Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The precise significance of US intelligence to Ukraine’s war effort has, for obvious reasons, never been spelled out in detail. But most analysts agree that it performs two important functions: helping Ukraine to plan offensive operations against Russian forces, and giving Kyiv vital advance warning of threats posed by incoming Russian drones and missiles. Satellite…

The future of US support for Ukraine is being pushed further into doubt, with National Security Adviser Mike Waltz confirming on Wednesday that the US has paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. “We have, we have taken a step back,” Waltz told reporters when asked about suspending intelligence sharing. He added that the Trump administration was…

Syria’s foreign minister has told the global chemical weapons watchdog that the new government is committed to destroying any remaining stockpiles produced under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Addressing a meeting of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Asaad al-Shibani vowed to “put an end to this painful legacy, to…

Jude Sheerin BBC News, Washington Watch: Key moments from Trump’s first address to Congress President Donald Trump declared “the American Dream is unstoppable” as he addressed a raucous joint session of the US Congress for the first time since he returned to power. In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, he outlined his…

The US is holding talks with Hamas over the hostages held in Gaza, the White House has confirmed. Washington has until now avoided direct engagement with Hamas, and there is a longstanding US policy against having direct contact with groups it lists as terrorist organisations. The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at…

Dozens of people in the Sudanese state of North Darfur are feared dead following heavy shelling on a camp for displaced people. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked a crowded market at Abu Shouk, a camp on the outskirts of the city of el-Fasher, for roughly two hours on Tuesday evening, a local official…

Trump’s Canada 51st state plan ‘is not a joke’, says foreign minister Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has told the BBC she takes US President Donald Trump’s remarks on making Canada the 51st state of his country “very seriously”. “This is not a joke anymore,” Joly told Newsnight. “There’s a reason why Canadians, when they…

Basillioh Rukanga BBC News AFP The Basotho people are well known for their traditional blankets US President Donald Trump has said that “nobody has ever heard of” the African country of Lesotho – a comment that has “shocked” its government. It is a small country in southern Africa that almost entirely consists of mountains and…

Whether Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to patch up relations with his US counterpart Donald Trump is wise depends on who you ask in Ukraine. “A very bad decision,” remarked blogger and army serviceman Yuriy Kasyanov, who thinks the US “won’t help Ukraine with anything” after this mineral deal is signed. “The president behaved with…

Laura Bicker BBC News, Beijing Reuters President Xi Jinping’s China faces the prospect of a trade war with Donald Trump’s US China has warned the US that it is ready to fight “any type” of war after hitting back against President Donald Trump’s mounting trade tariffs. The world’s top two economies have edged closer to…