WORLD ROUNDUPIndia and Pakistan’s Water Politics Is Starting to Boil | Rebuilding the Government in Post-Maduro Venezuela | Russia’s Economy Has Entered the Death Zone, and more

Marco Rubio Doesn’t Get It  (Thomas Wright, The Atlantic)
The Trump administration continues to lambast friends and empower foes.

Trump’s Gaza Plans Are Profoundly Unserious  (Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic)
Conditions on the ground call for immediate humanitarian relief, not gauzy real-estate fantasies.

India and Pakistan’s Water Politics Is Starting to Boil  (Safina Nabi, Foreign Policy)
Climate stress is rewriting the region’s rules of water sharing.

Russia’s Economy Has Entered the Death Zone  (Economist)
Alexandra Prokopenko wonders how much longer it can go on metabolizing its own muscle tissue.

Migration Can Provide the Manpower for European Defense  (Adham Sahloul, Foreign Policy)
Creating a pathway to citizenship in return for military service will help Europe stand on its own.

An Epic Feud Threatens Mideast Stability at a Delicate Moment  (David Ignatius,Foreign Policy)
The UAE and Saudi Arabia rivalry also matters for Trump’s plans to transform the region.

Why the UK Has Announced a Border Security Deal with China – and What It Could Mean for Small Boat Crossings  (David L. Suber, The Conversation)
The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, recently visited China to announce what was described as a reset in relations between London and Beijing. Among the economic and diplomatic announcements was a surprising element: a new agreement on border security.
Under the deal, the UK and China committed to closer cooperation to disrupt the supply of engines and equipment used in small boat crossings of the English Channel.
Numbers of small boat arrivals to the UK in 2025 were the second-highest on record. The prime minister is under pressure to deliver on his commitment to “smash the gangs” and reduce unauthorized arrivals.
At first glance, China might appear an unlikely partner in this regard. Chinese nationals are nowhere close to the top nationalities crossing the Channel by small boat.
But the agreement is part of the British government’s efforts to tackle people smuggling by targeting the global supply chain of small boats and engines used for crossings. The aim is to disrupt Channel crossings well before migrants reach the French coast.

Europe Has Received the Message  (Joseph de Weck, The Atlantic)
Without America to rely on, the EU is gearing up to be a global power in its own right.

What Will It Take to Rebuild the Government in Post-Maduro Venezuela?  (Omar García-Ponce, Lawfare)
Any new government will have to address the country’s broken military, fragmented politics, and an oil sector vulnerable to corruption.