Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Suranjana TewariAsia Business Correspondent Getty Images School halls have been transformed into clinics to help treat students When Prabowo Subianto campaigned to become Indonesia’s new president, he promised dynamic economic growth and major social change. But his first year in office has not lived up to this populist platform. Rather, his ambitious pledges have been…

BBC / Regan Morris A statue of Matthew Fontaine Maury, a Confederate officer, on display A massive monument of General Robert E Lee that once sparked riots in the Virginia city of Charlottesville is now a pile of melted-down bronze, artfully displayed in a Los Angeles museum. Next to the sculpture are barrels of toxic…

Ana Faguy and Christal HayesLos Angeles California Highway Patrol Officers took photos of the damage from shrapnel that they said rained down like pebbles from the sky Shrapnel from artillery that was detonated during celebrations for the US Marine Corps hit at least two vehicles on a California highway on Saturday, officials have said. The…

A cargo plane has skidded off a runway at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea, killing two persons, local media have reported. The Emirates flight EK9788, a Boeing 747-481 owned by Turkish cargo airline Air ACT, was arriving from Dubai at about 03:50 local time (19:50 GMT) when it hit a vehicle…

Getty Images People light up their homes and streets with tiny earthen lamps, called diyas in Hindi Millions of Indians are celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights, one of Hinduism’s most significant and widely observed festivals. While lamps and firecrackers light up homes and streets during the festival, they also worsen air pollution – a…

AFP via Getty Images China’s top leaders are gathering in Beijing this week to decide on the country’s key goals and aspirations for the rest of the decade. Every year or so, the country’s highest political body, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, convenes for a week of meetings, also known as a…

Noor NanjiCulture reporter and George Wright Getty Images Virginia Giuffre, seen here holding a picture of herself as a teenager, took her own life earlier this year Virginia Giuffre says she feared she might “die a sex slave” at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his circle, her posthumous memoir reveals. The BBC has obtained…

Former Kenyan prime minister and revered long-time opposition leader Raila Odinga was buried in the west of the country after a service attended by thousands on Sunday. “Now finally Baba is home,” his son, Raila Odinga junior, said beside his father’s casket, draped in the Kenyan flag. The burial concluded days of memorials that at…

EPA The Taliban has accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after more than a week of deadly fighting. The foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to establish “mechanisms to consolidate lasting…

Getty Images The Metropolitan Police said it is “actively” looking into media reports that Prince Andrew tried to obtain personal information about his accuser Virginia Giuffre through his police protection. “We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made,” the force said on Sunday. Ms Giuffre, who took her own…