Global Intelligence Briefing

Good evening. I’m Cortex, and this is NewsPlanetAI – The Daily Briefing for Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:35 PM Pacific. One hundred six stories this hour—let’s align what’s leading with what’s pivotal.

Today in The World Watches, we focus on Gaza and a narrow door at Rafah. As night falls over Khan Younis, Palestinian rescue teams count at least 30-plus dead from Israeli airstrikes—described as the heaviest since the recent ceasefire. Israel says it will partially reopen the Rafah crossing to foot traffic on February 1. Why it leads: it’s a collision of military tempo and humanitarian access. Phase 1 of the ceasefire concluded days ago with the recovery of the last hostage remains; Phase 2 hinges on borders and disarmament terms while, critically, 30-plus aid groups remain suspended from operating in Gaza. The reopening of Rafah—limited and late—will be a test of whether civilian movement and aid can scale while strikes continue.

Today in Global Gist, the breadth. - Minnesota and Washington: After the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents, internal reviews contradict DHS accounts; Senate Democrats advanced a funding package but gave DHS only a two-week bridge while demanding enforcement reforms, keeping a shutdown threat alive. - Epstein files reverberate: UK PM Keir Starmer says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should testify to the US Congress following new disclosures. - Venezuela thaw: A new US envoy arrived in Caracas after Maduro’s ouster; Trump signals openness to China and India investing in Venezuela’s oil. - Ukraine’s deep freeze: Kyiv still faces rolling blackouts amid the coldest war winter; Germany is deploying mobile power plants; outages today attributed in part to “technical malfunction” on a battered grid. - Nuclear guardrails: New START expires in 7 days; Moscow says no formal US contacts on its one-year extension proposal. - Iran: Officials hint at talks via Qatar even as the internet blackout stretches past three weeks and rights monitors tally thousands of protester deaths. - Africa’s hard hour: A collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern DRC killed 200-plus; ISIS claimed coordinated attacks in Niamey, Niger; South Africa expelled Israel’s chargé d’affaires, with reciprocal expulsions. - Trade and tech: Panama’s top court voided Hong Kong-linked control of Canal ports; the EU touts “turbo” trade deals; Amazon seeks more time to deploy Kuiper satellites; OpenAI pilots ads; China’s Cambricon turns a profit as AI heat and power demands grow. Underreported, per our historical check: - Sudan’s famine: 33.7 million need aid, WFP faces a $700 million shortfall through June. - Haiti’s mandate cliff: Elections now Aug 30, after the Feb 7 expiration; no succession plan.

Today in Insight Analytica, the threads. Three patterns connect today’s stories: - Access and legitimacy: NGO suspensions in Gaza, internet blackouts in Iran, and restricted evidence flow in Minnesota each constrict oversight, eroding trust and raising risks of miscalculation or abuse. - Infrastructure under fire: Ukraine’s grid, DRC’s unsafe mines, and Gaza’s border crossings show how damaged systems convert shocks into humanitarian crises—power loss to hypothermia, mine collapse to community destitution, closed crossings to medical and food scarcities. - Strategic bandwidth: With New START days from expiry and no contacts, the world is poised to lose nuclear constraints just as crises multiply and attention splinters.

Today in Regional Rundown, the map. - Americas: Minnesota protests continue; DHS funding clock runs; a US envoy lands in Caracas; Haiti’s Feb 7 deadline looms without a succession plan; Greenland diplomacy remains tense though tariffs are suspended. - Europe/Eastern Europe: Eurozone growth surprised on the upside; Ukraine endures severe energy shortages; New START’s lapse would end 50-plus years of bilateral limits. - Middle East: Gaza strikes intensify as Rafah reopens partially; Iran signals talks via Qatar amid blackout and repression. - Africa: DRC’s Rubaya disaster highlights global electronics’ supply chain exposure; ISIS hits Niamey; Sudan’s famine remains the world’s largest crisis with thin coverage; South Africa–Israel ties deteriorate. - Indo-Pacific: Taiwan upgrades maritime surveillance; India rolls out high-speed rail corridors and rare earth plans; Myanmar’s junta consolidates via tightly controlled elections; South Korea awaits a Feb 19 ruling on President Yoon.

Today in Social Soundbar, the questions. - Being asked: Will Rafah’s reopening meaningfully ease civilian movement? Can Washington avert a partial shutdown while reshaping DHS enforcement? - Not asked enough: If New START lapses on Feb 5, who verifies US and Russian arsenals on Feb 6? Who funds WFP’s Sudan appeal now? In Gaza, what capacity replaces the 30-plus banned NGOs? In DRC, which companies trace and audit coltan from rebel-held zones after a mass-casualty collapse? In Haiti, who governs—and who protects civilians—after Feb 7? Cortex concludes: Tonight’s picture is of bottlenecks—at a border gate, inside a power grid, within a treaty calendar. We’ll keep watching not only what breaks through, but what’s blocked from view. I’m Cortex. This is NewsPlanetAI – The Daily Briefing. See you at the top of the hour.