WORLD ROUNDUPWhy India Isn’t Winning the Contest with China | Turkey is Building a Spaceport in Somalia | France’s Bitter Retreat from West Africa, and more

Why India Isn’t Winning the Contest with China (Economist)
A series of setbacks suggest that new policies are needed.

Inside Trump’s Hastily Written Proposal to “Own” Gaza  (Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman, New York Times)
Although the president had been talking about the idea for weeks, there had been no meetings on the subject, and senior members of his government were taken by surprise.

Nato Allies Discussed Sending Troops to Greenland After Trump Threats  (Joe Barnes, The Telegraph)
European countries held informal talks on options if US president moves to seize Danish island.

Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan May Sound Death Knell for the Two-State Solution (Peter Baker, New York Times)
Already unlikely, the prospects for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel could vanish altogether if the United States takes over Gaza and displaces the population, as President Trump proposes.

The Challenges the U.S. Would Face in Gaza  (Mark Hertling, The Atlantic)
The president offered no outline for overcoming a daunting set of obstacles.

The White House’s Wildly Inaccurate Claims About USAID Spending  (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post)
Eleven out of 12 claims about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context.

China is Infiltrating Taiwan’s Armed Forces  (Economist)
And Taiwan is struggling to deal with the growing number of spies.

France’s Bitter Retreat from West Africa  (Economist)
The danger is a security void now opens up.

Turkey Is Building a Spaceport in Somalia  (Economist)
Believe it or not, the president is planning a moonshot.

America’s Economic Warfare Is Sowing Its Own Demise  (Keith Johnson, Foreign Policy)
A new book provides insight into the unintended consequences of U.S. sanctions.

These Maps of Support for Germany’s Far-Right AfD Lay Bare the Depth of the Urban-Rural Divide  (Rolf Frankenberger, The Conversation)
The process of industrialization, globalization and urbanization – spreading out from urban centers into the countryside – is one of the core developments of modern society. It has changed people’s lives in almost every part of the world. This is a process that has been going on for more than a century. New lifestyles have developed and traditional ones have been challenged.
A new division has emerged as a result between the urban and the rural. The two are more than just forms of settlements – they reflect ideals, values and lifestyles. Those who live in towns and cities lead almost entirely different lives to those who live in the countryside.
Where the two meet, there is potential for tension. And that tension can be politicized. In Germany, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), a far-right nationalist and völkisch party, is using the “urban-rural divide” to polarize and mobilize an electorate that is attracted by romanticized notions of purity, tradition, nation and rurality.

US Approves Sale of $7.4B in Bombs, Missiles to Israel  (AFP / VOA News)
The United States on Friday announced the approval of the sale of more than $7.4 billion in bombs, missiles and related equipment to Israel, which has used American-made weapons to devastating effect during the war in Gaza.
The State Department has signed off on the sale of $6.75 billion in bombs, guidance kits and fuses, in addition to $660 million in Hellfire missiles, according to the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

German Conservatives Insist they’re the Anti-AfD “firewall”  (Mark Hallam, DW)
CDU conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder, leader of the Bavarian sister party the CSU, told supporters in Nuremberg on Saturday that an election win on February 23 would prove the best way to contain the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Both party leaders also vowed not to cooperate or ally in any way with the anti-immigration AfD.
At the same time, thousands protested against the CDU/CSU bloc around the country, angered by a recent failed attempt by the center-right parties to alter German migration laws with AfD support.