| US Vice President JD Vance said negotiations on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine are focused on security guarantees for Kyiv and territory Moscow wants to control, including land it isn’t occupying, as the White House tries to broker a peace deal. European leaders are discussing a security guarantee that would commit Ukraine’s allies to decide within 24 hours whether to provide military support if it’s again attacked by Russia.  WATCH: Anthony Halpin reports on the plans for peace in Ukraine on Bloomberg TV. India and Russia are looking to increase their annual trade by about 50% over the next five years to reach $100 billion, seeking to reduce duties as both countries see mounting tensions with the US, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said. Russia is the Asian nation’s fourth-largest trading partner, while India — which has edged away from Washington in the face of tariff threats — is Moscow’s second-largest. Israel’s government has ordered a military takeover of Gaza City in what Netanyahu described as a final push to topple Hamas after almost two years of war. Click here for an explainer on the takeover plan that’s controversial among some of Israel’s allies in Europe, who worry about further harm to Gazan civilians, as well as for many Israelis fearing it will endanger the lives of their soldiers and the remaining hostages in the territory. North Korea has quietly built and operated a sprawling long-range missile base near the Chinese border that stores Kim Jong Un’s most advanced strategic weapons, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The complex was mostly operational by 2014 and appears to have been continuously developed since, demonstrating the regime’s ongoing efforts to advance its nuclear-strike capabilities. Militias in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have committed massacres, ethnically targeted killings and gang rapes, two human-rights groups said. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels were allegedly responsible for widespread atrocities in the region, including at least 141 executions in July alone, according to Human Rights Watch. Congolese government-backed militias also allegedly took part in multiple gang rapes in the region, according to a separate report by Amnesty International. Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, considered requesting political asylum in Argentina, according to a draft letter on his phone that forms part of evidence federal law enforcement see as proof he planned to flee the country to avoid a future arrest.  Argentinian President Javier Milei and Bolsonaro during a conference in Brazil in July 2024. Photographer: Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg Chinese President Xi Jinping called for his government to tighten its ethnic-assimilation campaign during a rare visit to Tibet, throwing a spotlight on a region that’s also been a source of tension with India even as the rivals improve ties. Taiwan has proposed stepping up defense spending next year, after Trump called on the democracy to do more to protect itself from China’s threats. Trump’s campaign to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, if successful, would give him the opportunity to exert more influence over the US central bank by securing a majority on its seven-member board of governors.  Is Economic Self-Sufficiency a Myth? On this week’s Trumponomics, journalist and author Ben Chu explains why economies — and particularly the US — shouldn’t take globalization for granted. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. | 
