Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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US strikes on ‘Venezuela drug boats’: are they legal?
Matt Murphy & Joshua CheethamBBC Verify Donald Trump/Truth Social US officials say they have carried out a number of strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing multiple drug traffickers. Announcing the first of these in September, President Donald Trump said his forces had destroyed a vessel that had departed from Venezuela. He said the…
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Lisbon funicular crash initial report reveals litany of failings
A preliminary report into last month’s funicular crash in Lisbon that killed 16 people has detailed a litany of failings. Portugal’s Air and Rail Accident Investigations Bureau said an underground cable – which acted as a counterweight between two carriages and broke, prompting the crash – was defective and had never been certified for passenger…
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White House begins demolishing part of East Wing for Trump ballroom
Demolition has begun on part of the East Wing of the White House in preparation for the construction of US President Donald Trump’s new ballroom. Construction crews on Monday tore down massive chunks of a covered entryway and windows in the East Wing, which Trump said is being “fully modernised”. The president previously said that…
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US and Australia sign rare earths deal to counter China’s dominance
AFP via Getty Images The US and Australia have signed a deal intended to boost supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals, as the Trump administration looks for ways to counter China’s dominance of the market. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the deal would support a pipeline of $8.5bn (£6.3bn) “ready-to-go” projects that…
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Brazil grants state oil firm exploration license in Amazon region
Brazil’s state oil firm has received a licence to conduct exploratory oil drilling in the sea off the Amazon, despite environmental concerns about the project. The approval will allow Petrobras to drill in a block located in Amapá, 500km (311 miles) from the mouth of the Amazon River on the Brazilian Equatorial Margin. The company…
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Israel receives body Hamas says is Gaza hostage
Hamas has handed over a body that it says is a hostage, the Israeli military has said. The body was transported by the Red Cross to Israeli forces in Gaza, and will now be returned to Israel for formal identification. Before Monday, Hamas had handed over all 20 living hostages and 12 out of 28…
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What does Kevin Federline’s upcoming book say about Britney Spears?
Ana Faguy and James FitzGerald Getty Images The pair’s divorce was finalised in 2007 The ex-husband of pop star Britney Spears gives new details on the pair’s tense relationship in his new memoir You Thought You Knew. Kevin Federline, her one-time backing dancer, presents a picture of Spears’s allegedly erratic behaviour as a wife and…
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What we learned from Virginia Giuffre’s memoir
Noor NanjiCulture reporter Getty Images Much of Virginia Giuffre’s story has been heard before but in her memoir, published posthumously, the abuse is described in appalling detail. Two days ahead of the book’s official publication, the BBC got hold of a copy. There are revelations about Ms Giuffre’s encounters with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein…
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Japan allows over-the-counter emergency contraception pill
Japan has for the first time approved over-the-counter sales of an emergency contraceptive pill, its manufacturer says, allowing women in the country to take the medication without prescription. ASKA Pharmaceutical said wider access to the pill would “empower Japanese women in the area of reproductive health”. A date for it to go on sale has…
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Palestinian woman in hospital after being clubbed by masked Israeli settler
A 55-year-old Palestinian woman has been taken to hospital after being clubbed over the head by a masked Jewish settler as she was picking olives. The unprovoked attack, which took place on Sunday morning in the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya in the occupied West Bank, was captured on video by US journalist Jasper Nathaniel.…
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