The authoritarians push back. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will visit Russia this week for talks with President Vladimir Putin aimed at boosting “strategic coordination.” China and Russia will rally the world against “unilateralism and bullying,” Beijing said Sunday, referring to the United States and its trade war. The Trump administration has pursued rapprochement with Russia. But Beijing stressed its strong ties with Moscow would not be “affected by any third party.” Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin signed a “no-limits” friendship pact in 2022. – Staff 

Water tensions rise. India has begun boosting reservoir holding capacity at two hydroelectric projects in Kashmir. The work represents the first tangible step by India to operate outside the Indus Waters Treaty, unbroken since 1960 despite three wars between the nuclear-armed rivals. The pact ensures water supply to 80% of Pakistani farmers. New Delhi suspended the agreement after an attack last month in Kashmir killed 26. Islamabad denied any role, warning that any attempt “to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan ... will be considered as an act of war." – Reuters

Germany reins in the hard right. The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution on Friday classified the Alternative for Germany party as right-wing extremists. The AfD was already under official surveillance. Friday’s announcement marks a potential step toward banning the party, currently the second largest in parliament. The report accuses the AfD of violating the constitution by promoting an “ethnic and ethnic-based understanding” of German nation. Critics called the move a politically motivated attempt to discredit the rapidly growing party. – Staff 

A Romanian nationalist advances. Romanians voted for president Sunday in an unusual do-over of a November election that was annulled and the winner banned because of alleged Russian interference. But voters basically sent the same message, again giving first place to George Simion, a right-wing nationalist candidate who wants to end Romania’s crucial involvement in the Ukraine war. He will face Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan, a centrist, in a May 18 run-off. Romania is a key cog in Eastern Europe for NATO and the European Union. – Staff 

Tunisian protests showed division over a ruler. Opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied protested on the streets of Tunis last week, accusing him of using the judiciary and police to suppress critics. His supporters held a counter rally. The anti-Saied demonstration reflects growing concerns among human rights groups in the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Civic protests follow a months-long government crackdown on Mr. Saied’s critics. Tunisia won democracy in the 2011 revolution. In 2021, Mr. Saied shut down the elected Parliament and assumed authority over the judiciary. – Reuters

North Korea and Russia began building their first road link. The two countries hailed the construction of a bridge over a border river as a development that will further expand their ties. Russia’s Tass news agency said the bridge would be 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long and take a year and a half to complete. Relations between the two countries have flourished in recent years. North Korea has supplied ammunition and troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine. North Korea has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024. A railway bridge and air service already connect the countries. – The Associated Press

German leaders’ determination to make their country face its atrocities and take responsibility for them has changed how Germans view their nation and how the world views Germany. But amid commemorations this week of the 80-year anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, polls show a growing desire among Germans to feel less burdened by the past. The path Germany takes will have profound consequences, from how it leads in a militarizing Europe to whether right-wing extremism might rekindle the kind of nationalism the country has scrupulously avoided.

For U.S. consumers, the full effects of tariffs – higher prices, empty shelves – could be weeks or months away. Many businesses stockpiled imported goods in March. Some consumers front-loaded purchases. The administration has maintained that the United States will ultimately benefit from the reshoring of manufacturing behind higher trade barriers. But analysts say the new levies are like a slow-motion wave that’s about to break. And even a major reversal by the president might not avert near-term shortages, since the supply chain has already been disrupted.

The U.S. wants to catch up to China on mining rare earth elements, used in everything from solar panels to batteries. Digging them up carries environmental costs. But a process called “biomining” means they can be pulled from industrial waste streams. And though doing so might provide only a fraction of what’s needed to build self-sufficiency in a critical future supply chain, it showcases a growing effort to fix the U.S. critical mineral deficit in a new way, one that limits environmental destruction and rethinks the way we take metals from the earth.

Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, is an archipelago facing a mounting climate crisis. It’s also home to a movement called Green Islam that aims to teach citizens, and Muslims around the world, to lead the way on caring for Earth’s climate. The movement inspires calls for climate solutions in schools, mosques, and grassroots groups, but it does not rely on the authority of climate science. Instead, it promotes a moral message rooted in the Quran, conveyed through faith leaders, and reinforced by the nation’s founding philosophy that calls for tolerance and social justice for all Indonesians, regardless of faith tradition.

Design fads come and go. But the appeal of midcentury modernism, complete with clean lines and expansive windows, has transcended time. A Modernism Week event earlier this year drew visitors – and our reporter and photographer – to the bright colors and bold geometric shapes of some California neighborhoods that are a preservationist’s dream.

Born into an upper-class family in England, Leonora Carrington often rebelled against the societal restrictions imposed on her. She was twice expelled from convent schools. She favored reading Irish fairy tales, Lewis Carroll, and Beatrix Potter over learning to become the perfect debutante. What she became instead: a painter known for her unique artistic vision, one who moved in from the periphery of the surrealist movement and, along with several other often overlooked artists, won new attention during the 100th anniversary of the surrealist movement last year. 

Hot disputes between nations over cross-border water have lately spouted like geysers. In January, President Donald Trump said he wanted to end agreements with Canada on sharing the Great Lakes. And after months of fraught discussions, he just settled with Mexico on allocations of river flows under a 1940s accord.

In recent days, India suspended a water-sharing treaty with Pakistan after an attack in disputed territory; their decadeslong agreement was obsolete anyway because of climate change and population changes. And next year, a 30-year pact on South Asia’s other major riparian system, the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin, will expire if not rapidly renegotiated.  

Are these examples of contention and divergence over fresh water now the norm in the world?

“Contrary to popular belief,” stated the Stockholm International Water Institute, “water scarcity has so far tended to unleash cooperation rather than conflict.” 

Today, over 600 treaties cover regional basins or aquifers. Some 120 organizations monitor compliance or mediate disputes. And most such treaties have been “long-lived and respected even when the parties fell out over other issues,” the institute noted. 

Dialogue on water-sharing in tense times is more than a nod toward the universal need for a precious resource. It points to patience, cooperation, and collective decision-making. Extensive research by the late Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom identifies these attributes as near-universal, documenting evidence of resource-sharing in local communities from Nepal to Nigeria. 

Collaboration between nations can enhance the trust needed for an agreement. For example, conflict in Mali’s Inner Niger Delta has been reduced by improved communication and systems of seasonal water access. Elsewhere in West Africa, three countries have supported a master plan for the Mékrou River basin. Albania and Montenegro jointly manage the Buna/Bojana Watershed. And in 2024, after more than a decade of negotiations, agreement by South Sudan put into effect a deal among Nile River Basin countries. 

Population growth and variable weather patterns are increasing pressure on freshwater sources. Many existing treaties specify absolute cubic volumes. Times of scarcity may require recalibrating these as percentages of what’s available. Countries have many examples of cooperation to follow.

In a quote attributed to John F. Kennedy, the U.S. president said, “Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two Nobel Prizes – one for peace and one for science.” 

The world’s record on water-sharing to date, though contentious at times, shows that goodwill and good research have, in fact, prevailed.