Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed the text of a legally binding treaty designed to better tackle future pandemics. The pact is meant to avoid the disorganisation and competition for resources seen during the Covid-19 outbreak. Key elements include the rapid sharing of data about new diseases, to ensure scientists and pharmaceutical…

The tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has unveiled its first ever cash machines in a move hailed as momentous by the prime minister. Their instalment marks the first time the island’s 11,000 inhabitants have had access to electronic banking. Five machines and 30 sale terminals have been installed on Funafuti, the country’s main island,…

Nikita Yadav BBC News, Delhi Getty Images Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have been accused of laundering millions of dollars – charges they have strongly denied India’s opposition Congress party has said it will organise nationwide protests on Wednesday after the country’s financial crimes agency charged senior leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and others with money…

Khanyisile Ngcobo BBC News, Johannesburg Getty Images The tussle between Starlink boss Elon Musk and South Africa over the company’s failure to launch in the country stems from the nation’s black empowerment laws, and could be one factor behind the diplomatic row between the US and Africa’s most industrialised nation. To his more than 219…

Former US President Joe Biden has used his first speech since leaving the White House to attack the work of his successor, Donald Trump. Speaking at a conference in Chicago, Biden said Trump has “done so much damage and so much destruction” in his first days in office. Source link

An American pastor who was kidnapped by armed men during a church service in South Africa last week has been rescued following a “high-intensity shoot-out” that left three people dead, authorities say. Josh Sullivan was found unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening – the area where the 45-year-old…

US President Donald Trump has threatened Harvard’s tax-exempt status after freezing $2bn in federal funding. The White House has demanded the institution make changes to hiring, admissions and teaching practices which it says will help fight antisemitism on campus. Harvard rejected his administration’s demands on Monday, accusing the White House of trying to “control” its…

Nomia Iqbal and Brandon Drenon BBC News Getty Images Protesters gather outside a federal court in Maryland on 15 April over the case of Kilmar Ábrego García A federal judge has given the Trump administration two weeks to submit evidence on how it is trying to return a Maryland man who officials have conceded was…

A town hall hosted by Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene in Cobb County, Georgia, was repeatedly disrupted by protesters on Tuesday evening. Footage shows police removing three people within minutes of Greene taking the stage, with officers tasering one man inside the venue. About six people were removed from the event, with three arrested, Acworth…

Pedestrian crossings in several areas of northern California have been hacked with fake greetings mocking the tech billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Officials in Silicon Valley are investigating and have disabled the audio feature on the crossings which usually plays instructions to “walk” or “wait”. The surprise message were noticed over the weekend in…