Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Relations between Europe and the US are unquestionably in crisis, so merely keeping things together as French President Emmanuel Macron did at the White House on Monday stands as an achievement. He did that by praising, flattering and gently cajoling the US president as they took questions in the Oval Office and held a joint…

Reuters Fans dressed in India and Pakistan colours ahead of the 2023 World Cup clash in Ahmedabad Roaring crowds, faces painted blue and green, flags waving like battle standards. This is the opening of The Greatest Rivalry: India v Pakistan, a new Netflix documentary on one of cricket’s most storied contests. India’s Virender Sehwag sets…

FICO Campbell Scott was last seen by his colleagues on 16 February A Scottish businessman who disappeared in Kenya has been found dead. Campbell Scott, from Fife, was attending a conference at the JW Marriott Hotel in Nairobi when he was last seen by colleagues on 16 February. The 58-year-old was a senior director at…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said “we hope that we can finish this war this year” on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. But he warned that Ukraine needs security guarantees to prevent Moscow returning, suggesting EU and Nato membership will help. Russia has consistently opposed the idea of Ukraine joining Nato. Earlier, Zelensky…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the complete demilitarisation of much of southern Syria. It is an announcement that could make conflict between Israel and the new leadership in Syria, after the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad, more likely. In a speech to Israeli military cadets on Sunday, Netanyahu said that Israel would not…

AFP Court sketch of Joel Le Scouarnec at his first trial in 2020 A French former surgeon accused of abusing hundreds of patients, most of them children, has told a court that he admits to having “committed despicable acts” and “understands and shares the suffering” caused to his alleged victims. Joel Le Scouarnec is accused…

The Taliban has told the BBC it will endeavour to release two British nationals who have been arrested and held in Afghanistan “as soon as possible”. Peter Reynolds, 79, and his wife Barbie, 75, were arrested on 1 February while returning to their home in the country’s Bamiyan province. An American national and an Afghan…

Pope Francis’s health has slightly improved but he remains in a critical condition, the Vatican has said in a medical update. On Sunday, the Pope’s condition was said to be critical with respiratory and kidney problems. But the Vatican has now said that a “slight” kidney problem was not a cause for concern, more than…

Paul Kirby Europe digital editor in Berlin BBC’s Nick Beake reports from AfD headquarters in Berlin Friedrich Merz’s conservatives have won, but Germany’s 2025 election has thrown up some important and fascinating stories that reveal a country in flux. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has doubled its support in just four years to 20.8%, and…

Mark Savage Music Correspondent Getty Images Roberta Flack scored several number one hits in the 1970s The R&B singer Roberta Flack, best known for the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly With His Song, has died at the age of 88. “We are heartbroken that the glorious Roberta…