U.S. President Donald Trump has said he has not decided whether he will allow Ukraine to produce Patriot surface-to-air interceptor missiles, casting doubt on whether Washington will agree to one of Kyiv’s top priorities, FT reported.

The US president said in a phone interview with the FT that he was “not sure” whether Washington would grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missiles, adding that “we’re looking at it”. “It’s a very extraordinary weapon, and . . . we have to be a little bit careful of who we license to. We don’t really license equipment.”

Trump’s comments came just two days after he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.

Zelenskyy had described the meeting as “good” and said the two leaders had discussed “Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas”. The US president had said in early July at the Nato summit in Türkiye that Washington would grant Kyiv a license to produce Patriot missiles.

Trump told the FT that his attention was focused on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, adding that his two envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, would visit Ukraine for the first time in the coming days.

The number of Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has exceeded 3,500, local authorities reported.

A total of 3,532 confirmed cases have been recorded, with 626 people having recovered and 1,556 having died. The mortality rate stands at 44.1%, according to the country’s Ministry of Communication and Media.

On May 17, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Ebola outbreak situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda an emergency and a threat to other countries. The WHO assesses the regional risk of the virus spreading as high.

Combined capital spending by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta from the beginning of the AI boom in 2023 through the end of June this year reached $1.1 trillion, the Financial Times reported, citing the companies’ financial statements.

According to the newspaper’s assessment, such spending reflects both the scale of their ambitions in artificial intelligence and the speed at which U.S. technology giants have transformed from companies with relatively low capital expenditures into major investors in physical infrastructure.

Together, the four companies plan to spend $745 billion in 2026, primarily on data centers, chips, and the electricity required to operate them.

This article is published under the cooperation agreement between Armenpress and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Bulgaria’s National Assembly on July 31 voted 138 in favour, none against and seven abstentions to hold the presidential and vice-presidential elections on October 25, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) reported.

The decision was supported by Forward Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) and Vazrazhdane. Seven lawmakers from the We Continue the Change party abstained, while GERB-UDF and Democratic Bulgaria did not participate in the vote.

If a second round is required, it will be held on November 1. Under Article 93(4) of Bulgaria’s Constitution, if no candidate is elected in the first round, a new vote is held within seven days between the two candidates who received the highest number of votes. The candidate receiving the most votes is elected.

The draft decision was submitted by representatives of various parliamentary groups.

Yordan Ivanov of Democratic Bulgaria said his party believes the date was chosen by the ruling majority to address declining public confidence in the government.

“In addition, Democratic Bulgaria considers it inappropriate that the second round, which is most likely to take place on November 1, coincides with a national holiday, when Bulgarian schools, community centres and municipalities take part in commemorative events. That is why Democratic Bulgaria did not support this date for the presidential election,” Ivanov said.

Petar Vitanov, leader of the Forward Bulgaria parliamentary group, said that the representative of Democratic Bulgaria, along with representatives of the other parties, had agreed to the date during earlier discussions.

“This is not an _expression_ of authoritarianism. The date was discussed by the parliamentary leadership, and with the exception of We Continue the Change, which did not sign the joint decision, we all discussed it and agreed that it was the most appropriate option,” he said.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting in Yerevan with visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s readout, the sides discussed the strategic nature of Armenia-Iran relations, with particular emphasis on infrastructure projects, including those in the energy and transport sectors.

The importance of the opportunities created by the implementation of new connectivity projects was underscored.

According to the statement, the meeting also addressed regional developments. Foreign Minister Mirzoyan stressed that Armenia is closely monitoring the current situation, emphasizing the importance of establishing peace and supporting efforts to resolve existing issues.

Separately, during a meeting with Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan, Ghanbari and Kostanyan reviewed issues on the Armenia-Iran agenda and ongoing bilateral cooperation.

The sides also exchanged views on other matters of mutual interest.

A delegation led by Colonel Garik Muradyan, Commander of the Border Guard Troops of Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS), paid an official visit to Georgia from July 27 to 30 at the invitation of David Tamazashvili, Head of the Border Police of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to the NSS readout, the delegation met with Tamazashvili, who presented the structure, main functions, and priority areas of activity of the Georgian Border Police.

The sides discussed issues related to ensuring border security and enhancing cooperation between the two border agencies, reaffirming their readiness to continue developing bilateral cooperation.

The delegation also met with Levan Maisuradze, Chief of the Patrol Police Department of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. During the meeting, the Georgian side outlined the department’s main areas of activity, while the sides discussed issues related to queues at Armenia-Georgia border crossing points.

The Armenian delegation also visited the Public Safety and Police Academy of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, where it was briefed on the academy’s structure, the organization of the educational process, modern training facilities, and professional development programs, including training for border guards.

During the visit, the delegation also toured the Georgian Interior Ministry’s 112 Public Safety Management Center.

At the conclusion of the visit, Colonel Garik Muradyan thanked David Tamazashvili for the invitation, warm hospitality, productive meetings, and constructive discussions aimed at further strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a farewell meeting with outgoing French Ambassador Olivier Decottignies.

According to the Foreign Ministry’s readout, the two sides praised the results of the extensive joint work carried out in recent years, which has contributed to the establishment and development of a strategic partnership between Armenia and France.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan highlighted Ambassador Decottignies’ personal contribution to expanding the bilateral agenda and deepening the Armenia-France partnership, wishing him success in his future endeavors.

The Armenian Interior Ministry has proposed legislation to establish a unified procedure for the collection, processing, and exchange of information related to disaster risk management and public protection.

The draft has been published online for public discussion.

Currently, there is no unified procedure in place for the collection, transmission, and processing of information related to disaster risk management and public protection.

The new procedure will apply to state administration bodies, territorial administration and local self-government bodies, organizations, and officials involved in the system for preventing emergencies and responding to their consequences.

Information will be collected around the clock through dispatch services, monitoring systems, and automated management systems. The data will be classified according to the level of threat — national, regional, municipal, or local — as well as by urgency: operational, current, and analytical.

In cases involving a threat to human life and operational information, data must be transmitted immediately, within no more than 10 minutes. Information about the occurrence or threat of an emergency must be provided within 30 minutes, while situational analytical data must be submitted within 24 hours.

If there is a sudden change in the situation, updated or additional information must be communicated immediately. During periods of rapidly developing events, information must be provided at least once every two hours.

In the event of an emergency threat, information must be immediately transmitted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ 112 Emergency Management Center. State bodies will provide the center with free, permanent access to information systems containing the necessary data, while ensuring compliance with information security and personal data protection requirements.

The 112 Emergency Management Center will operate around the clock to receive, register, and process reports, conduct initial assessments, and, when necessary, promptly forward them to relevant bodies and organizations.

The Rescue Service will coordinate the collection and exchange of information, maintain records of emergencies, and submit an annual report to the government by March 15 each year on the state of protection of the population and territories.

Public awareness, including among vulnerable groups, is planned to be carried out through alert systems, official government websites, mobile applications, SMS and Cell Broadcast messages, as well as television and radio broadcast interruption systems.

Armenian Ambassador to Austria Andranik Hovhannisyan held a meeting with Michaela Mayr, Director General of the Austrian National Library, the embassy reported.

The sides discussed opportunities to further develop cooperation between the Austrian National Library and partner institutions in Armenia, including the implementation of joint academic, educational, and other professional initiatives, according to a readout.

Ambassador Hovhannisyan also viewed a number of Armenian manuscripts preserved at the library, underscoring their significance as a symbol of the rich historical and cultural ties between Armenia and Austria.