

In a wide-ranging interview, the figurehead of the terrorist organisation also offered support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which was ousted from power in Egypt following a military coup. Zawahiri also urged Islamist groups in the Syrian civil war to join forces in defeating president Bashar al-Assad.

Zawahiri called for the release of Egyptian cleric Dr Omar Abdel Rahman, who was jailed for his role in the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Centre.

"I ask Allah the Glorious to help us set free Dr Omar Abdel-Rahman and the rest of the captive Muslims, and I ask Allah to help us capture from among the Americans and the westerners to enable us to exchange them for our captives," said Zawahiri, according to the Site website monitoring service, after the video was posted on radical Islamist website Hanein.

Reuters reported that though the recording was not verified as authentic, the voice matched that of al Zawahiri.

The Egyptian-born doctor urged Islamist groups in Syria, including the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), to cease fighting with one another, and to depose "the criminal al-Assad regime."

"The Ummah [Muslim world] must support this jihad with all that it can, and the mujahideen [Islamist militants] must unite around the word of Tawhid [unity]," said Zawahiri.

"So everyone should prioritise the interest of Islam and the Ummah over his organisational or partisan interest, even if he gives up for his brothers what he sees as right."

In February, al-Qaeda broke from ISIS over the group's refusal to break of its operations in Syria and concentrate on Iraq. In Syria, al-Quaeda has allied itself with the al-Nusra front.

When asked about Egypt, al-Zawahiri declared: "The duty on every Muslim is to deter the aggressor by any means, and especially the oppressed Muslims."

He said the deposed Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood had "all the right to use force against the injustice they are facing."

"The secularists and the army attacked them with Gulf money, American planning, Israeli incitement and crusader plotting," he added.

Last year, the Egyptian army ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi and arrested him alongside hundreds of his Islamic Brotherhood supporters. They declared the Islamist group a terrorist organisation last year.

In the first part of the recording, released last week, al-Zawahiri said that al-Qaeda was far from defeated, and was in fact expanding, more than a decade after President George W Bush launched the 'war on terror' following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"The upper hand is for the one who does not withdraw from his land," he said. "Who has withdrawn from Iraq, and who has not? Who has withdrawn from Afghanistan and who has not?"

Record Numbers on Antidepressants in UK

The World Health Organisation is concerned that antidepressant rates are going "through the roof" in many countriesReuters

Four million Britons now take antidepressants and the number of pills prescribed by doctors has risen by almost 25% in the past three years, leading to concerns that doctors are handing over the prescriptions too easily, when counselling might be more appropriate.

Latest statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that 53 million prescriptions for antidepressants such as Seroxat and Prozac were handed out in England last year.

The UK now has the seventh highest prescribing rate for antidepressants in the western world and twice as many people are now taking drugs than they were ten years ago.

The World Health Organisation is now warning that prescription levels in many countries are "through the roof" as people struggle to deal with the challenges of modern living.

Up to a year to wait for counselling

"On the demand side, people know antidepressants work. I would even argue there's a degree of fashion about antidepressants. On the supply side, antidepressants have become cheaper and more easily available," said Dr Matt Muijen, head of mental health at WHO Europe.

"My worry is that we are medicalising all forms of sadness in the belief that antidepressants are a safe drug that you just prescribe."

The WHO estimates that by 2020, depression will be the second most debilitating health condition in the world.

At the moment, it can take up to a year to receive counselling after being referred by an NHS doctor.

Julia Llewellyn Smith, a writer who was struggling after the birth of her first child, told Sky News that she was immediately offered medication by her GP, who assumed she must have post-natal depression.

"I said to her: 'I am not depressed, I'm just exhausted and having a bad time with a new baby'," said Smith.

"She said: 'No you are depressed, I want to give you Prozac ... you will feel very better very soon,' and it really was a struggle to convince her that I didn't want, or in my opinion, need, anti-depressants."

Not overmedicating

However the former chair of the Royal College of GPs has come out in defence of doctors and doesn't think that antidepressants are being overprescribed to patients in the UK.

"I don't think my profession are giving out anti-depressants when they are not needed," said Dr Clare Gerada.

"But I think if there is a long waiting list for talking therapies, and there certainly is in the areas that I work, [that] rather than see the patient get worse depression and risk their life, it may be the GP appropriately gives antidepressants as a bridge."

Another patient, Caroline Ashrafi, has taken different tablets for 30 years since she first sought help for depression in her late teens.

She has now been told that she will have to take these pills for the rest of her life in order to make sure that her mood remains stabilised.

"There is a stigma but I think when anti-depressants are prescribed in the right situation and with proper medical care, for me they have literally been a lifesaver," she said.

Gold Prices Set to Rise amid Ukraine Jitters

Gold prices are set to rise next week.Reuters

Gold prices are set to rise next week with the escalating crisis in Ukraine expected to boost the metal's safe-haven status.

As many as 12 of 19 analysts polled in a Kitco Gold Survey said they expected gold prices to rise next week, while four predicted that prices would drop and three forecast prices to remain unchanged.

The week ahead will see traders tracking the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting and US nonfarm payrolls data for the month of April.

Any further deterioration in the standoff between Russia and the Ukraine will bode well for gold prices.

Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading, said: "Gold went 'bid' as soon as there was violence and death. A diplomatic and political standoff is enough to support gold, but it takes guns going off to propel it higher."

"It is anyone's guess as to what happens in Ukraine, but with more violence gold will go higher and without it, steady to lower. The volatility means that gold remains a short-term trading opportunity, not a long-term position play. The rebound from 10-week lows was impressive this week and traders will most likely go home long for this weekend, so I will look for a higher market next week."

Charlie Nedoss, senior market strategist at LaSalle Futures Group, told Kitco: "Fundamentally, the situation in Ukraine could ratchet up (and that would support gold). You're seeing it in other markets, too. Look at the grains. You're not seeing it in energy, though, because crude oil is lower. But I wouldn't sell crude oil here."

Gold Ends Higher

Gold prices ended higher on 25 April, and finished slightly higher for the week as a whole.

Violence in Ukraine pulled down global equity markets and the US dollar.

US gold futures for delivery in June finished 0.8% higher at $1,300.80 an ounce on 25 April.

Prices inched up 0.5% for the week.

Spot gold added 0.5% to $1,301 an ounce.

London-Gold Fixing

Reports emerged this week that the British financial regulator has visited French bank Societe Generale's (SG) London offices to observe the so-called London gold fixing process, an age-old pricing of gold twice daily, as it probes the $20tn gold market for signs of misconduct.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is examining how gold prices are calculated, observed the morning and afternoon conference calls at SG, during which the reference price used by central banks, jewellers and miners is determined, Bloomberg reported.

Five banks oversee the near century-old process of determining the prices of the yellow metal – Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC and Societe Generale.

The FCA is expected to make visits to the other banks as well. So far, the watchdog has not accused anybody of manipulating the price of gold.

Five Nato Troops Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

Five Nato troops have been confirmed dead after a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan.Reuters

Five Nato troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the single deadliest day this year for foreign forces as they prepare to withdraw from the country.

The Nato-led security mission in Afghanistan, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), confirmed Saturday's crash but gave no further details, saying that it is still investigating the causes of the crash.

According to The Washington Post, the Taliban claimed to have shot down the helicopter, which an Afghan official said crashed in the southern province of Kandahar.

"Isaf is still in the process of reviewing the circumstances to determine more facts," the force said in a statement. The nationalities of the soldiers weren't released.

Crashes have become relatively common in Afghanistan, where coalition forces frequently use air transport.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends affected by this tragic event," the military coalition added.

The last major helicopter crash occurred in December last year, when five US soldiers based in Fort Riley, Kansas and one based in Europe were killed when a Black Hawk UH-60 went down in southern Afghanistan during a mission. The attack was most likely from the Taliban, according to a report in the LA Times.

In August 2011, an American Chinook was shot down by the Taliban near Kabul, killing 30 Americans and eight Afghans in the deadliest single incident for US troops since the start of the war.

Foreign forces are due to hand over responsibility for security to their Afghan counterparts by the end of 2014.

Isaf was established in December 2001 by the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1386, and it supports the Afghan government in conducting security operations to curb the Taliban insurgency.

Through its Provincial Reconstruction Teams, Isaf also supports reconstruction and development throughout Afghanistan, as well as local and international humanitarian assistance efforts.

Egypt Cleric Issues Fatwa Allowing Wives to Get Raped in Case of Grave Danger to Husband's Life

Egypt cleric issues fatwa allowing wives to get raped in case of a grave danger for husband's lifeReuters

An Egyptian cleric has issued a fatwa asking men to let their wives get raped in case of grave danger to the husbands' lives.

The Islamic edict has been issued by the Egyptian preacher and senior figure of the Salafist Call religious outfit, Yasser Burhami, on the website Anasalafy.com.

The group is the religious arm of the political al-Nour party.

According to Al-Arabiya website, the cleric said in his fatwa: "In this case he [husband] is forced [to surrender her] and not obliged [to defend her]."

In a similar fatwa, the Egyptian preacher has said the man should have actually seen the "penetration" of his wife by another man in order to claim that his wife has committed adultery, which will allow him to kill her.

The remarks by Burhami have been severely condemned by fellow religious people and social activists in Egypt.

"Every Muslim has to protect his honour even if that leads him to jail or death. The sacrifice to protect a wife's honour is a religious obligation," Assaeed Mohammad Ali, an official at Cairo's religious endowments ministry told the al-Masry al-Youm daily.

He added that Burhami's fatwa "has no basis in either Sharia or common law".

However, the religious outfit, to which the Egyptian cleric belongs to, has defended him saying: "Sheikh Yasser stressed the obligation of defending the honour. But if the husband is certain that he is not capable of defending himself, that he will die and that the honour of his wife will be jeopardised, what can he do? He is allowed to choose between sacrificing the honour and protecting his life."