Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • BBC witnesses the battle for Khartoum

    BBC witnesses the battle for Khartoum

    Barbara Plett Usher BBC News, Khartoum Ken Mungai / BBC Asma Mubarak Abdel Karim told the BBC the RSF’s treat was terrifying – she heard them raping a woman in her neighbourhood amid the fighting The BBC has heard evidence of atrocities committed by retreating fighters in a battle raging for control of Sudan’s capital…

  • ‘For holding a wombat, thousands threatened my life’

    ‘For holding a wombat, thousands threatened my life’

    A US influencer who was filmed taking a wild baby wombat away from its distressed mother in Australia has said she is “truly sorry” and received thousands of death threats over the incident. Sam Jones, who calls herself an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter”, was filmed picking up the joey on the side of a road,…

  • Mark Carney sworn in as first new Canadian prime minister in nine years

    Mark Carney sworn in as first new Canadian prime minister in nine years

    Watch: Mark Carney’s first hours as Canada’s new prime minister Mark Carney, an economist and political newcomer, has been sworn in as Canada’s new prime minister and delivered a speech vowing to “never” become a part of the United States. He takes office on Friday just days after being elected leader of the governing Liberal…

  • American Airlines passengers share how they fled burning plane in Denver

    American Airlines passengers share how they fled burning plane in Denver

    “Nerve-wrecking, terrifying and horrific.” That is how one witness described her experience getting off an American Airlines flight that caught fire after it was forced to make an emergency landing in Colorado. Some of the 172 passengers travelling on the flight bound for Dallas were seen standing on the plane’s wing after it touched down…

  • Germany is back, says Merz after historic deal on defence and spending

    Germany is back, says Merz after historic deal on defence and spending

    Paul Kirby Europe digital editor Reuters The deal is a personal victory for Friedrich Merz, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Germany’s conservative leader, Friedrich Merz, has clinched an enormous financial package to revamp defence and infrastructure, ahead of a crunch vote in parliament next Tuesday. Merz, who aims to lead a government with the Social Democrats in the…

  • US had ‘productive’ talks with Putin over Ukraine war, Trump says

    US had ‘productive’ talks with Putin over Ukraine war, Trump says

    US President Donald Trump has praised talks held with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the US-proposed ceasefire deal in Ukraine as “good and productive”. This comes after Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff met in Moscow on Thursday evening, during which they exchanged information and shared the US’s “cautious optimism” over a peace process, the…

  • Iran using drones and phone apps to monitor strict dress code for women

    Iran using drones and phone apps to monitor strict dress code for women

    Imogen Foulkes Geneva correspondent, BBC News EPA Refusing to wear the hijab in public can lead to imprisonment in Iran Iran is using drones and intrusive digital technology to crush dissent, especially among women who refuse to obey the Islamic republic’s strict dress code, the United Nations has said. Investigators say Iranian security officials are…

  • Sudan bans all Kenyan imports after it hosted RSF

    Sudan bans all Kenyan imports after it hosted RSF

    Sudan has suspended all imports from Kenya in protest after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who are fighting the army in a two-year civil war, were hosted in Nairobi. Last month, the RSF and its allied political and armed groups signed a founding charter in Kenya expressing the intention to form a parallel government…

  • Elon Musk’s Tesla raises concern over retaliation risk

    Elon Musk’s Tesla raises concern over retaliation risk

    Elon Musk’s electric carmaker Tesla has warned it and other US exporters could be harmed by countries retaliating to Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Mr Musk is a close ally of the US president and is leading efforts to reduce the size of the federal government. But in an unsigned letter addressed to the US trade…

  • Florence and Pisa on alert as flooding hits northern Italy

    Florence and Pisa on alert as flooding hits northern Italy

    EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Red alerts for flooding and landslides were issued for parts of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna There have been flooding and landslides in parts of northern Italy as a red weather alerts covers cities including Florence and Pisa. Torrential rain prompted the alert for parts of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, with heavy and persistent rainfall expected into…

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