Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A Turkish attempt to force kebab shops in the EU to adhere to strict rules on how to make a doner kebab has been withdrawn. If the bid for a “Traditional Speciality Guaranteed” label had succeeded, restrictions would have been imposed on the types of ingredients that could be used. Germany’s kebab industry would have…

Namibia’s authorities have warned people not to hold parties at cemeteries after a social gathering at a gravesite in the capital, Windhoek, sparked outrage last weekend. According to City of Windhoek officials, the event at Gammams cemetery “showed seating arrangements, cooler boxes and alcohol” on full display. One Windhoek resident who witnessed the party said…

Two 17-year-old boys have been arrested on suspicion of “state interference” in the Netherlands, prosecutors say, in a case with reported links to Russian spying. The pair were allegedly contacted by pro-Russian hackers on the messaging app Telegram, Dutch media reported. One of the boys allegedly walked past the offices of Europol, Eurojust and the…

Some 260 suspected cyber scammers have been arrested in a sting operation carried out across 14 African countries. The operation, co-ordinated by Interpol and funded by the UK, targeted criminal networks using social media and digital platforms to extract money from victims in romance scams, and in so-called “sextortion”, in which victims are blackmailed using…

Getty Images One of the former staffers was an aide to Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te (pictured) A Taiwan court has convicted a former presidential aide of spying for China and three others who were also employed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). One of the men worked in the office of then Foreign Minister…

Ali Abbas Ahmadi and Max Matza Watch: “I’m not afraid”, says James Comey after indictment A federal grand jury in the US state of Virginia has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on two charges related to his testimony to Congress. Mr Comey, who has long drawn US President Donald Trump’s criticism, is accused of…

The former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has been involved in discussions about running a transitional authority in Gaza if there is a ceasefire, the BBC understands. Sir Tony, who took the UK into the Iraq War in 2003, has been in high-level planning talks with all parties to end the war and on…

Ting ChiangBBC News Chinese, Taipei, Benny LuBBC News Chinese, Hong Kong and Grace TsoiBBC World Service, Hong Kong Watch: Flood destroys bridge and makes river overflow as Super Typhoon Ragasa hits Taiwan When the floodwater came rushing down from the mountain, Awa and her husband tried to get to their car – but it was…

Soutik BiswasIndia correspondent AFP via Getty Images The MiG‑21 was the backbone of the Indian Air Force, once making up two-thirds of its fighter fleet The first time he throttled the MiG‑21 to full power, soaring 20km above the Earth at twice the speed of sound, the young fighter pilot felt utterly weightless, as if…

Danielle KayeBusiness reporter Karen Brady Karen Brady, the chief executive at Ryther, a behavioural health nonprofit, said her sector has been grappling with a workforce shortage – and hiring employees through the H-1B programme has helped address the crisis. When US President Donald Trump signed an executive order last Friday to add a $100,000 (£74,000)…