Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Joshua Cheetham, Yi Ma & Matt Murphy BBC Verify Getty Images After a series of high-profile disasters, some social media users suggested that air travel accidents were becoming more frequent. Videos of hair-raising near misses began to trend online and the US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy sought to calm fears in an interview with the…

Reuters A statue of late Pope John Paul II stands outside the Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is receiving medical treatment Outside the Gemelli Hospital in Rome stands a large statue of one of its most famous patients, Pope John Paul II. Made of white Carrara marble, it depicts the pontiff in his later years,…

Russia is achieving its aim of emerging from “diplomatic isolation” a senior Ukrainian official has told the BBC. Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ihor Brusylo, told the BBC’s International editor Jeremy Bowen that President Trump’s stance on the war was “alarming”, but President Zelensky would change Trump’s mind on how…

A Frenchman has appealed to two thieves who used his stolen credit card to purchase a jackpot-winning scratch card to come forward, promising to split the €500,000 (£413,664) prize with them. Introducing himself as Jean-David E, the man told RTL radio that since the money would otherwise be seized by the authorities, he is looking…

This week, talks between Russia and the US began on the war in Ukraine. Donald Trump and his administration also made a series of comments about Ukraine and Europe that raised fundamental questions about how the war may be resolved – and how the US sees Europe. The BBC’s Analysis editor Ros Atkins takes a…

Watch: Hadi Matar found guilty in the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie A New Jersey man who stabbed renowned British-Indian author Sir Salman Rushdie multiple times on a New York lecture stage has been convicted of attempted murder and assault. Hadi Matar, 27, now faces a sentence of more than 30 years in prison. The…

A man has been seriously injured in a knife attack near Berlin’s Holocaust memorial. The incident took place at around 18:00 local time (17:00 GMT), police said on X, adding that investigations into what happened “are ongoing”. According to Tagesspiegel newspaper, officers had cordoned off the site and were carrying out a search. Police are…

The Mexican army says it has arrested a key player in the Sinaloa drug cartel in the northern city of Culiacán. José Ángel Canobbio, also known as “El Güerito” (little blond one), is accused of being the right hand man of Iván Archivaldo Guzmán, one of the sons of infamous jailed drug lord Joaquín “El…

Delta Air Lines is offering US$30,000 (£23,792) to each person on board a plane that crash-landed in Toronto on Monday – all of whom survived. As it landed in the Canadian city, the plane skidded along the runway in flames before flipping over and coming to a halt upside down. Passengers described their amazement as…

Planes flying between Australia and New Zealand have been diverted as China conducts a closely-scrutinised military exercise in nearby waters that may involve live fire. The rare presence of three Chinese naval ships in the Tasman Sea has put both antipodean countries on alert in recent days, with Australia calling it “unusual”. Australian airline Qantas…