Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Hamas has released an Israeli-American hostage held captive for 19 months to Israeli forces as part of efforts to reach a new ceasefire deal, the group said. Edan Alexander, 21, had been serving in the Israeli army on the border of Gaza when he was captured by Hamas militants on 7 October 2023. On Monday,…

Orla Guerin Senior international correspondent Reuters Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, called on the group to disarm in February. After 40 years, with 40,000 people killed, and without securing a Kurdish homeland, the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, the PKK, is ending its war against the Turkish state. This signals the end of one…

Crates containing documents from Nazi Germany have been rediscovered in the basement of Argentina’s Supreme Court. The unusual find was made as workers were clearing the building’s basement ahead of its archives being moved to a newly created museum. The documents were sent by the German embassy in Tokyo and arrived in Argentina on 20…

Getty Images Rodrigo Duterte giving a speech before his arrest in March Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is detained at The Hague over his drug war that killed thousands, has been elected mayor of his family’s stronghold, according to early, partial results. Two of his most loyal aides – long-time assistant Christopher “Bong” Go…

Laura Bicker China correspondent EPA Beijing had been negotiating for tariff relief for its consumers China’s defiance as it faced down US President Donald Trump’s tariffs has been a defining image of this trade war. It has prompted viral memes of Trump waiting for the Chinese leader to call. “We will not back down,” has…

Michael Race Business reporter, BBC News Getty Images The US and China have agreed a truce to lower import taxes on goods being traded between the two countries. The agreement marks a major de-escalation of the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, which has sent shockwaves impacting countless other countries, including the UK.…

The first set of 49 white South Africans to be granted refugee status by President Donald Trump’s administration are on their way to the US. On Sunday they boarded a flight from Johannesburg which is due to land in Washington DC later on Monday. This comes after a weekend of speculation about when the Afrikaners…

Pope Leo XIV has called for the release of imprisoned journalists in his first address to members of the media at the Vatican. He expressed solidarity with journalists who were jailed “for seeking and reporting the truth” and said their suffering “challenges the conscience of nations and the international community”. Press freedom must be defended,…

“There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no-one sees but that stay with you forever,” he added. “As I step away from this format, it’s not easy – but it feels right. I’ve given it everything I had, and it’s given me back so…

Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK, which has waged a 40-year insurgency against Turkey, has announced it is laying down its arms and disbanding. The move followed a call in February by the group’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for the organisation to disband. The group is banned as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU, UK…