Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have called for an “immediate ceasefire” in eastern DR Congo, after having direct talks in Qatar. It is the first time two leaders have met since Rwanda-backed M23 rebels stepped up an offensive in the region, where authorities say 7,000 people…

Don’t judge a blob by its cover. Once dubbed the world’s ugliest animal for its soft, lumpy appearance, the blobfish has made a stunning comeback: it was crowned this week as Fish of the Year by a New Zealand environmental group. The annual competition, held by the Mountain to Sea Conservation Trust, aims to raise…

Russia and Ukraine have launched air attacks that damaged each other’s infrastructure, hours after Vladimir Putin said Russia would stop targeting Ukrainian energy sites. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s targets included hospitals. He said the Russian leader had in effect rejected a comprehensive ceasefire in his call on Tuesday with US President Donald Trump.…

More than 400 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Israel’s military says it’s been hitting “terror targets” across the territory. BBC Verify’s Nick Beake has been assessing footage of the strikes and building a picture of the damage done. Verification by Benedict Garman, Joshua Cheetham, and…

A Nigerian senator who alleged she was sexually harassed by one of the country’s top politicians has told the BBC the Senate operates like a “cult”. A fortnight ago, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was suspended for six months after submitting a petition saying she had been harassed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, which he denies. His office…

Tom Bateman BBC State Department Correspondent Reporting fromat the White House Watch: The BBC’s Tom Bateman unpacks Russia’s ceasefire conditions President Vladimir Putin has rejected an immediate and full ceasefire in Ukraine, agreeing only to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, following a call with US President Donald Trump. The Russian leader declined to sign up…

Getty Images Many young people sacrificed their lives to fight the racist system of apartheid It was late at night on 10 December 1987 when prison officers had woken Mzolisi Dyasi in his cell in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. He remembers the bumpy drive to a hospital morgue where he was asked to identify…

Ione Wells South America correspondent, Quito Reuters Most of the world’s cocaine is trafficked through Ecuador’s ports Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has told the BBC he wants US, European and Brazilian armies to join his “war” against criminal gangs. He added he wants US President Donald Trump to designate Ecuadorean gangs as terrorist groups, as…

In the run up to today’s call, Donald Trump made a big deal of his conversation with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. But the results look like there’s little to shout about. The Russian president has given the US leader just enough to claim that he made progress towards peace in Ukraine, without making it look like…

Israeli Government Press Office The Israeli prime minister said “we have gone back to fighting” Israel has “resumed combat in full force” against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday night. In a defiant video statement, he warned that “negotiations will continue only under fire” and that “this is just…