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Joe Biden visited the graves of his first wife, Neilia, and his daughter Naomi (Photo: Wvlt)

Joe Biden visits graves of first wife and baby daughter

Joe Biden visited the graves of his first wife, Neilia, and his daughter Naomi on Friday, the 48th anniversary of their death. The two were killed in a devastating car crash, that also badly injured Biden's sons, Beau and Hunter.

As reported by CBS News, the 78-year-old president-elect visited the graves at the Roman Catholic Church St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended a Friday morning service, accompanied by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, their daughter, Ashley Biden, and her husband, Howard Krein.

The December 18, 1972 crash was just weeks after Biden was first elected to the Senate. He was in Washington, D.C., setting up his new office, when he learned the news.

Neilia was driving home from Christmas tree shopping with the couple's three children — 13-month-old Naomi, 3-year-old Hunter and 4-year-old Beau — when their station wagon collided with a tractor-trailer at an intersection outside Wilmington.

Mr. Biden was just 30 years old at the time.

US planning to close last consulates in Russia

Donald Trump's outgoing administration is planning to close the two remaining US consulates in Russia, media reports said Friday, as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office amid high tensions with Moscow.

The US will close its consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok and suspend operations at its post in Yekaterinburg, CNN reported, citing a December 10 letter sent to Congress from the State Department, AFP reported.

The US will close its consulate in the far eastern city of Vladivostok and suspend operations at its post in Yekaterinburg (Photo: Gulf Today)

The move comes in "response to ongoing staffing challenges for the US Mission in Russia in the wake of the 2017 Russian-imposed personnel cap on the US Mission and the resultant impasse with Russia over diplomatic visas," the report said, citing the letter. "No action related to the Russian consulates in the United States is planned," CNN cited the letter as saying.Ten diplomats assigned to the consulates will reportedly be relocated to the US embassy in Moscow, while 33 local staff will lose their jobs.

"No action related to the Russian consulates in the United States is planned," CNN cited the letter as saying.

The closures would leave the embassy in Moscow as the United States' last diplomatic mission in Russia.

Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau to be vaccinated publicly ‘when his turn comes’

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will receive the Covid-19 vaccine in public once those in his age group are in line to be vaccinated, he said in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Canada began vaccinating people in high-risk categories – including frontline health care workers and residents and staff of long-term care facilities – on December 14, with a relatively limited supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

“Absolutely,” Trudeau told the CBC public network in a year-end interview. “When my turn comes, I will do it publicly and enthusiastically.”

Trudeau added that he would follow the recommendations of public health experts.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: Barrots)

“Whenever, you know, healthy adults in their 40s are open to getting vaccines, I’ll be getting vaccinated,” said the prime minister, who turns 49 on Christmas Day, December 25.

Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau tested positive for the coronavirus in March, and he spent two weeks in self-imposed quarantine, as reported by SCMP.

North Korea vows to redevelop mountain tour site despite pandemic

A top North Korean official has visited a mountain resort that had been jointly run with rival South Korea during past rapprochement and discussed efforts to unilaterally rebuild it into “a cultural resort envied by the whole world,” state media reported Sunday.

Some experts say North Korea may be putting pressure on South Korea in order to benefit from an economic engagement as the pandemic is aggravating North Korean economic woes.

During a trip to the Diamond Mountain resort, Premier Kim Tok Hun “stressed the need to build the tourist area our own way in which national character and modernity are combined while in good harmony with the natural scenery,” the Korean Central News Agency reported.

Kim said North Korea aims to turn the mountain area into “the one well-known for serving the people and a cultural resort envied by the whole world.” He and other officials discussed the design and construction of “a world-level hotel, golf course, skiing ground,” according to KCNA.

Local tourists walk on a trail on North Korea’s Diamond Mountain in 2018 (Photo: AP)

North Korea had operated a joint tour program at the mountain with South Korea for about 10 years before it was suspended following the shooting death of a South Korean tourist there in 2008. About 2 million South Korean tourists had visited the resort, a rare source of foreign currency for the impoverished North.

When relations improved in recent years, the two Koreas pushed to restart stalled joint economic projects including the Diamond Mountain tours. But Seoul was eventually unable to do so without defying punishing U.N. sanctions imposed over the North’s nuclear program, Japan Tines reported.

Gold price forecast – gold markets continue to look buoyant

Gold markets have gone back and forth during the trading session on Friday, as we continue to wrestle with the idea of the $1900 level.

Gold markets have gone back and forth during the trading session on Friday as we continue to wrestle with the idea of the $1900 level. This of course is a large, round, psychologically significant figure, and therefore will attract a certain amount of attention. Break above the $1900 level opens up the possibility of a move towards the $1950 level, which had seen a lot of selling in the past. Ultimately, I think that is exactly what happens, followed by a move towards the $2000 level. This is not to say that it will be easy, just that the market participants have a lot of work ahead.

I do believe that the 50 day EMA underneath will continue to offer support, which is at the base of the candlestick from Thursday. If we break down below there, then I see the 200 day EMA coming into the picture as support as well. Keep in mind that this next week is the Christmas holiday week, so therefore there will be significant concerns when it comes to liquidity. I do believe that given enough time we are looking at a scenario that will see traders trying to push this market higher, especially if stimulus ends up being rather large out of the United States.

(Photo: Daily FX)

Beyond all of that, there is the so-called “safety trade” that could come into play, so that also would be good for gold. The $1900 level looks to be a bit of a “neckline” for some type of inverted head and shoulders pattern as well, so that also suggests that we have much further to go. I have no interest in selling gold anytime soon, according to FX Empire.

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