Foreign Affairs

A group of Iranians occupied the American Embassy in Tehran in November 1979.

US-Iranian relations

Mohsen Milani writes that more than at any time since a group of Iranians occupied the American Embassy in Tehran in November 1979,the stars for a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran are aligned. The country has elected a moderate president,one who is willing to do business with the United States. He says that Obama and Rouhani are uniquely positioned to establish their historical legacies. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has even declared that Iran is ready to show heroic flexibility in dealing with the West and has given Rouhani full authority to negotiate,something he has not previously given to any president. Milani says the change can be attributed to Iranians expressing a strong desire for their country to end its confrontational and counterproductive foreign policy and throw the troubled economy a life raft.

The Los Angeles Times

TomTato unveiled

Officially called the TomTato,Jenn Harris called the plant that produces both tomatoes and potatoes a garden equivalent of french fries and ketchup. Made by grafting rather than genetic engineering,a tomato plant and a potato plant are combined in a soil pot and grown as one. Harris says the hybrid plant isnt exactly new,but this is the first time it is being commercially produced. A British mail-order company called Thompson amp; Morgan is selling the plants in the UK. The company claims the TomTato plant can grow 500 cherry tomatoes that come to 10.2 on the brix scale, a scale that measures sucrose levels,and a good crop of white potatoes simultaneously. A similar product,dubbed the Potato Tom,was launched in garden centres in New Zealand this week.

Variety

Dexter series finale

Speaking about how the show has been running on creative fumes for the last few seasons,critic Brian Lowry writes that the season finale only underscored the fact that the show was well past its expiration date. He argues that the best part dealt with Dexters internal struggle regarding whether it was possible for him to live a normal life. Dexter as a series set up engrossing cat-and-mouse games,pitting its eponymous anti-hero against killers every bit as determined and twisted as he was. Although the ending had a certain poetry to it,its backdrop against the cleansing tide of a massive storm was too steeped in symbolism and melodrama. Lowry adds that although the series place in history is secure,it was long since time for it to breathe its last. In this case,the farewell came too late for it to feel satisfying or merciful.

Neha Arora