Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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A life searching rows of unclaimed bodies for missing brothers and sons
Farhat Javed BBC Urdu Reporting fromBalochistan BBC/Farhat Javed Saira Baloch is among thousands of women in Balochistan seeking answers about men they say were forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s security forces Saira Baloch was 15 when she stepped into a morgue for the first time. All she heard in the dimly-lit room were sobs, whispered prayers…
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Ukraine fighter pilot’s wife’s hopes and fears ahead of ceasefire deal
Zhanna Bezpiatchuk BBC Ukraine Maria Smerechanska Maria’s life has been reduced to waiting for the next phone call from her husband – never knowing if it might be the last. Ivan, a 31-year-old Ukrainian fighter pilot, began defending the skies from the very first hours of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and has now…
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Air strike kills senior Hamas official in Gaza
An Israeli air strike in the southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza has killed top Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas official told the BBC early on Sunday. Locals say the air strike killed both Bardaweel, a member of the group’s political office, and his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. Israel’s…
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Readers share acts of strangers’ kindness
Family handout Athena Rowley and her son Robert received unexpected gifts after going trick or treating Readers have told the BBC about strangers’ random acts of kindness, following research that found people underestimated the good intentions of others. In an experiment by the University of British Columbia, researchers deliberately lost wallets to see how many…
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Are those abroad widening the class divide back home?
Danai Nesta Kupemba BBC News The Plug Entertainment Afrobeats performances during holiday periods draw in big audiences with many from the diaspora Scenes playing out in Nigeria during holiday periods could be in a movie: emotional reunions at airport terminals, champagne flowing like water in high-end clubs and A-list Afrobeats performers dominating stages to packed…
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Fear and anger as ‘battle for the soul of Romanian democracy’ looms
Sarah Rainsford Eastern Europe correspondent Reporting fromPoeni, Romania BBC/Sarah Rainsford The nationalist George Simion is polling strongly in Romania ahead of elections The Romanian village of Poeni has a couple of shops, a kebab grill and a pack of stray dogs. It also has a fair few voters who wanted a far-right candidate to become…
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The man with a mind-reading chip in his brain, thanks to Elon Musk
Lara Lewington, Liv McMahon & Tom Gerken BBC News BBC Having a chip in your brain that can translate your thoughts into computer commands may sound like science fiction – but it is a reality for Noland Arbaugh. In January 2024 – eight years after he was paralysed – the 30-year-old became the first person…
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Trump envoy Steve Witkoff dismisses Starmer plan for Ukraine
Reuters Sir Keir met a group of military leaders from the “coalition of the willing” in the UK on Thursday Sir Keir Starmer’s plan for an international force to support a ceasefire in Ukraine has been dismissed as “a posture and a pose” by Donald Trump’s special envoy. Steve Witkoff said the idea was based…
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Moment police chase ends in four-car pile-up in Paris
Thirteen people – 10 of them police officers – have been injured after a car chase ended in a pile-up in the French capital, Paris. The accident – near Montparnasse train station – occurred after a driver refused orders to stop early on Saturday. Instead, the black car – with two other people on board…
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Protesters in Turkey rally ‘for justice’ after mayor’s arrest
Reuters Riot police clash with protesters on Saturday night in Istanbul Protests have raged on for a fourth night in Istanbul following the arrest of the city’s mayor, part of the largest demonstrations Turkey has seen in more than a decade. Ekrem Imamoglu, a rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday,…
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