Colin Randall

Much attention has been focused on alleged impropriety involving two of the three main contenders: conservative Francois Fillon and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Abdelghani Merah symbolically chose to arrive in Paris on the fifth anniversary of the most shocking of his brother’s killings.

After being bombed out of his factory in Aleppo, Syria, master craftsman Hassan Harastani fled to France. There he produces the world-renowned natural cleansers his former home was known for – and demand is on the rise.

Francois Fillon hasn't stopped his French presidential campaign despite facing formal investigation over corruption, writes Colin Randall

Centre-right candidate shakes off potential legal action and desertions and gets a boost after party leaders back him unanimously.

A unexpectedly eventful French presidential election has made room for Emmanuel Macron, a very unusual insurgent, writes Colin Randall

'My message is simple: let us all unite to stop predators stealing the hearts and spirits of our young people as happened to my brother. Let us denounce jihadism, racism and anti-Semitism,' Abdelghani Merah, the brother of one of France’s most notorious terrorists, tells The National's Colin Randall

The exhibition, entitled 'Archaic', will be staged at the 57th Venice Biennale from May to November and feature artefacts spanning six millennia from the Neolithic Age to the Neo-Babylonian period alongside the works of eight modern Iraqi artists.

The authorities in Myanmar must reassess their treatment of the Muslim minority, writes Colin Randall

As France prepares to go to the polls, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen could make political capital among a disillusioned electorate in her bid for the presidency.

A video showed the embassy employee telling an undercover reporter from Al Jazeera that “I want to take down ... the deputy foreign minister” [Alan Duncan] — a long-time critic of Israel

In the areas of the country where winter sports tourism forms a major plank of the economy, a shortage of the white stuff has operators eyeing the skies nervously. The smaller operators especially feel at risk.

There was more bloodshed in France as extremists inflicted further attacks on the civilian population, intended to cause more fear and intolerance.

Words matter, writes Colin Randall, and this year saw too much of the wrong sort used

The new secretary general of the United Nations, who was sworn in this week, will have some tough challenges to face when he commences his duties on January 1, with many global conflicts and rising East/West tensions to defuse.