Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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What the US and Iran do next could be even more momentous
Lyse Doucet Chief international correspondent BBC For decades, the United States and Iran have carefully avoided crossing a dangerous red line into a direct military confrontation. One American president after another held back from deploying their military might against the Islamic Republic for fear of sinking the US into potentially the most perilous Middle East…
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How successful have the US strikes on Iran been?
The BBC’s security analyst Gordon Corera examines how much damage is likely to have been caused to Iran’s nuclear sites. The US has bombed three sites in Iran and President Trump said the strikes took “the ‘bomb’ right out of their hands”. However, Iran’s foreign minister has said his country’s nuclear knowledge “can’t be destroyed…
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Behind the US attack on Iran
It took months of planning and included over 125 planes, a submarine and 14 “bunker buster” bombs. BBC Verify’s Merlyn Thomas describes how the US mission “Operation Midnight Hammer” took place and analyses new satellite imagery that reveals the damage at Iran’s nuclear sites Isfahan, Natanz and Fordo. Produced by Aisha Sembhi. Graphics by Mesut…
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Suicide bombing at Damascus church kills 20, authorities say
At least 20 people have been killed and 52 others wounded in a suicide bombing at a church on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria’s interior ministry has said. The attacker entered Mar Elias Church in Dweila during a service and opened fire with a weapon before detonating an explosive vest, the ministry said in a…
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Belarus opposition leader’s husband urges Trump to help free other prisoners
Sergei Tikhanovsky, the husband of Belarus’ opposition leader, has called on US President Donald Trump to “just say the word” and ask for all political prisoners in Belarus to be released. The opposition activist was freed unexpectedly on Saturday and reunited with his wife in Lithuania. Thirteen other political prisoners were also released and forced…
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Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham return to South Africa from jail in Equatorial Guinea
Two South African engineers have returned home after spending more than two years in jail in Equatorial Guinea on what the UN has called “arbitrary and illegal” drugs charges. Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, both in their mid-50s, were arrested in February 2023 after drugs were allegedly found in their luggage. They were sentenced to…
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Ukraine still holds ground inside Russia’s Kursk, commander says
Thomas Mackintosh BBC News Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images A Ukrainian serviceman looks through the scope of a rifle shortly after the incursion into Kursk Ukraine’s top military commander says its forces are still defending a small area of territory inside Russia that it captured almost a year ago. In August 2024 Ukraine launched…
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The one man on speed dial for 50 years
Tiffanie Turnbull BBC News, Sydney ABC News/Declan Bowring Terry Harper is retiring after half a century in the building Since the Sydney Opera House opened over 50 years ago, countless musical stars, world leaders and awestruck patrons have visited its iconic halls. The outside forecourt has been blanketed by thousands of bare bodies in the…
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When the glittering city and other Gulf states almost became part of India
Corbis via Getty Images A 1900 photograph of the customs department in Dubai In the winter of 1956, The Times correspondent David Holden arrived on the island of Bahrain, then still a British protectorate. After a short-lived career teaching geography, Holden had looked forward to his Arabian posting, but he hadn’t expected to be attending…
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Where are Michael Jackson’s giant HIStory statues 30 years later?
Getty Images Statues of Michael Jackson appeared at landmarks around the world to promote his album HIStory In June 1995, a giant statue of Michael Jackson provided a surreal sight in the heart of London when it was floated on a barge down the River Thames. This 32ft (10m) pop colossus was just one of…
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