Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Australian politician Gareth Ward found guilty of rape
A New South Wales (NSW) politician has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men in Australia. A jury found Gareth Ward – who is still a sitting member of state parliament – guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape. Both of the victims, who were aged 18 and…
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Indian minister Piyush Goyal says ‘fantastic’ progress in talks with US
India is making “fantastic progress” in its trade deal talks with the US, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said. The minister made the comments in London, after signing a landmark free trade deal with the UK on Thursday. Goyal’s optimistic statement comes against the backdrop of Washington and Delhi missing several deadlines to finalise the…
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Trump takes a break from world affairs to tee-up his Scottish golf courses
James Cook Scotland editor As Donald Trump heads to Scotland, what to expect from his visit Donald Trump flies into Scotland later to visit two golf resorts which he owns in the country where his mother was born. He will travel to Turnberry in South Ayrshire, a world class venue he bought in 2014, and…
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The vote targeting ‘pro-China’ lawmakers
Tessa Wong BBC News, Taipei Getty Images Taiwan’s legislators have engaged in brawls in parliament in recent months amid a heated political deadlock For most of his life, Deng Pu didn’t see himself as an activist – but that changed last year. Furious at what he felt was undemocratic behaviour by Taiwan’s lawmakers and overt…
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Pro-Palestinian convict to be freed after 40 years
Hugh Schofield Paris correspondent AFP Georges Abdallah will be released on Friday after 40 years behind bars Georges Abdallah, a 74-year-old Lebanese teacher who became a left-wing symbol for the Palestinian cause, is to be freed by France on Friday after 41 years in jail. Described by his lawyer as “the man who has spent…
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Too hot for Santa as Lapland buckles under record heatwave
Erika Benke BBC News, Rovaniemi BBC/Erika Benke “Make sure the reindeer have plenty of water – and don’t forget to drink a glass every hour too,” Santa reminds a team of elves busy making presents for next Christmas as Lapland swelters in a record heatwave. It’s not every day that Father Christmas finds himself briefing…
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One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, UN aid agency says
Aoife Walsh and Paulin Kola BBC News BBC The UN says the hunger crisis in Gaza ‘has never been so dire’ One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished and cases are increasing every day, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) says. In a statement issued on Thursday, Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini cited a…
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Trump jokes he wants Powell to lower interest rates
US President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell exchanged frosty words during their public tour of the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion renovation project. The pair disagreed in front of cameras about the project’s timeline and cost. It was their first public meeting since Trump began a broadside against Powell and the Federal Reserve…
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The story behind the photograph of a starving Gaza baby
A photographer in Gaza has told the story of how he captured a series of harrowing photographs, showing an emaciated child. Ahmed al-Arini told BBC Newshour that he wanted to “show the rest of the world extreme hunger” that babies and children are experiencing in the Gaza Strip. Global food security experts have not yet…
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Five ice hockey players found not guilty in Canada sexual assault case
Nadine Yousif BBC News, London, Ontario Reuters From left to right: Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote Five Canadian ice hockey players accused of sexually assaulting a woman have all been acquitted by an Ontario judge in a case that has been closely watched in Canada. In a packed courtroom on…
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