Men Gunned Down Attempting to Kidnap US Officials in Yemen Barber's Shop

The US embassy compound in Sanaa. (Reuters)

US government personnel shot dead two men who attempted to kidnap them in the commercial district of the volatile Yemeni capital Sanaa.

According to a report in the New York Times, the men were in a barber's shop in the centre of the city on 24 April when they opened fire on two armed civilians.

In the report, they were identified as a Special Operations commando and a Central Intelligence Agency officer.

In recent days, the US embassy in Yemen has been running at a limited capacity, after a series of threats and attacks on western interests put staff on lockdown.

The two officials at the centre of the incident have been whisked out of the country, the State Department confirmed.

"We can confirm that, last month, two US Embassy officers in Yemen fired their weapons after being confronted by armed individuals in an attempted kidnapping at a small commercial business district in Sanaa," the State Department said in a statement. "Two of the armed individuals were killed."

The CIA and Pentagon declined to comment.

In recent weeks, there has been a surge of violence in the capital, as the government battles Islamist militants linked with al-Qaida.

The US embassy was closed earlier this week after militants opened fire on three French security personnel working with the EU mission in Sanaa, killing one and wounding another.

On Friday, according to local media reports, at least seven people were killed when militants opened fire at two checkpoints leading to the presidential palace.

Later that day, militants ambushed the motorcade of Yemen's defence minister in a failed assassination attempt.

In recent years, that US has worked closely with the Yemeni government to battle the threat from terrorism, providing support to the country's security forces, and launching a campaign of deadly drone attacks on suspected al-Qaida militants in the country.

59 Arrested After Violent Protests in South African Slum

Protesters burned tyres and barricaded roads in Johannesburg's Alexandra township on Friday.Reuters

At least 59 people were arrested in a Johannesburg slum in South Africa following the ruling ANC government's victory on Thursday.

Spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said police fired rubber bullets and used stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in the Alexandra township in Gauteng province on Friday, Reuters reported.

Protesters barricaded roads and burned tyres while the military was deployed to back up police as the situated escalated.

Army spokesman Brigadier General Xolani Mabanga said the military presence will remain in place "as long as required". The situation was said to be calm on Saturday morning, with no further incidents reported.

Malila said up to 400 people gathered outside a court in Alexandra on Friday to demand the release of more than 30 protesters arrested a day earlier after a local electoral commission office was set ablaze.

Violent protests, often over lack of access to running water or electricity, are common in South Africa's impoverished black townships, and popular discontent with the ruling ANC administration is rife.

The ANC won its fifth consecutive South African general election with a 62.2% share of the vote, results revealed on Friday. The figure was down from the 65.9% the ANC won in the 2009 election, but still guarantees controversial president Jacob Zuma a second five-year term.

The leading opposition party the Democratic Alliance, often criticised as a white-dominated reminder of the Apartheid era, claimed 22.2% of the vote - up from 16.6% in the last elections. The Economic Freedom Fighters, led by firebrand Julius Malema, came in third place with over 1 million votes (6.3%).

Malema, who was expelled from the ANC in 2012 after a making a series of highly publicised racist statements, appealed for calm in the aftermath of the protests.

"People in Alexandra, we call on you to accept defeat," he told a news conference. "Do it in a dignified manner. Don't put South Africa into ashes because of election outcome."

David Ferrer v Kei Nishikori, Madrid Masters 2014: Where to Watch Live and Preview

David Ferrer has never reached the final of the Madrid Masters in his career.Getty Images

Fifth seed David Ferrer takes on 10th seed Kei Nishikori in the second semi-final of the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open at the Estadio Manolo Santana, Spain, on Saturday.

Where to Watch Live

The match is set to begin a t 6pm BST. Live coverage is on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports 3 HD. Real-time internet updates and the live streaming link are available on the ATP official website.

Overview

Ferrer overcame Ernests Gulbis to secure a place in the last four of the 2014 Madrid Masters. The 32-year-old was given a tough fight by the Latvian in the first set but managed to clinch it in the tiebreaker, 7-6 (3). The Spaniard enjoyed a relatively easier second set and won 6-3, in a game that lasted 100 minutes.

Nishikori, who won the 2014 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell last month, extended his winning record to nine matches on clay this year after beating Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinal on Friday.

The 24-year-old took 90 minutes to beat the 32-year-old Spaniard 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets. Nishikori will become the first Japanese player to break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings following this victory.

The winner of this game will face the winner of the match between defending champion Rafael Nadal and his compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut in the final on Sunday.

Ferrer will be eager to set up a final against one of his compatriots while Nishikori will be keen on causing an upset and prevent an all-Spanish final.

Route to Semi-finals

David Ferrer

• First Round: Bye


• Second Round: 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-3 v Albert Ramos


• Third Round: 6-4, 6-4 v John Isner


• Quarterfinal: 7-6 (3), 6-3 v Ernests Gulbis

Kei Nishikori

• First Round: 6-4, 6-4 v Ivan Dodig


• Second Round: 6-3, 6-1 vGuillermo Garcia-Lopez


• Third Round: 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) v Milos Raonic


• Quarterfinal: 6-4, 6-4 v Feliciano Lopez

Head-To-Head

Ferrer and Nishikori are tied at 3-3 in overall meetings between the two. They have faced each other twice in Grand Slam events and both have triumphed once on each occasion.

Ferrer holds a 3-2 lead against Nishikori in the last five meetings.

Mutua Madrid Open History

Ferrer and Nishikori are facing each other for the first time in Madrid.

Moscow To Tap Chinese Funds to Boost Russian Economy

A file photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow.Reuters

Russia proposes to tap Chinese money as European and American sanctions over Ukraine threaten to push the world's largest energy producer into recession, according to two senior Russian government officials.

Moscow is looking to boost growth and funds from the world's second largest economy could find their way into a host of industries such as natural resources, housing and infrastructure construction, unnamed officials told Bloomberg.

Two government meetings are scheduled this month to set rules for Chinese investors targeting Russia, the officials said.

However, Moscow could prevent the Chinese from investing in precious metals, diamond mining and in high-technology projects. Russia will also examine ways to curb a large influx of Chinese citizens into its territory to prevent ethnic tensions, they added.

Russia's relations with China are growing steadily, despite other issues, and no "special" government meetings are being planned on China, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg.

Bridge to Crimea

Moscow will float a tender to build a bridge across the Strait of Kerch to Crimea and international investors can bid for the project, Peskov said. The cost of construction, estimated at 50bn roubles ($1.4bn, £843m, €1.1bn), could rise if authorities decide to connect the bridge to a railroad.

However, the Kommersant reported that Moscow had sought Beijing's help to build a bridge to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in early March.

A 'Clinical Fact'

"It's a clinical fact" that China is heading to become the leading economy the worldover, President Putin said in his annual televised call-in show on 17 April.

Russia will develop ties with China and the two nations' union will be a "significant factor" affecting modern international relations, Putin added.

The European Union and the US have so far passed two rounds of sanctions against Russian individuals and banks. The individual sanctions consist of asset freezes and travel bans and target Russians and Ukrainians with close ties to the Kremlin.

China is Russia's largest trading partner, with $95.6bn of business in 2012, according to Bloomberg data.

Crude Futures Mixed Ahead of Secession Referendum in Eastern Ukraine

Crude oil futures witness mixed trade.Reuters

Crude oil futures witnessed mixed trade for the week as a whole ahead of a referendum on secession in eastern Ukraine and the ongoing Libya oil supply crisis.

Brent June contract finished 15 cents, or 0.1%, lower at $107.89 a barrel on 9 May.

Prices were down 0.6% for the week.

US June contract ended 27 cents, or 0.3%, lower at $99.99 a barrel on 9 May.

Futures inched up 0.2% for the week.

For technical traders, range-bound conditions for Nymex oil "mean approach with caution", said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at FOREX.com, adding that since early February, West Texas Intermediate crude has been moving in a "relatively tight range" between $97.50 and $105.

While the US benchmark is not exposed to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine in the same way as the European benchmark is, there is a possibility for the WTI to gain a little more next week, should the situation there worsen, Razaqzada said in a note to clients.

"But I remain doubtful that the WTI's rally will last long.

"A potential break above resistance $102.20 could see the price of oil climb towards the upper end of the aforementioned range. On the downside, a potential break below support around $98.85 could expose the $97.50 level for a retest."

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a note: "Brent has climbed to $109 per barrel [on 9 May] morning. Oil market participants are still focusing their attention on Ukraine and Libya. The referendum in the Donetsk region is to go ahead on [11 May] as planned despite Russia's President Putin having called for it to be postponed. The crisis threatens to escalate once again if - as expected - a majority votes in favour of the region splitting from Ukraine.

"...In Libya, the government under the country's new Prime Minister Maiteeq has accepted the agreement achieved with rebels by the previous government.

"Under the terms of the agreement, the rebel-occupied oil terminals in the east of the country would be opened step by step. That said, the rebels do not recognize Maiteeq as the rightful prime minister, which is likely to make talks difficult. Consequently, Libya's two most important oil terminals, Ras Lanuf and Es Sider, will remain shut for the foreseeable future which is likely to continue to severely hamper the supply of oil from Libya," Commerzbank added.

Gold Prices Set To Drop Further Next Week

Gold prices are set to drop next week.Reuters

Gold prices are set to drop further next week amid weak technical factors and an unhelpful global macroeconomic environment.

Developments in Ukraine are also expected to influence prices next week.

As many as 11 of 24 analysts polled in a Kitco Gold Survey said they expected gold prices to drop next week, while six predicted that prices would rise and seven forecast prices to remain unchanged.

Dominick Cimaglia, senior dealer at Alliance Financial, said low growth, low inflation and little physical demand are weighing on gold.

Sterling Smith, futures specialist, Citibank Institutional Client Group said: "The technicals of the market remain poor, and two failed rally attempts are beginning to weigh on the long side of the market. Twelve hundred seems to be a much more likely outcome than $1,400 for the time being."

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a note to clients: "The meeting of the ECB was the main focus of interest on the precious metal markets [on 8 May]. Although the EUR-USD exchange rate fluctuated considerably during the press conference given by ECB President Draghi, however, the gold price appeared largely unimpressed and continues to trade well below the $1,300 per troy ounce mark. In euro terms, gold gained moderately to over €930 per troy ounce because the US dollar ultimately appreciated noticeably..."

Gold Ends Lower

US gold futures for delivery in June settled 10 cents lower at $1,287.60 an ounce on 9 May.

Prices ended 1% lower for the week as a whole.

Spot gold traded 0.1% to $1,288 an ounce.

India Premiums Ease

Gold demand in Asia, the largest market for the yellow metal, remained subdued this week.

Gold premiums in India, the world's second-largest bullion consumer, fell this week as demand eased on hopes of a further relaxation of import restrictions and lower prices.

Premiums dropped to $100 (£59, €72) an ounce over the global benchmark, from last week's $120-$130 an ounce, dealers told Reuters.

By comparison, premiums in China, the leading consumer, hovered at about $3 an ounce.

Premiums in Hong Kong hovered between 80 cents and $1.20 an ounce, while those in Singapore and Japan remained unchanged from last week's levels.

Weekly Highs

Bullion hit the $1,315 mark thrice during the week on escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

However, prices dropped after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was pulling Russian troops from the Ukraine border.

China Media Ordered Not to Hype Bitcoins

Mock bitcoins are displayed on a table in an illustration pictureReuters

China government authorities have ordered local media outlets not to cover the upcoming Global Bitcoin Summit in Beijing and not to promote the digital currency, as the country continues its crackdown on the virtual currency.

The digital currency conference is scheduled to be held from 10-11 May, and the media is ordered to avoid the coverage, according to censorship instructions leaked online by California-based media outlet China Digital Times.

"The Global Bitcoin Summit 2014 will be held on May 10-11 in Beijing. All websites are asked not to participate in or report on the summit," the instruction reads.

"Do not hype bitcoins. All reporting on bitcoins must henceforth accord with the specifications of financial regulatory agencies."

On 6 May, the CEOs of China-based digital currency exchanges OKCoin, BTC China, BtcTrade, CHBTC and Huobi, said they would not attend the conference to comply with state policies and regulations.

In December, the People's Bank of China banned financial institutions from handling transactions in bitcoin, as the central bank was concerned about the financial stability amid soaring volumes of digital currency trades in the country.

Subsequently, a number of banks announced that they were withdrawing support to digital currency exchanges. As a result, smaller exchanges such as FXBTC and Linkcoin have completely shut down their businesses.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the largest bank in the world by total assets and market capitalisation, earlier banned customers from using accounts with the bank for transactions in digital currencies.

"To protect property rights and interests of the public, prevent money-laundering risk and safeguard legal tender status of RMB, any institutions or individuals are not allowed to recharge and withdraw funds for Bitcoin and Litecoin transactions, buy and sell transaction recharge codes or engage in other related activities with ICBC accounts, and they shall not transfer relevant transaction funds via ICBC accounts, either, all effective immediately," ICBC said in a statement dated 8 May.

BTC China had suspended yuan deposits from the Bank of China, after halting local currency deposits to accounts at China Merchants Bank. BTC China is the biggest Chinese bitcoin trading platform and it currently handles more than 75% of bitcoin trades in yuan.

ANC Registers Fifth Consecutive Win in South Africa Election

African National Congress (ANC) registers fifth consecutive win in South Africa electionReuters

South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) has sealed its fifth successive victory in the national election securing 62% of the votes despite opposition gains.

Jacob Zuma is set to start his second five-year term as South African president.

The provisional results announced by the electoral commission showed the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) garnering 22.22% of the votes with the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFE) managing to secure 6.35%.

Although the ruling ANC has won this election with a thumping majority, the opposition parties have made major gains from previous occasions.

"We are on track to achieve our historic mission of realigning politics and unseating the ANC from national government in the next decade," said Helen Zille, leader of DA, which won 16.7% of the votes in the last election.

South Africa has 25 million registered voters and 73% turned out to vote on polling Wednesday (7 May). An independent observer mission from the African Union had earlier declared the polling "free, fair, transparent and credible".

The results are on widely predicted lines. This is the first election since the death of anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela who belonged to the ANC.

"We are still the party that restored the dignity of our people in this country. People will never forget that. We are very humbled by the confidence the people have shown to the African National Congress," ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu told Al Jazeera.

Although the ANC enjoys widespread popularity, the Zuma-led administration has been hit by serious controversies recently.