Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
How a polo-loving businessman was a secret global drug lord
Sajid Iqbal & Ashitha Nagesh BBC News BBC On the surface, Muhammed Asif Hafeez was an upstanding individual. A global businessman and ambassador of a prestigious London polo club, he rubbed shoulders with the British elite, including members of the Royal Family. He also regularly passed on detailed information to the authorities in the UK…
-
South Sudan – the African country producing fashion’s favourite models
Wedaeli Chibelushi BBC News Getty Images Arop Akol has been travelling around the fashion world over the last three years Wearing an understated but chic outfit, flowing braids and a dewy, make-up free face, Arop Akol looks like your typical off-duty model. She sinks into the sofa at the offices of her UK agency, First…
-
Body of Thai hostage recovered from Gaza, Israel says
Israel has retrieved the body of a Thai national taken hostage during the Hamas-led attack in October 2023, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says. He said the body of Nattapong Pinta was retrieved during a special operation in the Rafah area of southern Gaza on Friday. The 35-year-old was working as an agricultural labourer in…
-
Riot police and protesters clash after LA immigration raids
US riot police and protesters clashed in downtown Los Angeles following federal immigration raids across the city in which dozens of people were reportedly taken into custody. A Homeland Security Investigation Spokesperson told the Los Angeles Times that federal agents were executing search warrants related to the harbouring of people illegally in the country. Security…
-
D-Day ‘not a pleasant day for you’
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, the first time both meet since Merz was elected on 6 May. Numerous topics were mentioned in their first bilateral meeting, such as war and trade. In one exchange when Merz brought up 6 June as D-Day, Trump responded that it…
-
Inquest told boy slipped in puddle and fell to his death
Getty Images The boy was on holiday with his mother when the accident happened last summer A 12-year-old boy fell to his death at Ireland’s Cliffs of Moher after slipping in a puddle close to the edge, an inquest has heard. Zhihan Zhao and his mother, both Chinese nationals, were with her friends at the…
-
China’s driverless lorries hope to expand
Stephen McDonell China correspondent Watch as the BBC rides on board a driverless truck They rumble down the highway between Beijing and Tianjin port: big lorries, loaded up and fully able to navigate themselves. Sure, there is a safety driver in the seat, as per government regulations, but these lorries don’t require them, and many…
-
Did Trump win the re-election because of Musk?
US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s relationship has come crashing down after an explosive row that started with the tech billionaire’s disdain for the president’s spending bill. The partnership between the two men began when Musk endorsed Trump last July after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. Musk later went on to campaign for the…
-
Hey, stop whining, do something on climate change
Actor and activist Arnold Schwarzenegger has told the BBC people should “stop whining” about US President Donald Trump’s approach to climate change. Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg at the Austrian World Summit, organised by the Schwarzenegger’s Climate Initiative, he said the president was not a barrier to change. Beyond the climate, Schwarzenegger, a Republican who endorsed…
-
The furniture fraud that hoodwinked the Palace of Versailles
BBC In the early 2010s, two ornate chairs said to have once belonged on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles appeared on the French antiques market. Thought to be the most expensive chairs made for the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, they were stamped with the seal of Nicolas-Quinibert Foliot, a celebrated –…
Got any book recommendations?