Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Are those abroad widening the class divide back home?
Danai Nesta Kupemba BBC News The Plug Entertainment Afrobeats performances during holiday periods draw in big audiences with many from the diaspora Scenes playing out in Nigeria during holiday periods could be in a movie: emotional reunions at airport terminals, champagne flowing like water in high-end clubs and A-list Afrobeats performers dominating stages to packed…
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Fear and anger as ‘battle for the soul of Romanian democracy’ looms
Sarah Rainsford Eastern Europe correspondent Reporting fromPoeni, Romania BBC/Sarah Rainsford The nationalist George Simion is polling strongly in Romania ahead of elections The Romanian village of Poeni has a couple of shops, a kebab grill and a pack of stray dogs. It also has a fair few voters who wanted a far-right candidate to become…
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The man with a mind-reading chip in his brain, thanks to Elon Musk
Lara Lewington, Liv McMahon & Tom Gerken BBC News BBC Having a chip in your brain that can translate your thoughts into computer commands may sound like science fiction – but it is a reality for Noland Arbaugh. In January 2024 – eight years after he was paralysed – the 30-year-old became the first person…
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Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
Reuters Sir Keir met a group of military leaders from the “coalition of the willing” in the UK on Thursday Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for an international force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine has been dismissed as “a posture and a pose” by Donald Trump’s special envoy. Steve Witkoff said the idea was based…
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Moment police chase ends in four-car pile-up in Paris
Thirteen people – 10 of them police officers – have been injured after a car chase ended in a pile-up in the French capital, Paris. The accident – near Montparnasse train station – occurred after a driver refused orders to stop early on Saturday. Instead, the black car – with two other people on board…
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Protesters in Turkey rally ‘for justice’ after mayor’s arrest
Reuters Riot police clash with protesters on Saturday night in Istanbul Protests have raged on for a fourth night in Istanbul following the arrest of the city’s mayor, part of the largest demonstrations Turkey has seen in more than a decade. Ekrem Imamoglu, a rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday,…
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Foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly
Getty Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has told the BBC she believes Canada can win the trade war which was sparked by a series of tariffs ordered by US President Donald Trump. “We are the biggest customer of the US,” Joly told the BBC’s World Service Weekend programme. “We buy more from the Americans than…
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South Korea wildfires kill at least two firefighters
At least two people died and hundreds evacuated their homes as wildfires raged in South Korea on Saturday. Two firefighters were found dead in Sancheong County in the country’s south-east, news agency Yonhap reported, citing local officials. Two others were reported missing as multiple fires blazed across the country, according to the Korea Forest Service.…
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Pope Francis to be discharged from hospital on Sunday
Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Sunday, doctors treating him have said. The 88-year-old was admitted to the hospital on 14 February with double pneumonia. During the past five weeks, he presented “two very critical episodes” where his “life was in danger”, according to Dr Sergio Alfieri, one of the doctors…
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Israel warns Lebanon of severe response after rocket fire
Hugo Bachega BBC Middle East correspondent Reuters IDF soldiers guard in the norther Israeli town of Metula, on the border with Lebanon. File photo Israel has warned it will “respond severely” after rockets were fired from Lebanon – the first since a bilateral ceasefire deal came into effect in November. Sirens were heard in the…
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