Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Could a partial month-long truce between Russia and Ukraine be the key to unlocking a lasting peace between the two sides? President Emmanuel Macron of France believes so and he floated the idea during Sunday’s summit of European leaders in London. In an interview with Le Figaro newspaper, he proposed a four-week truce “in the…

With egg prices soaring in the US, Christine and Brian Templeton of Rent The Chicken in Goffstown, New Hampshire, offer a unique solution—chicken rentals. Their service provides hens, feed, and support for six months, allowing customers to collect fresh eggs at home. For about $600 (£476.88), two hens can produce a dozen eggs per week.…

Reuters A statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying a deal to end the war with Russia was “very far away” has drawn a furious response by Donald Trump. “America will not put up with it for much longer,” the US president said in a social media post, before accusing Zelensky of not wanting peace.…

Pope Francis is alert after suffering two episodes of “acute respiratory failure” on Monday afternoon, the Vatican has said. Doctors were forced to intervene to clear mucus from the Pope’s lungs, an update from the Holy See said, though it said he was alert throughout. The 88-year-old pontiff has resumed the use of an oxygen…

Japan has deployed more than 2,000 firefighters to battle the country’s biggest forest fire in three decades. At least one person has died in the blaze, which has torched more than 5,200 acres around the northern Japanese city of Ofunato since Thursday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA). Although January to March…

Frank Gardner Security correspondent, BBC News EPA Whatever words are used to frame the plans emerging from Sunday’s summit of 19 mainly European leaders in London – ceasefire, truce or peace plan – the challenges ahead are enormous. The UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, hope this will be the…

Lyse Doucet Chief International Correspondent Reuters Israel blocked food and fuel from entering Gaza after the ceasefire’s first phase expired on Saturday night The testing second stage of Gaza’s ceasefire was always in doubt; now it seems to be dead at the moment it was meant to start. Concern is mounting that war will return…

Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter and French football legend Michel Platini are back in court in Switzerland to face accusations of fraud. In 2022, the pair were acquitted in a trial over a payment of 2m Swiss francs (£1.6m) made to Platini and authorised by Blatter in 2011. Both men denied wrongdoing and said the…

US tariffs against Canada and Mexico are set to come into effect on Tuesday but their level will be decided by Donald Trump, the US commerce secretary has said. The US president has threatened to impose 25% tariffs, which are a tax on imports, on his two neighbours on 4 March, in response to what…