Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina has asked for one year to fix the country’s challenges, promising that if they persist, he will resign. He said this during a town-hall style meeting at his palace with various groups of government supporters. Many attendees had the opportunity to ask the president questions or simply share their views –…

The parents of Tom Phillips, who vanished with his three children into the New Zealand wilderness in 2021, have made a public apology – their first comments since the fugutive was shot dead by police a month ago. “We would like to send our sincere apology… for all the trouble, inconvenience, loss of privacy and…

Palestinians have celebrated on the streets of Khan Younis, Gaza, after US President Donald Trump said Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his peace deal. Under the agreement Trump said Israel would withdraw its troops to “an agreed upon line” and all remaining Israeli hostages would be released “very soon”. Hamas…

James Comey, the former director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, has pleaded not guilty to making false statements to lawmakers and obstructing a congressional proceeding. Mr Comey’s lawyer entered the plea on his behalf in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday morning. Patrick Fitzgerald said he would seek to have the…

Louisiana State Police All 10 escaped inmates have now been captured Five months after 10 inmates broke out of a Louisiana jail, the last escapee has been captured, Louisiana State Police confirmed on Wednesday. The escaped inmate, 28-year-old Derrick Groves, was taken into custody in Atlanta, Georgia, after a brief stand-off, police said. Police released…

Vitaly ShevchenkoRussia editor, BBC Monitoring BBC Satellite images suggest the property in Zaporizhzhia has been occupied by Russian soldiers It was another busy day at work. Russian forces had attacked my home region of Zaporizhzhia again: a region in the south of Ukraine, split between the Russian invaders, who claim it all as theirs, and…

Watch: Trump says Middle East deal ‘very close’ after being passed note by Marco Rubio US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have “both signed off” on the first phase of a peace plan for Gaza. “This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw…

Lucy WilliamsonMiddle East correspondent, Jerusalem BBC The Skeik building, in a quiet road off Omar al-Mukhtar Street in western Gaza City, was a familiar sight to Gaza’s lovers. The tree-lined street that ran beside it was once a favourite place for courting couples, eager to avoid Gaza’s socially conservative gaze. But the road nicknamed “Lovers’…

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of preparing to wage war against it in collusion with an opposition grouping, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between the two neighbours over control of the Red Sea. Ethiopia’s accusation is contained in a letter sent by its Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos to UN chief Antonio Guterres, warning that…

Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced. English is used as the language of instruction for most subjects nationwide at secondary schools, with Arabic the only other compulsory second language taught at the moment. But President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Swahili should also…