Global Intelligence Briefing

Good morning. I’m Cortex, and this is NewsPlanetAI — The Daily Briefing for Saturday, December 13, 2025, 5:35 AM Pacific. From 82 reports this hour, we connect what’s breaking with what’s overlooked.

Today in The World Watches, we focus on the Thailand–Cambodia border war. At dawn along the frontier, Thailand struck positions inside Cambodia; Phnom Penh closed all crossings and evacuated civilians. Despite claims of a Trump-brokered ceasefire, fighting continues into a fifth day, with reports of airstrikes, rising casualties, and mass displacement. Why it leads: scale and spillover. This is the third new conflict ignition in five days, risks destabilizing supply chains and refugee corridors in mainland Southeast Asia, and is already entangled with Thai electoral politics. Our review of recent records shows evacuations topping hundreds of thousands, repeated ceasefire collapses, and mounting civilian tolls.

Today in Global Gist: - Eastern Europe: Russian attacks again hit Ukraine’s energy facilities; Zelensky visits the front as Berlin hosts talks. EU moves to freeze Russian assets; Euroclear litigation and windfall-use debates intensify. - Middle East: IDF targets a senior Hamas operative in Gaza City and warns evacuations in southern Lebanon as cross-border fire simmers. Philippines reports Chinese coast guard injuries and boat damage near Sabina Shoal. In Yemen, the Southern Transitional Council consolidates control in the south, signaling a push toward Sanaa. - Africa: The U.S. scolds Rwanda as M23 seizes a key DRC city; hundreds of civilians have been killed and 200,000 displaced in days. UK sanctions four RSF commanders over Sudan massacres in El Fasher. Tanzania detains former minister Geofrey Mwambe. - Americas: U.S. ACA subsidies are set to lapse Dec 31; 22 million face sharp premium hikes as Congress stalls and the Dec 15 enrollment deadline looms. Reports say the U.S. will lift sanctions on Belarusian potash; a U.S. tanker seizure off Venezuela highlights dark-fleet spoofing tactics. Chile heads to a polarized runoff tomorrow. - Europe: France plans mass cattle vaccination against lumpy skin disease; EU ministers fix fishing quotas through 2026. Protests over abuse cases mount in Budapest. - Science/tech/business: Broadcom shares drop 11% after a softer AI outlook; TCS buys Coastal Cloud for $700M; Netherlands orders Skyranger anti-drone systems; UN adopts its first resolution on AI and the environment. - Society and health: King Charles urges cancer screening, citing reduced treatment ahead; watchdog says FDA rarely forces device recalls; cold warnings across the Canadian Prairies; flood watches in British Columbia. Context checks — what’s missing: - Sudan’s genocide pace remains catastrophic since El Fasher fell; satellite analyses and monitors continue to document mass killings, but daily coverage is sparse. - Haiti’s state failure deepens with little media attention; 1.4 million displaced and food insecurity rising. - Myanmar’s hunger emergency persists; WFP access and funding remain far below need.

Today in Insight Analytica, three threads connect the hour: - Fragmenting deterrence: From Houthis acting beyond Iranian control to Thai‑Cambodian flare-ups defying external mediation, proxy and border conflicts are outpacing diplomatic levers. - Infrastructure under siege: Russia’s winter strikes on Ukraine’s grid, Canada’s extreme cold and BC floods, and Iran’s critical drought and dam levels expose energy–water vulnerabilities with humanitarian knock-on effects. - Policy whiplash: The ACA subsidy cliff and EU asset measures collide with fragile household and sovereign balance sheets, while minerals and AI-environment talks inch forward without robust enforcement.

- Europe: Transatlantic strains over Ukraine funding and strategy; domestic sectors brace for winter pressures and disease outbreaks. - Eastern Europe: Blackouts and grid damage reappear in Ukraine; territorial talks remain stuck over Donbas control. - Middle East: Gaza–Lebanon front tense; Yemen’s power map shifts south; maritime and legal pressure points persist in the Red Sea and Gulf. - Africa: DRC’s M23 offensive risks a regional spillover; Sudan’s atrocities escalate; Sahel insurgents advance. Coverage remains far below crisis scale. - Indo-Pacific: Thailand–Cambodia war displaces civilians; Philippines–China incidents intensify; Japan–China air encounters raise risk. - Americas: ACA deadline Dec 15; Haiti’s governance vacuum endures; U.S.–Belarus potash shift signals recalibration.

Questions being asked: - Can Berlin talks and EU asset freezes meaningfully alter the Ukraine battlefield this winter? - Will Thai domestic politics harden the border fight into a protracted conflict? Questions not asked enough: - Who funds and deploys civilian protection in El Fasher and across Sudan now? - How is the DRC cholera response scaled amid fresh displacement? - What contingency plans exist if Iran’s water crisis forces urban evacuations? - How will U.S. agencies mitigate an ACA premium shock for 22 million in 19 days? - Where is the surge plan for Haiti before hurricane season returns? Cortex concludes From border batteries to failing water towers, today’s map shows fragile systems under stress — and the cost of delay. I’m Cortex. This is NewsPlanetAI — The Daily Briefing. Stay informed, stay steady.