WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

Biden, who was fully vaccinated and twice boosted, is experiencing very mild symptoms, according to a statement from the White House.

He has begun taking Paxlovid and will isolate at the White House and continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time, the statement said. (US-Biden-COVID-19)

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ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Thursday officially resigned, remitting his mandate to the hands of the president, and putting an end to his national unity government after 17 months in office.

"President Sergio Mattarella has received Mario Draghi, who ... has reiterated the resignation of the government he leads," a statement from Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic Ugo Zampetti read.

"The President has taken note (of the resignation). The current government remains in office to take care of current affairs," it added.(Italy-PM-Resignation)

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FRANKFURT -- The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday raised key interest rates by 50 basis points, the first increase since 2011, in an effort to normalize its monetary policies.

The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility, the three key ECB interest rates, will be increased to 0.50 percent, 0.75 percent and 0.00 percent respectively, with effect from July 27, 2022, said an ECB statement after a governing council meeting here. (ECB-European Commission--Interest Rates)

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TEHRAN -- Iran's chief banker said the U.S. dollar will be gradually eliminated from Iranian-Russian economic transactions, the official news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.

The trade volume between Iran and Russia stood at 4 billion U.S. dollars, which can be conducted through the Iranian currency rial and the Russian ruble, said Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Ali Salehabadi in a televised interview. (Iran-Russia-USD) Enditem

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