World breaking news today (December 16): Joe Biden says he has a ‘bit of a cold’ after coughing during speech
	World breaking news today (December 15): Electoral College makes it official: Biden won, Trump lost
	World breaking news today (December 14): Donald Trump will be offered COVID-19 vaccine soon

French President Emmanuel Macron (Photo: Anadolu Agency)

French President Emmanuel Macron tests positive for Covid-19

French President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, the Élysée Palace announced on Thursday. Other French and EU leaders will be self-isolating after coming into contact with Macron over the past week, their offices said.

"The president of the Republic has been diagnosed positive for Covid-19 today," the presidential palace said in a statement.

"This diagnosis was made following a PCR test performed at the onset of the first symptoms," the statement said, without detailing what symptoms Macron exhibited.

According to France 24, the presidency said he would isolate for the next seven days, as recommended by French health authorities, and has cancelled all foreign trips.

Macron "will continue to work and carry out his activities remotely", the Élysée Palace said.

Prime Minister Jean Castex, who was in contact with Macron at the government's weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, will also self-isolate as will First Lady Brigitte Macron, although she is not showing any symptoms of Covid-19, her office said Thursday.

Biden adviser Cedric Richmond tests positive for COVID-19

As reported by Xinhua, U.S. Democratic House lawmaker Cedric Richmond, a close adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, has tested positive for coronavirus, the Biden transition team said Thursday.

Biden is not considered a close contact of Richmond based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, said the transition team.

Richmond traveled to southern U.S. state of Georgia with Biden for campaign events on Tuesday. Their interactions "happened in open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes, the CDC's timeframe for close contact," it said.

Biden tested negative for coronavirus on Thursday, according to a news report from The Hill.

U.S. Democratic House lawmaker Cedric Richmond also found COVID-19 positive (Photo: Post - Dispatch)

US slams China for no-show at meeting on maritime security

Top US admiral says China’s failure to appear at meetings this week shows Beijing ‘does not honour its agreements’.

The US military has slammed China for failing to appear at virtual, senior-level meetings slated for this week, with the top US admiral for the Asia-Pacific saying it was “another example that China does not honour its agreements”.

“This should serve as a reminder to all nations as they pursue agreements with China going forward,” Admiral Phil Davidson, the commander for US Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement on Wednesday.

China had been expected to participate in the December 14-16 meetings related to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) focused on maritime safety, the Command said.

(Photo: Asian News)

It was not immediately clear why China did not participate. There was no immediate response from China’s military to Davidson’s remarks, Al Jazeera reported.

US-China ties have rapidly deteriorated this year over a range of issues, from Beijing’s handling of the coronavirus, US support to Taiwan, telecommunications equipment maker Huawei and China’s clamp-down on Hong Kong.

The US has also long opposed China’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea and has sent warships through the strategic waterway.

The US military says it has met regularly with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) since 1998 to conduct the MMCA dialogue. The talks this year were scheduled to be held virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Nearly 70 cars collided in the middle of a snowstorm

The US66 cars lost control of the vehicle and had crashed into cars while traveling on the Pennsylvania highway amid a record snowstorm, killing at least two people.

According to Stream News, 55 trucks and 11 passenger cars collided, causing a 1.6 km crash on the west lane of the 80 interstate highway in Clinton County, Pennsylvania, at 15:00 on December 16.

By the afternoon of December 17, the road was still closed for the rescue team to relocate the vehicles.

Officials did not say whether the cause of the accident was due to the weather, but asked people to stay at home and not go to the street if not absolutely necessary.

The biggest blizzard in the past few years made landfall from North Carolina to Maine, causing congestion in many places and the cancellation of more than 1,300 flights.

Some states have declared a state of emergency, closing schools and banning large vehicles from traveling on highways.

At least five people were killed in the first US blizzard this year, including a man who was stabbed by a tractor while plowing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's second largest city.

The accident results in a huge road block (Photo: Summit Daily)

Gold price forecast – gold markets reaching towards major figure

Gold markets have rallied significantly on Thursday to reach towards the crucial $1900 level. This is an area that will attract a certain amount of attention.

Gold markets have rallied quite nicely during the trading session on Thursday, to reach towards the $1900 level. By doing so, we are testing a major round figure and an area that had previously offered quite a bit of resistance. At this point, the US dollar is most certainly on its back foot and talk of stimulus continues to drive gold higher. That being said though, do not be surprised at all to see a slight pullback. I think pullbacks are buying opportunities and the 50 day EMA underneath could offer a significant amount of psychological and technical support.

(Photo: Daily FX)

The size of the candlestick is somewhat impressive but at the end of the day $1900 was where we were always going to go looking towards. Keep in mind that the Friday session is quad witching, which is when you have multiple options expiring at the same time. With that being the case, it can throw a lot of volatility into the marketplace and that most certainly can have a bit of a “knock on effect” on gold. To the upside, I believe that we are going to go looking towards the $1950 level next, but we cannot get there overnight, according to FX Empire.

World breaking news today (December 13): Israel and Bhutan establish diplomatic relations World breaking news today (December 13): Israel and Bhutan establish diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, Trump's supporters rallying in Washington, US starts getting COVID-19 vaccine, protest in ...

World breaking news today (December 11): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris named Time's Person of the Year World breaking news today (December 11): Joe Biden and Kamala Harris named Time's Person of the Year. Meanwhile, Dutch expel two Russian diplomats for suspected ...

World breaking news today (December 10): All 50 states and DC have certified presidential election results World breaking news today (December 10): All 50 states and DC have certified presidential election results. Meanwhile, Duterte said he would resign if accused of ...