Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Southern African leaders have announced they will pull their troops out of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where they have been helping the government fight rebel forces. The decision to start a “phased withdrawal” was made during a virtual summit of the 16-member Southern African Development Community (Sadc) on Thursday. The troops were sent two…

Germany’s foreign intelligence service believed there was a 80-90% chance that coronavirus accidentally leaked from a Chinese lab, German media say. Two German newspapers say they have uncovered details of an assessment carried out by spy agency BND in 2020 but never published. The intelligence service had indications that the Wuhan Institute of Virology had…

The Australian prime minister has criticised a US influencer after she stole a baby wombat from her mother. “Take a baby crocodile from his mother and see how you go there,” he told journalists during a news conference. Sam Jones, who describes herself as an “outdoor enthusiast and hunter” on Instagram, was filmed picking up…

Jessica Murphy BBC News, Toronto Reuters Canada’s Prime Minister-designate Mark Carney has said he is ready to negotiate a renewed trade deal with US President Donald Trump, as long as there is “respect for Canadian sovereignty”. Carney made these comments during a visit to a steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, as Canada unveiled C$29.8bn ($20.7bn)…

China’s biggest hotpot chain Haidilao has offered to compensate more than 4,000 diners who visited one of its Shanghai branches, where two teens urinated into their hotpot broth. A video of the boys peeing into their broth pot while dining in a private room was widely shared online last month. It is not clear who…

What we know about Duterte’s ICC arrest warrant… in 92 seconds Outside the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) detention centre, where former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was taken on Wednesday, his supporters gathered, waving national flags and shouting, “Bring him back!” as he was driven through the imposing iron gates at speed. Shortly before he landed…

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong is the latest to criticise a US influencer whose video of herself taking a wild baby wombat away from its distressed mother has angered conservationists. “I think everyone who would have seen that would have thought, leave the baby wombat alone. Leave it with its mum,” she told 7News. Sam…

Many people in and around the Italian city of Naples have spent the night on the streets and in their cars after an earthquake shook buildings and brought rubble crashing down. Italian seismologists said the 4.4 magnitude tremor struck at 01:25 local time on Thursday (00:25 GMT) at a shallow depth of three kilometres (two…

Natalie Sherman Business reporter, BBC News Getty Images US President Donald Trump has pledged to impose more tariffs after his latest move to introduce import taxes on steel and aluminium entering the US prompted retaliation from the European Union (EU) and Canada. Trump said “of course” he would respond to the countermeasures, repeating his warning…

President Donald Trump sees his trade war as a way of pressuring Mexico to do more to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US. BBC correspondent Quentin Sommerville travelled to the US-Mexico border and tracked down fentanyl smugglers – before speaking to addicts in Philadelphia. Watch as he meets some of the drug…