Sanjoy Narayan

Best known for winning the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the 1949 war film Battleground. A WWII combat veteran, Pirosh was widely recognized for his realistic war films, including Go for Broke! (1951), but also for his famously creative 1934 job application...

One album. Day #243 open.spotify.com/album/2TxK1gOj…

Len Deighton, writer, 1929-2026. He reframed the spy novel genre with gritty cold-war thrillers but possessed an extraordinary range of talents, from graphic designer to historian ft.com/content/32e4c2… via @ft

He's really a silly old chap with an (increasingly) irritating accent when he speaks in English #india #politics #iran #war

India does not have the luxury of “beds” in this region. We are not in a caravan serai. We are tied to the Gulf for energy, diaspora, and capital. That is undeniable. But to reduce our long-term position to a binary, Arab side versus Iran, is a misalignment of both geography and strategy. Iran is not peripheral to India. It sits at the hinge of our continental access, our connectivity ambitions, and our extended neighbourhood. We cannot wish it away because it is inconvenient in a crisis. Strategic autonomy is not about choosing the side with the larger balance sheet. It is about refusing false choices altogether. Yes, India must protect its citizens in the Gulf. Yes, it must secure energy flows. But it must also preserve a working relationship with Iran, not as a sentimental gesture, but as a strategic necessity. When India accepts that it must “back” one side in a complex regional conflict, it has already narrowed its own options. We are not an adjunct to anyone’s camp. We are a country with interests on all sides. The real test is whether we can hold that position without drifting into the comfort of alignment presented as pragmatism.

One album. Day #242 open.spotify.com/album/3gr2zAgE…

@stats_feed Ask a Finn if they're happy and they'll probably just shrug. That's the real flex. 🤷‍♂️

India is making a hard pivot back to Russian oil, ramping up purchases, as the Middle East war turns into a direct threat to global energy supplies. #Russianoil #Iran #Hormuz @BalaParan telegraphindia.com/business/india…

One album. Day #241 open.spotify.com/album/36QgAodh…

Cartoon by David Sipress

One album. Day #240 open.spotify.com/album/67AYhGt6…

Cowboy boots and line dancing: country music fever grips Britons. Country music is booming in the UK and attracting younger audiences. Donning cowboy boots and hats, the UK’s biggest country music event of the year attracted 45,000 country fans - with stars flying in from across the Atlantic for the Country 2 Country music festival

One album. day #239 open.spotify.com/album/6IxGLKeu…

@EmmanuelMacron And? What did he say?

I have just spoken with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian. I called on him to put an immediate end to the unacceptable attacks Iran is carrying out against countries in the region, whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq. I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted. The unchecked escalation we are witnessing is plunging the entire region into chaos, with major consequences today and for the years to come. The people of Iran, like those across the region, are paying the price. Only a new political and security framework can ensure peace and security for all. Such a framework must guarantee that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons, while also addressing the threats posed by its ballistic missile programme and its destabilising activities regionally and internationally. Freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz must be restored as soon as possible. I also urged the Iranian President to allow Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris to return safely to France as soon as possible. Their ordeal has gone on for far too long, and they belong with their loved ones.

Fill the blank with your expletive of choice: __________ Trump says US may hit Iran’s Kharg Island again ‘just for fun’ aje.news/3w7kpr via @AJEnglish

Because it is a Sunday, here is Angine de Poitrine youtu.be/0Ssi-9wS1so?si…

One album. Day #238 open.spotify.com/album/50ZGiAqY…

Speak softly. It's so much more effective.

How Trump uses shoes to keep his boys in line. On occasion, big sizes. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

A touch of the Nordic blues via @htTweets hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/art-…