J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novels—and the associated “legendarium” of characters, histories, myths, maps, and constructed languages—have served as a bedrock of so-called “nerd culture” since their publication in the mid-1950s. With its clear-cut characterizations, and (more-or-less) cleanly delineated lines between Good and Evil, Tolkien’s imagined Middle-earth—a vast and geographically variegated realm teeming…

India and the US have signed a framework agreement to expand defence cooperation over the next 10-years. The pact was announced after a meeting between US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Kuala Lumpur. The agreement will enhance “coordination, information sharing and tech cooperation” and advance “regional stability and deterrence”,…