3 TOP TIPS of diplomacy Part 3: take your time YouTube video by Leigh Turner Diplomacy

Delighted to see this common-sense advice - applicable to diplomacy, politics and many other fields - is attracting plenty of hits: www.youtube.com/shorts/k67n2...

Ukraine’s drone pilots hit Russian targets from 500km away New internet-based guidance system allows operation of unmanned aerial vehicles far from battlefield

Good to see. #Ukraine, fighting for its life, is proving fantastically innovative in resisting aggression from #Russia (subscription may be required to read actual article) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Ukraine’s drone pilots hit Russian targets from 500km away

3 TOP TIPS of diplomacy Part 3: take your time. Learning to be slow - think, debate and judge before you decide - can lead to better decision-making. Looking at today’s headlines, it’s easy to spot leaders who would have done better to think harder before making decisions. @bupjournals.bsky.social

This - from early March - has held up well.

Paper or computer? Paper or computer?  Should you use a computer or pen and paper to write fiction?  How about if you are writing the first draft of your novel?

I do a first draft in one colour fountain pen, then a first revise in a second. Full details here, although I realise this may be too much information: rleighturner.com/paper-or-com...

Excellent use of ink, there, as opposed to cartridges. I always use ink for writing fiction.

Chagos Islands: an explainer A former Director of Overseas Territories writes: the Chagos Islands are a problem left over by history. But without US support, the proposed 2024 deal can't happen.

Intriguingly, @bsky.app turns out to be by far the best social media app for spreading the word about my new “what the hell is all this about the #Chagos Islands” Substack: open.substack.com/pub/writerle...

Few things make an author happier than finding their book in a bookshop and signing it. Delighted to do so this morning in the excellent Daunts Books in Hampstead. It may still be on sale! #books #lessonsindiplomacy #booktok #diplomacy #diplomacymatters

Chagos Islands: an explainer A former Director of Overseas Territories writes: the Chagos Islands are a problem left over by history. But without US support, the proposed 2024 deal can't happen.

Intriguingly, @bsky.app turns out to be by far the best social media app for spreading the word about my new “what the hell is all this about the #Chagos Islands” Substack: open.substack.com/pub/writerle...

And thanks for the repost!

Thanks! Delighted this is still finding lots of interested readers. #Chagos

Chagos Islands: an explainer A former Director of Overseas Territories writes: the Chagos Islands are a problem left over by history. But without US support, the proposed 2024 deal can't happen.

My new post on Substack is about the Chagos Islands open.substack.com/pub/writerle... #BIOT #ChagosIslands #Overseasterritories #colonialism

Now that is a seriously long way from Ukraine. Around 7,000 km from Kyiv.

This looks potentially significant. The CIS, like the Customs Union, is one of the organisations through which Moscow tries to maintain influence over states of the Former Soviet Union. Every departure weakens Moscow's colonial influence.

Chagos Islands: an explainer A former Director of Overseas Territories writes: the Chagos Islands are a problem left over by history. But without US support, the proposed 2024 deal can't happen.

My new post on Substack is about the Chagos Islands open.substack.com/pub/writerle... #BIOT #ChagosIslands #Overseasterritories #colonialism

St James’s Park in London remains as gorgeous and spectacular as ever. When I was a diplomat based in London I’d head out with a home-made sandwich at lunchtime, take off shirt, shoes and socks and snooze for 20 minutes in the sunshine. How “living in the moment” was that? #diplomacy #creativity

Who's afraid of autocracy? "Mr Nobody against Putin"and "The Wave" highlight the seductive danger of autocracy and why we should never assume "it couldn't happen here".

My new Substack piece "Who's afraid of autocracy" explores whether autocracy could "happen here". It touches on "Mr Nobody against Putin" and what's happening in #Russia, and whether Vladimir #Putin's position is secure:
writerleighturner.substack.com/p/whos-afrai...

US ignoring evidence Russia is helping Iran because it trusts Putin, says Zelenskyy Ukraine’s president says he has tried to draw White House’s attention to collaboration between Moscow and Tehran over strikes on US bases

Hard to disagree. US negotiators seem in awe of Putin. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv lays out how ‘Russian satellites help Iran in war’ Iran bombed US bases and allies’ facilities soon after Russian satellites mapped them, according to Ukrainian assessment. What we know on day 1,505

It would be logical for the US, in response to this, to come down heavily on #Russia and resume massive aid to #Ukraine www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Excellent April Fool with a twist.

Would you read a book on diplomacy by this bloke? YouTube video by Leigh Turner Diplomacy

This, from 2023, is rather good. The answer seems to be "yes". www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0GC...

Interesting if genuine. I am going #Ukraine can help Gulf states to tackle drones, in return for help, including financial, from those they assist.

Is Iran winning the war? Comparisons with Russia Beware your assumptions

Is #Iran - or #Russia - winning the war? Ive found myself having to examine my assumptions. I’ve just put up a piece on Substack. Do have a look. open.substack.com/pub/writerle...

Is Iran winning the war against Israel and the US? Iranian public statements sound defiant and confident. But that's their job. Remember: Kremlin public statements have said for years that Russia's winning against Ukraine: plainly not true. Iranian statements may be true - or may not.

Would that it was so logical! It's more a matter of "I like it as it is and I don't want any changes". Plus, office size, outlook etc can for some people be an important symbol of their status.

The hardest #problems in #diplomacy in the 1990s: were they Economic and Monetary Union? Mad Cow Disease? The future of defence diplomacy? Nope… The lessons? 1. The biggest problems aren’t always what you think. 2. #Diplomats have many of the same problems as everyone else. #office #officelife

Ukraine signs deal with Saudi Arabia offering drone expertise Volodymyr Zelensky says the Gulf kingdom faces the same type of attacks from Iran that Kyiv has been resisting.

Good to see: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#ukraine #drones #Russia #saudiarabia

The clock at Schipol Airport is elegant. There’s a smaller version at the Rijksmuseum in town. Truly a work of art and something different in the globalised, bland world of airport decor #clock #schipol #travel #art #videoart

‘Russia is a country dominated by the culture of criminals’: filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa on the legacy of Stalinism The Ukrainian director’s ‘Two Prosecutors’ depicts a 1937 fight for justice but, he says, its relevance to today is all too clear

Many people do not realise that #Russia is a fantastically corrupt country thanks to its Soviet legacy (subscription may be required) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... ‘Russia is a country dominated by the culture of criminals’: filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa on the legacy of Stalinism

Iran’s attack on Diego Garcia: what does it mean? #Iran YouTube video by Leigh Turner Diplomacy

Iran’s missile attack on the US base at Diego Garcia is a reminder of the unpredictability of this war. With the US attacking #Iran worldwide, Iran will feel entitled to respond worldwide. We don’t know their capabilities for sure. #Iranwar #Diego #DiegoGarcia #missile youtube.com/shorts/xls5j...