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Sea Drone Alert Ends in Russia's Key Black Sea Port

A Ukrainian serviceman belonging to the attack drones battalion of the Achilles, 92nd brigade, launches a mid-range reconnaissance type drone, Vector, for flying over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a Kharkiv region, Ukraine June 19, 2024. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman belonging to the attack drones battalion of the Achilles, 92nd brigade, launches a mid-range reconnaissance type drone, Vector, for flying over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a Kharkiv region, Ukraine June 19, 2024. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
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Sea Drone Alert Ends in Russia's Key Black Sea Port

A Ukrainian serviceman belonging to the attack drones battalion of the Achilles, 92nd brigade, launches a mid-range reconnaissance type drone, Vector, for flying over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a Kharkiv region, Ukraine June 19, 2024. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia
A Ukrainian serviceman belonging to the attack drones battalion of the Achilles, 92nd brigade, launches a mid-range reconnaissance type drone, Vector, for flying over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a Kharkiv region, Ukraine June 19, 2024. REUTERS/Inna Varenytsia

The mayor of the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk issued a sea drone alert on Thursday morning which lasted for more than two hours, while a group of unmanned Ukrainian boats was destroyed near Crimea.
Mayor Andrei Kravchenko urged residents to stay away from the city's shoreline in his initial message on the Telegram app. Ukrainian sea drones have in the past attacked Russian ships near the port, disrupting traffic, said Reuters.
Novorossiisk is Russia's largest Black Sea port and a key outlet for crude oil and oil product exports in the south. It also loads oil from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and handles grain, coal, fertilizers, timber as well as food and chemical cargoes.
Separately, the TASS news agency cited the Russian defense ministry as saying 10 Ukrainian sea drones had been destroyed as they approached Crimea, and 33 air drones had been destroyed over the peninsula overnight.

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Biden Tests Positive for COVID, Will Self-Isolate in Delaware

President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
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Biden Tests Positive for COVID, Will Self-Isolate in Delaware

President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)
President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (AP)

US President Joe Biden, under fire from fellow Democrats to drop his re-election campaign, tested positive for COVID-19 while on a trip to Las Vegas on Wednesday and is self-isolating after experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the positive test for the 81-year-old Democrat after Biden cancelled a speech due to the diagnosis.

"He is vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms, Jean-Pierre said.

As he boarded Air Force One to depart Las Vegas to recuperate in Delaware, Biden told reporters: "Good, I feel good."

The illness comes at a crucial time for Biden, who has been losing ground in battleground states against Republican Donald Trump, who is headlining a triumphant convention this week after he survived an assassination attempt on Saturday.

The White House said Biden planned to spend a long weekend at his Delaware beach house. It was unclear how long the sickness would keep him for the campaign trail.

Minutes after the announcement, the president's motorcade was on the move to the Las Vegas airport after taping a radio interview in the city.

Biden had greeted a couple of dozen people at a Mexican restaurant prior to going into the radio interview. He was running late to deliver a speech to Latino civil rights group UnidosUS when the organizer, Janet Murguia, announced he had tested positive for COVID.

There were groans in the conference room at the news.

"He said to tell my folks that we're not going to get rid of him that quickly, we're going to have a chance to hear from him in the future directly," Murguia said.

Biden, who had spent two nights in Vegas on the campaign trail, is locked in a battle with some fellow Democrats who worry he is too old to seek re-election and want him to step aside in favor of another candidate.

He has been defiant in the face of the calls to quit the race.

"He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time," said Jean-Pierre.

Biden suffered a blow earlier on Wednesday when a prominent Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, Adam Schiff of California, said it was time for him to "pass the torch" to someone else.

Some 40% of Democratic registered voters said Biden should drop his reelection bid, in a Reuters/Ipsos poll concluded on Tuesday. Some 65% of independent registered voters agreed with them.

Some 58% of Democratic registered voters told the poll they believed Biden is too old to work in government - 70% of independent registered voters agreed.

The White House cited Biden's doctor as saying he had been suffering from upper respiratory symptoms earlier in the afternoon.

"He felt OK for his first event of the day, but given that he was not feeling better, point of care testing for COVID-19 was conducted and the results were positive for the COVID-19 virus," the statement said.

The White House said Biden will be self-isolating in according with Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

His symptoms are mild and he has received an initial dose of Paxlovid, the doctor said.