Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Sergei Goryashko & Investigations Team BBC News Russian BBC Russia’s President Vladimir Putin promised Russian soldiers a hero’s welcome when they return from Ukraine, but the BBC has found cases of servicemen robbed and scammed for their salaries and pay-offs by government officials. Since the invasion began in February 2022, President Putin has trebled the…

Nadine Yousif BBC News, Toronto Watch: Mark Carney announces Canada’s plans to recognise a Palestinian state Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, becoming the third G7 nation to make such an announcement in recent days. Carney said the move depends on democratic reforms, including the Palestinian…

Sarah Rainsford Southern and Eastern Europe correspondent in Crete Francesco Tosto/BBC People arriving from North Africa are held in Crete before being moved to the Greek mainland In the centre of a sweltering, cavernous hall, rows of men sit in silence with nothing to occupy them but the wait. Signs from an old tourist fair…

A recovery operation was launched before being called off on the evening of 29 July. “The recovery of the body under the current prevailing conditions of rockfalls and changeable weather on Laila Peak is attached to a high risk and not achievable,” the statement continued. “Laura enriched the lives of many with her warm and…

Ian Youngs Culture reporter Watch: Sharon Osbourne arrives at tribute to husband Ozzy in Birmingham Ozzy Osbourne’s family have accompanied the rock legend’s coffin on an emotional final journey through his home city, watched on by thousands of fans who cheered and chanted his name. A tearful Sharon Osbourne added a pink rose to dozens…

Paul Adams BBC diplomatic correspondent EPA Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted furiously to the announcement, saying the decision…

Seven more people have died from malnutrition in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory has said. It says the total number of malnutrition deaths since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023 has now reached 154 – including 89 children. On Tuesday, UN-backed global…

Rachel Hagan, Stuart Lau & Helen Sullivan BBC News Watch: Major earthquake off Russia triggers widespread tsunami warnings A powerful earthquake off the coast of Russia has triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific, prompting emergency evacuations from Russia’s far-east to northern Japan, Hawaii and the US west coast. The 8.8 magnitude quake struck near Russia’s…

Esme Stallard and Mark Poynting BBC News Climate and Science S. Lakamov/Anadolu/Getty Images Debris in Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula after a 8.8 magnitude earthquake It has been one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded – but so far has not brought the catastrophic tsunami that many feared. When the 8.8-magnitude quake struck eastern Russia at 11:25…

Thirteen children died last month as a result of the severe shortage of food at a displacement camp in war-torn Sudan’s East Darfur state, medics have said. The Sudan Doctors Network, a professional organisation with members working inside Lagawa camp, reported “deteriorating humanitarian conditions” and widespread malnutrition – a hunger crisis caused by the 27-month…