Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Quentin SommervilleBBC News, reporting from Bilozerske in eastern Ukraine BBC travels with Ukraine’s White Angels to Bilozerske, to evacuate civilians on the front line The white armoured police van speeds into the eastern Ukrainian town of Bilozerske, a steel cage mounted across its body to protect it from Russian drones. They’d already lost one van,…

A pilot and co-pilot have tested positive for alcohol after the plane they were operating veered off the runway when landing in Nigeria. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) screened the pair after the accident in July, at the Port Harcourt International Airport. In addition, a crew member tested positive for cannabis. All 103 people…

A son of prominent South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko has told the BBC the family is confident a new inquest into his death 48 years ago will lead to the prosecution of those responsible. Seen as a martyr in the struggle against white-minority rule, the Black Consciousness Movement founder died from a brain injury…

Guy DelauneyBBC Balkans correspondent ADNAN BECI/AFP The new minister, named Diella, has already been active as a bot, guiding applicants through a process to obtain official documents. For government officials, being called “heartless” is an occupational hazard. But Albania has chosen to turn that insult into a positive quality, by appointing an AI minister. Not…

The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, a Utah native who had been living with his parents “for a long time”, authorities said. Mr Robinson was taken into custody on 12 September after a family member recognised him in surveillance images, a development investigators described…

Nepal’s former Supreme Court chief justice Sushila Karki has become the country’s interim prime minister after deadly anti-corruption protests ousted the government. Karki, 73, was sworn in during a brief ceremony, becoming the first woman to lead the impoverished Himalayan nation after a deal was reached with the protest leaders. More than 50 people were…

Tom BennettBBC News, in Jerusalem Getty Images Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the council that Israel was “led by blusterous extremists” The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s strikes on a residential compound in the Qatari capital Doha, which targeted senior members of Hamas. The statement – which did not…

Viasna/Odnoklassiki Julia Fenner was given a seven-year jail term last month UK-Belarus dual citizen Julia Fenner, who is the wife of a British diplomat, has been freed from prison by Belarus as part of a broader release agreed with the US. She had been given a long jail term last month after being detained on…

Caio QueroHead of BBC News Brasil Getty Images Brazil’s ex-president has been convicted of plotting a coup In September 2018, as Jair Bolsonaro campaigned in the south-eastern city of Juiz de Fora, a 40-year-old man pushed through the crowd and stabbed the presidential candidate in the stomach. Images of Bolsonaro doubled over in pain, wearing…

Ros AtkinsAnalysis editor BBC Israel’s military operation in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed thousands of buildings, and severely restricted the supply of food. The operation was launched after Hamas rampaged through villages, military posts and a music festival in Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251…