North Korean Regime Issues Rare Apology for Building Collapse in Pyongyang

Building Collapses in Pyongyang Prompts Rare Apology from North KoreaReuters

The North Korean regime has issued a rare apology for the collapse of a 23-storey building which was under construction, in Pyongyang, causing an unknown number of fatalities.

The regime's official mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), has admitted the building collapse was caused by negligence of North Korean officials.

In a series of apologies, the KCNA quoted a senior official as saying: "[North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un sat up all night, feeling painful after being told about the accident, instructed leading officials of the party, state and the army to rush to the scene, putting aside all other affairs, and command the rescue operation to recover from the damage as early as possible."

The KCNA report added: "[North Korea's minister of people's security] Choe Pu-il repented of himself, saying that he failed to find out factors that can put at risk the lives and properties of the people and to take thorough-going measures, thereby causing an unimaginable accident."

The accident is reported to have taken place a few days ago and the rescue measures are believed to have ended.

An official from South Korea's unification ministry confirmed the collapse of the building but did not divulge further details. In a Guardian report, the official said estimates suggest "hundreds" of people could have been killed.

"In North Korea, it is common that people move into a new apartment even before the construction is completed. About 92 households may have been living in the apartment," a South Korean official told the Seoul news agency Yonhap on condition of anonymity.

Beijing Evacuates Chinese Workers from Vietnam after Rioting

Workers wave Vietnamese national flags during an anti-China protest at a Chinese shoe factory in Vietnam's northern Thai Binh province(Reuters)

Beijing is sending ships and chartered flights to Vietnam to help evacuate Chinese workers following days of fierce rioting, mainly around industrial parks at Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon..

The move comes as anti-Chinese protests continue to snowball, claiming at least two lives and injuring dozens of others over Beijing's oil drilling in disputed territorial waters in the South China Sea.

China's ministry of transport said in a statement that the first ship has already left Haikou, reports the state-run Xinhua.

More than 3,000 Chinese nationals have already been evacuated from Vietnam with the assistance of China's diplomatic mission, said the country's foreign ministry.

Rescue vessels and a helicopter are on standby to provide support if necessary.

Civil society groups in Vietnam have called for fresh protests, increasing fears that the situation could worsen. The Vietnamese government has called on the groups to end the protests, and officials said the "illegal acts" would be halted.

Talks held by top Chinese and Vietnamese foreign ministry officials have failed to yield any breakthrough.

"We are strongly dissatisfied by the Vietnamese side failure to respond effectively to curb an escalation," said security chief Guo Shengkun.

Crude Oil Futures Gain on Strong US Data and Ukraine Tensions

Crude futures gain on Ukraine jitters and strong US data.Reuters

Crude-oil prices rose on Friday and finished higher for the week as upbeat US data raised expectations for energy demand in the world's leading oil consumer, and as political instability in the Ukraine stoked fears of potential supply disruptions.

Brent July contract finished 0.6% or 66 cents higher at $109.75 a barrel on 16 May.

The European benchmark gained over 2% for the week.

US June contract finished 0.5% or 52 cents higher at $102.02 a barrel on 16 May.

Prices rose 2% for the week as a whole.

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a 16 May note: "The price of Brent oil climbed above $110 per barrel recently and thus marked a new 3-week high. We cannot see any fundamental reasons for this rise.

"On the contrary, it looks like Libya will soon increase its oil shipments and the supply situation on the European market will therefore further improve. Consequently, the price of Brent should retreat again and fall back to the middle of its trading range between $104 and $112."

"There is a concern that if we see a real outbreak of violence in the Ukraine, the US and Europeans will have to do something to stop what's going on, and that does mean a curtailment of Russian oil supplies on the market," Gene McGillian, analyst and broker with wholesale brokerage Tradition Energy told The Wall Street Journal.

India's Clean Fuel Bill

Oil refiners in India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, will need to invest over $13bn in upgrades to produce cleaner fuels, a government official said.

Asia's third-largest economy seeks to battle air pollution in its cities. The 800bn rupee ($13.4bn, €9.8bn, £8.1bn) investment encompasses all refineries barring Reliance Industries, owner of the world's biggest oil-refining complex, said Saumitra Chaudhuri, head of a government panel that has drafted new fuel standards.

Chaudhuri, who is also a member of India's top economic planning body, told Reuters he hoped the incoming government will consider the panel's recommendations.

Eastern Ukraine Referendum

Brent crude futures rose above $108 per barrel on 12 May as tensions between Russia and the West escalated over the Ukraine crisis.

Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine hailed a landslide victory in 11 May's referendum, which has been dismissed by Ukraine's leaders and the West as illegal.

Alleged Boko Haram Terror Chief Was 'Radicalised' in Glamorgan

Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche

A British-born Boko Haram chief accused of plotting deadly terrorist attacks was radicalised while at university in the UK.

Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, 29, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly masterminding Boko Haram bomb attacks in the Nigerian capital Abuja that killed nearly 100 people.

Ogwuche, the son of a retired Nigerian army colonel, was a student at the University of Glamorgan, in south Wales, where he studied business science from 2007, until he dropped out in 2010.

While at university, Ogwuche called himself "The Lion of God", in a series of increasingly extreme postings on Facebook in which he vowed to cut off the hands and feet of non-believers.

"The only punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive to make mischief in the land is that they should be murdered, or crucified, or their hands and their feet should be cut off, or they should be imprisoned," he wrote in 2010.

He was arrested by Nigerian authorities after his return to the country following a reported tip-off from British intelligence, but was released following a campaign by human rights groups and his family.

He fled to Sudan, but was implicated in co-planning the bombings in an Abuja suburb, the first of which happened the same day as the group seized 200 schoolgirls in the conflict-ravaged north of the country early in May.

He was arrested this week after a chance sighting by a former military school classmate who spotted him in Sudan. Ogwuche is a former lance corporal with Nigerian military intelligence and deserted in 2007.

University friends told WalesOnline that they were shocked at reports that he had turned to violent radicalism.

Former housemate Anju Moro said: "He was very devout but then many people are. He would often just spend time in his room between going to and from prayers but he seemed harmless, if very serious. It is very creepy that he could have been having thoughts like that."

A spokeswoman for the University of South Wales said that there was "no evidence of any radical behaviour" while he was at the university.

"The university has a strong community ethos with no history or evidence of extremist behaviour across any of its campuses so it is surprised to hear of his apparent involvement with terrorist group Boko Haram," it said in a statement. "There were no reported indications of extremist behaviour during his time as a student. There has been no contact between Ogwuche and the university following his departure in 2010."

Gold Prices to Trade Sideways Amid Lack of Cues

Gold prices to trade sideways next week amid a lack of cues.Reuters

Gold prices are expected to trade sideways next week amid a lack of cues.

As many as 11 of 25 analysts polled in a Kitco Gold Survey said they expected gold prices to trade sideways or neutral next week, while eight predicted that prices would drop and six forecast prices to rise.

Traders said they do not expect prices to swing next week given that there is little economic news slated for next week and as the Russia-Ukraine dispute is not occupying headlines at the moment.

Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist at LaSalle Futures Group said: "Right now this is a pocket-picking trade. People say there are up trends and down trends, but there are also sideways trends and that's where we are.

"Eventually we'll break out of it, but it's impossible to figure out how, so you have to reduce exposure. The only thing supporting this is the Ukraine, but it's not going higher on the Ukraine."

Frank Lesh, broker and futures analyst with FuturePath Trading, said: Gold "is forming a wedge or triangle and as the trading range contracts and the longer it goes sideways the greater the breakout or breakdown should be...

"Who knows what the catalyst will be as there is enough conflicting news to confuse us all, or at least me. I see an upside breakout to around $1,360 and downside around $1,220. I am neutral until this market makes a decisive move."

Gold Inches up

US gold futures for delivery in June settled 20 cents lower at $1,293.40 an ounce on 16 May.

Prices inched up just 0.3% for the week as a whole despite political turmoil in the Ukraine. A raft of upbeat economic data from the US -- positive jobs, factory and housing starts figures -- capped gains.

Spot Gold slid 0.2% to $1,292 an ounce on 16 May.

China Demand Drops

The Chinese gold demand during the Golden Week holidays that began on 1 May dropped some 30% from a year ago, according to a leading bullion exchange.

After an extraordinary year for gold sales in 2013, the situation is back to something like 2012, according to Haywood Cheung, president of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society.

While China beat India as the biggest bullion consumer last year, the buying craze triggered by a price slump in April 2013 has not been repeated.

France Holds Security Summit over Nigerian Girls Kidnapping

France's President Francois Hollande (L) and Nigeria's President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan at the Elysee Palace.Reuters file photo

Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan and other regional African leaders are in Paris as French President François Hollande hosts the security summit in the backdrop of the mass abduction of school girls by the Islamist group, Boko Haram.

During the security talks, Jonathan will be urged to seek closer cooperation with the neighbouring countries in western Africa including Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin to better tackle the militants.

Jonathan was scheduled to visit Chibok, the town from where the yet-missing girls were abducted, but it was cancelled later citing security concerns.

Ahead of the talks, Hollande discussed the latest situation with his American counterpart Barack Obama, said the White House.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Wendy Sherman, a senior Obama administration official, are also set to attend the meeting.

An official statement about the talks said the representatives of various countries will "discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in West and Central Africa".

A preliminary assessment of the assistance rendered by foreign forces including the US, the UK, and France in the operation against Boko Haram over the kidnappings is also expected to take place.

More than 300 girls were kidnapped a month ago by the extremist outfit in the northeastern town of Chibok and over 200 of them are still being held captive.

"Boko Haram represents a risk to the stability of every state in the region, and the leaders of these countries have to be aware of that," said a French diplomat, AFP reports.

The military intervention by foreign nations is not to be on the agenda, however.