Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

US negotiators are holding talks in the Saudi capital Riyadh with their Ukrainian counterparts and separately with the Russians on Monday. Washington’s aim is to bring about an immediate partial ceasefire to the war in Ukraine, followed by a comprehensive peace deal. So could these Riyadh talks produce the breakthrough so many are hoping for?…

Jacob Evans Reporting fromBusiness reporter Getty/Dave Benett Rum is one of Jamaica’s biggest exports Rum is a key part of Jamaica’s cultural identity, but what exactly makes a rum Jamaican? That question is at the centre of a dispute that is continuing to rumble on the Caribbean island, as some producers wish to strengthen rules…

Madina Maishanu BBC News, Kano BBC A mother in northern Nigeria is visibly upset as she clutches her two-year-old child, who has burns and discoloured skin on his face and legs. The 32-year-old used skin-whitening products on all six of her children, under pressure from her family, with results that she now deeply regrets. Fatima,…

Michael Kugelman Foreign policy analyst Press Information Bureau India’s pitch for a close partnership with China has suggested improvement in bilateral ties In a recent interview, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke positively about India’s relationship with long-time rival China. He said normalcy had returned to the disputed India-China border and called for stronger ties. These…

More than 50,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry has announced. That number – 50,021 – equates to about 2.1% of the 2.3 million pre-war population of the territory, or around 1 in 50 people. A total of 113,274 others had been injured in…

Pope Francis has greeted cheering crowds from the window of a hospital in Rome, the first time he’s been seen in public since he was admitted in February. The 88-year-old pontiff will need at least two months of rest at the Vatican, doctors treating him have said. During the past five weeks, he presented “two…

Orlando Police Orlando police have recovered two sets of earrings worth a combined $769,500 (£597,000) after an alleged thief swallowed them more than two weeks ago. Jaythan Gilder, 32, swallowed the Tiffany & Co. diamond earrings around the time he was taken into custody on 26 February, police said. Mr Gilder was monitored by detectives…

Farhat Javed BBC Urdu Reporting fromBalochistan BBC/Farhat Javed Saira Baloch is among thousands of women in Balochistan seeking answers about men they say were forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s security forces Saira Baloch was 15 when she stepped into a morgue for the first time. All she heard in the dimly-lit room were sobs, whispered prayers…

Zhanna Bezpiatchuk BBC Ukraine Maria Smerechanska Maria’s life has been reduced to waiting for the next phone call from her husband – never knowing if it might be the last. Ivan, a 31-year-old Ukrainian fighter pilot, began defending the skies from the very first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and has now…

An Israeli air strike in the southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza has killed top Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas official told the BBC early on Sunday. Locals say the air strike killed both Bardaweel, a member of the group’s political office, and his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. Israel’s…