Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • The Panama community that fled its drowning island

    The Panama community that fled its drowning island

    Gonzalo Cañada and Agustina Latourrette BBC Mundo, Panama BBC Scientists say rising sea levels are likely to render the island uninhabitable by 2050 “If the island sinks, I will sink with it,” Delfino Davies says, his smile not fading for a second. There is silence, except for the swish of his broom across the floor…

  • What roles are Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda playing?

    What roles are Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda playing?

    Barbara Plett Usher BBC News, Nairobi AFP The Rwandan-backed M23 group has said they want to liberate DR Congo The seizure by M23 rebels of vast tracts of land in the mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has triggered a humanitarian and diplomatic crisis, involving several neighbouring countries. An alarming number of African…

  • Baltic states making historic switch away from Russian power

    Baltic states making historic switch away from Russian power

    Getty Images More than three decades after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have begun to unplug from Russia’s electricity grid and join the EU’s network. The two-day process began on Saturday morning, with residents told to charge their devices, stock up on food and water, and prepare as if severe weather is…

  • Modi’s BJP ahead in tightly-fought race

    Modi’s BJP ahead in tightly-fought race

    Nikita Yadav BBC News, Delhi EPA More than 60% of Delhi’s 15 million registered voters cast their ballots on Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party is ahead of its rivals in Indian capital Delhi, where votes are being counted after a tightly-fought election. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 41 seats in the…

  • Trump says he is revoking Biden’s security clearance

    Trump says he is revoking Biden’s security clearance

    Getty Images US President Donald Trump has said he is revoking Joe Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings, after his predecessor did the same to him four years ago. “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social…

  • 16 things Trump and team did this week

    BBC The third week of Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by more major action from the US president and his team. From announcing US goals on the future of Gaza and massively slashing the US agency for foreign aid to intervening in a golf dispute and banning transgender women from female sports competitions,…

  • Lasers, ladders and a leap: Photos of the week

    Lasers, ladders and a leap: Photos of the week

    6 minutes ago A selection of news photographs from around the world. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters Members of the Mexican National Guard and the Mexican Army confiscate ladders used by human traffickers to cross the border wall into the United States during a patrol. US President Donald Trump delayed introducing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico…

  • How Japan shaped Trump’s perspective on tariffs

    How Japan shaped Trump’s perspective on tariffs

    Nada Tawfik New York correspondent Getty Images Donald and Ivana Trump disembark the Trump Princess yacht in New York in 1988 When Donald Trump’s fortunes took a downturn in the 90s and he needed to raise cash fast, he sailed his 282ft (85m) superyacht, the Trump Princess, to Asia hoping he could attract Japan’s wealthy.…

  • Ukraine says North Korean troops back on front line

    Ukraine says North Korean troops back on front line

    Ukraine’s president says North Korean forces have returned to the front line in Russia’s western Kursk region, after reports they were withdrawn last month due to heavy casualties. In a video address on Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian army had “brought back in North Korean soldiers” who were carrying out “new assaults” in the…

  • Judge pauses Trump plan to send thousands of staff at agency on leave

    Judge pauses Trump plan to send thousands of staff at agency on leave

    A federal court has issued a “very limited” temporary order halting President Donald Trump’s plan to gut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The judge issued a restraining order that would block 2,200 employees from being put on administrative leave as was scheduled by midnight Friday. USAID employs about 10,000 people – two-thirds…

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