anna bruce-lockhart

This is a thrilling podcast - and not just because the subject is my ancestor. RBL was a restless Scottish lad who became Britain's agent in Bolshevik Russia and Churchill's chief propagandist - via scandal, diplomacy, journalism and a ticking-off from his Highlands grandma

Shutting down the internet is the Taliban’s latest attempt, under their brutal system of gender apartheid, to cut Afghan women and girls off from the world. Without reliable internet access, they cannot access their courses or connect with their peers and teachers. This cannot be tolerated. Governments must immediately put maximum pressure on the Taliban to reverse the internet shutdown and restore Afghan girls' and women’s basic rights, especially their right to education.

I kindly beg you please share our page and don’t let the voices of Afghan women be silenced. The Taliban fears WDI Afghanistan because we share daily updates and news from inside the country. That’s why they’re trying to get our page reported and taken down. 💔 @jk_rowling

Ever wondered if spies read spy books? After chatting to @ChiefMI6 Sir Richard Moore recently, I can tell you they do. One in particular: a gripping new biography of Robert Bruce-Lockhart, Britain's agent in Russia, by @DrJCrossland. Check it out here: eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-ag…

@DrJCrossland @DrJCrossland Bumped into MI6 chief at Davos this week. He says he has a copy of 'Rogue Agent' at home and is looking forward to reading it 😀🔥

@Beyondalp And thank you for reading - there's plenty more stories in his papers. Only so many book pages, unfortunately!

This is a thrilling podcast - and not just because the subject is my ancestor. RBL was a restless Scottish lad who became Britain's agent in Bolshevik Russia and Churchill's chief propagandist - via scandal, diplomacy, journalism and a ticking-off from his Highlands grandma

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@DrJCrossland I'm reading the book now - fantastic prose, elegant and gripping. And so much I didn't know about the family's 'Uncle Bertie'. What a life! Thank you for writing it.

@Beyondalp Thank you Anna - glad you enjoyed it!

Queen

@PellReggie Oh my god, well said 💔

Majestic!

A reminder that the clocks go back in the UK tonight. Enjoy your extra hour in bed, unless you live with a cat in which case breakfast will be expected an hour earlier and refusal to comply will result in loud miaowing.

This is what happens when you don’t fund the humanities

When cats meet curiosity theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

@FatsDoyle 🤣

This boy 💔 My heart is in pieces, David Knowles. Japester, clever-clogs, mandolin-fancier, fluting tenor, Napoleonic fanboy, sardonic tweeter, theologian, random spouter of unverifiable Aramaic. I will miss you xx

@youngvulgarian This is so well put, Marie. He really was a jolly force of nature and you describe the bewilderment I think a lot of us are feeling at this awful vacuum. I remember when you first got together - it was a very happy time for him. I’m so sorry xx

Truly extraordinarily powerful interview of Dominique de Villepin, former Prime Minister of France, on Gaza. I can't stress enough how rare it is to hear a former French PM speak like this. He says France "no longer has a voice on the international scene", because (among other things) of its "double-standards" and lack of action with regards to Gaza. He calls France's internal silencing of what's happening in Gaza a "real scandal in terms of democracy", making France live in "absurdity" and resulting in it "fading away". He says that we (France and the West in general) would have many levers to stop the war - in terms of armament or economic sanctions - "but we refuse to use these levers with arguments which are absolutely unreal culturally or intellectually speaking. Saying 'we need to let Israel fight its war to the end': but what end? What is the end?". As a consequence he says that France and the West will "foot the bill" for what's happening in terms of loss of credibility and legitimacy. On Gaza specifically he calls it "undoubtedly the biggest historical scandal since... I don't even dare to find a reference", calling it a war "not like the others since it is civilian populations that die". He also rebukes the journalist for using the usual term "according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health" with regards to the number of death: "There's not only the Ministry of Health from Hamas which says that there are 40,000 dead. And there are probably many more, MANY more! So from this basis let's not give the feeling that it would be a number like that, unreliable. No!" Probably the most powerful quote of the interview, literally gave me shivers: "In Gaza bodies are torn into pieces, Hearts are in pieces! Souls are in pieces! Heads are in pieces!" ("À Gaza les corps sont en morceaux! Les coeurs sont en morceaux! Les âmes sont en morceaux! Les têtes sont en morceaux!") He says that ""Israel has no political objective and when you have no political objective the only thing you can do is war... There is a security objective, there is an identity objective, there is a messianic madness and that explains the catastrophe that we're witnessing."

Gifted broadcaster yes. And also 'beguiling velociraptor' and 'annoying baby penguin'. This lovely obit captures some of the playful spirit that made him so loved.

@frontlinekit Sending you love. David was a beautiful combination of intelligence, wit and kindness. It's natural and right to grieve such a terrible loss x

Goodnight all, today wasn't much easier to be honest; I'm sat here brushing my teeth, tears running down my face, reading a DM from David's close friend. I don't know why I'm such a fucking mess; I am so numb to death, it's just part of life in Ukraine but he was an idol to me.

@8Sarmad This is wonderful @8Sarmad 🥰

I’m unsurprised David was loved by many. He was a beautiful soul, who cared deeply and loved life to its fullest I take some solace in that his last words to me was that he loved me, and mine to him was that I love him Don’t forget to tell your friends you love them RIP David

@elonmusk 🤮

Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life