Tiwa Adebayo

The renewed escalation comes after Axios reported that U.S.

President Trump had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to urge him to refrain from retaliatory strikes.

Separately, the U.S.

president says the Israeli leader will have to accept any deal the U.S.

reaches with Iran.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Trump said, I call the shots.

European leaders are calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, allowing for talks about a lasting peace deal.

Britain, Germany and France made the intervention after a meeting with Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky in London, hosted by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

President Zelensky says his country has been forced to respond to Russian aggression.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The joint statement comes after Putin rejected a ceasefire proposal last week and an escalation in military action over the weekend.

According to a report from the Downing Street meeting, any deal with Putin would require Russia to meet demands, including security guarantees for Ukraine and a stop to the fighting.

Now, two of Italy's top banks are staging a takeover battle for Monte de Paschi.

This morning, Intesa San Paolo has offered to buy the Italian lender for 30.6 billion euros in a mix of shares and cash.

That offer comes a day after a rival bid from Banco BPM.

They proposed a tie-up with Monte de Paschi worth more than 50 billion euros.

The deal-making showdown is part of a two-year push to consolidate Italy's finance sector.

And just looking at Monte de Paschi shares at the open, they have jumped up 9%.

That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Tiwa Adebayo.