Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

South Korea has legalised tattoo artistry by non-medical professionals for the first time in more than 30 years, following a campaign by members of the profession to work without fear of prosecution or harassment. Though tattoos are commonplace in the east Asian nation, offering them has been limited to medical professionals following a 1992 Supreme…

An Australian film that was digitally altered to change a same-sex couple to a heterosexual one has drawn backlash from moviegoers in China. Together, a horror film starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie, was shown in selected Chinese cinemas in advance screenings on 12 September. Cinemagoers later realised some scenes had been modified after screenshots…

Gavin Butler, Muhamad IrhamBBC Indonesia, Jakarta and Yuli SaputraBBC Indonesia, West Java Yuli Saputra Thousands of school children have suffered food poisoning from a controversial free lunches programme since January More than 1,000 children have fallen ill from free school lunches in Indonesia this week, according to authorities – the latest in a string of…

The French navy has seized nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine, worth $610m (£540m) off the coast of West Africa, French authorities have said. Two French naval vessels operating as part of Operation Corymbe intercepted the enormous cocaine haul from an unflagged fishing vessel on Monday, acting on a tip-off from maritime intelligence, anti-drug authorities and…

Israel has closed the only crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and neighbouring Jordan, stopping more than two million Palestinians from accessing the outside world. The Israeli airports authority, which oversees the Allenby Bridge crossing, said it would be closed indefinitely from Wednesday morning “at the direction of the political leadership”. It did not provide…

Pokémon has said it did not give permission for the use of its theme song and other footage to be used in an ICE deportation raid video posted by the US government. “We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand,”…

Indian security forces have imposed a curfew in Leh, the capital of the Himalayan region of Ladakh, after at least four people were killed in violent clashes between police and protesters demanding statehood for the federal territory. Dozens were also injured and an office of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) set on fire in…

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case related to taking millions of euros of illicit funds from the late Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi. The Paris criminal court acquitted him of all other charges, including passive corruption and illegal campaign financing. Sarkozy, who claims the case is…

Interpol Valdecy Urquiza, secretary general of international policing agency Interpol which leads the campaign, said the latest identification would give “fresh hope to the families and friends of missing persons” and “new leads” to investigators. “After 20 years, an unknown woman has been given back her name,” he said. Ms Zavada’s body was discovered in…

Nadine YousifSenior Canada reporter Getty Images Smoke from Canada’s wildfires have drifted south to the US several times this summer, clouding the sky with an orange haze. As deadly wildfires raged in the Canadian province of Manitoba this summer, Republican lawmakers in nearby US states penned letters asking that Canada be held accountable for the…