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, we focus on Europe’s delay over frozen Russian assets and Ukraine aid. EU leaders backed continued support but punted to December a €140 billion loan plan tied to Russia’s immobilized funds, with Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever pressing legal and retaliation risks. The plan — floated since September as a way to leverage roughly €200+ billion in frozen assets — would front-load financing now and recoup from Russian reparations later. Why this leads: geopolitics — war financing and European unity; timing — Kyiv’s battlefield needs and winter energy risk; and ripple effects — markets watch for Moscow’s countermeasures against European holdings and clearing systems. Today in

, we track the hour’s developments: - Eastern Europe: EU leaders affirm support for 2026–27 but defer the frozen-assets loan. Kyiv urges longer-range weapons as Russia presses energy strikes. U.S. sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil sharpen, with India and China signaling curbs that could hit Russia’s hard currency. - Middle East: Israeli airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed at least four, breaching the U.S.-brokered truce. Washington warns Jerusalem against West Bank annexation; Secretary of State Rubio says the Gaza ceasefire can hold. - Americas: U.S. shutdown Day 23 snarls airports in New York, Washington, Newark, and Houston; the Senate failed to pass partial pay for federal workers. Trump nixes a military “surge” into San Francisco. U.S. operations expand near Venezuela, striking nine boats; Caracas warns against a “crazy war.” - Europe: UK policing reckoning as eight Met officers are sacked after a BBC investigation; “Soldier F” acquitted in the Bloody Sunday trial. Storm Benjamin lashes France; one death reported in Corsica. Louvre heist probe finds 150+ forensic traces. - Indo-Pacific: Thailand’s deputy finance minister resigns over scam links; pressure grows on the coalition. India and China brace for tighter Russian oil sanctions. Intel announces $20 billion in cash from deals as AI chip demand builds. - Underreported lifelines: WFP signals a near-40% funding drop this year, with cuts hitting Somalia, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Haiti, South Sudan, and Sudan; 58 million risk losing food aid. Sudan’s El Fasher remains besieged; 260,000+ trapped. Myanmar’s Rakhine faces imminent famine risk with aid halted. Today in

, the pattern is financing and choke points. Europe debates sequestered Russian wealth as the U.S. clamps Moscow’s oil arteries — together, they squeeze war cash flows. Those same fiscal levers, when absent, break humanitarian pipelines: WFP cuts translate into hunger spikes from Haiti to the Horn of Africa. Energy, trade, and sanctions ripple into aviation backlogs amid a U.S. shutdown, while climate-charged storms — Hurricane Melissa could dump up to two feet on Jamaica and deluge Haiti — turn budget gaps into disasters. Today in

- Europe/Eastern Europe: EU unity strains over a €140B Ukraine loan from frozen assets; Belgium leads pushback. NATO readiness continues; winter energy targeting intensifies in Ukraine. - Middle East: Lebanon front heats as Israeli strikes breach the truce; U.S. diplomacy tries to firewall Gaza from a northern escalation. - Africa: Sudan’s El Fasher siege nears 500 days; cholera and famine risks rise. Ivory Coast’s election tensions build as Ouattara seeks a fourth term. WFP operations across Africa face pipeline breaks. - Indo-Pacific: Governance scandals test Thailand; U.S.–China trade talks set in Malaysia as rare-earth and chip frictions persist; India and China weigh Russian oil curbs under new U.S. sanctions. - Americas: U.S. shutdown fallout hits flights and paychecks; operations surge near Venezuela; Haiti’s hunger crisis deepens with over half the population in acute need. Today in

, the questions asked — and missing: - Asked: Can the EU craft a legally durable mechanism to tap Russian assets without provoking systemic retaliation? Will U.S. oil sanctions measurably cut Kremlin revenue if India and China trim purchases? - Missing: Who backfills WFP’s multi-billion-dollar shortfall before famine takes hold in Rakhine, El Fasher, and Haiti? What safeguards protect civilian corridors into besieged Sudanese cities? If the U.S. shutdown drags on, how will aviation, food assistance, and biosecurity withstand staffing losses? As Hurricane Melissa targets Jamaica and Haiti, where are pre-positioned resources and contingency funds? Cortex concludes: Today’s map turns on money flows — to wars, to grids, and to food. When capital moves, front lines shift. When capital stops, hunger spreads. This is NewsPlanetAI — The Daily Briefing. We’ll be back on the hour.