Articles
Newsmaker: Navi Pillay
The outgoing UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who completes her six years in office at the end of this month, has been as busy as ever this week, faced with unfolding potential war crimes in Gaza and Ukraine.
HSBC shuts down accounts of UK Muslim groups
HSBC has warned the founder and chief executive of Cordoba Foundation, Anas Altikriti, a British citizen of Iraqi descent, his wife and two sons that their personal accounts will also be closed.
Anger in Europe over Israeli violence in Gaza
Even some of Israel's closest friends in Europe think the latest Gaza offensive goes too far, writes foreign corespondent Colin Randall.
‘Let’s do lunch’: putting a name to an insincere phrase
Colin Randall continues his monthly series on words and language.
Muslim girl named France’s top high school student
A total of 686,900 students, most in France but including some in 85 other countries, sat the 2014 baccalauréat, but Myriam Bourhail beat the rest to become the top high school student in the country.
Has the West been too slow in the race against radicalistion?
The lure of jihadism for Western youth is a complex issue, writes Colin Randall.
Fatal attraction: foreigners who fight in Syria
What motivates idealistic Muslims, mostly the children of immigrants in their teens and twenties, to abandon lives of promise in their parents’ adopted countries to fight for a faraway cause? The National's Colin Randall finds out
If language is a living thing, what exactly is ‘proper’ English?
Former My Word columnist Colin Randall returns to look again periodically at the articulate, annoying and amusing things we do with the English language.
Brotherhood charity work in UK under investigation
British government asks regulator for details as part of review of the group's activities amid claims it fomenting extremism.
Operation Trojan Horse sparks controversy in the UK
Fears of Islamic radicalism in UK schools prompt calls for spot checks and a meeting of the 'extremism task force'.
Tracking returned Syria fighters a challenge for Europe
German and French authorities knew Belgium shooting suspect had fought in Syria but were unable to keep track of his movements.
Attack on Jewish museum highlights threat of Syria militants
Fears of such activity have driven western policy during the civil war, a clear distinction being drawn between moderate opposition forces and groups linked to Al Qaeda.
Freedom lies on the other side
Melilla and Ceuta, tiny Spanish enclaves on Africa’s Mediterranean coast, have become a front line in a battle between asylum-seekers fleeing war and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa and the authorities accused of increasingly violent measures to keep them out.
Newsmaker: Thomas Piketty
The French economist has ruffled feathers with his best-selling book, Capital in the Twenty-First Century. At a time when his country is facing a shift to the far right, he’s proving to be a controversial hero for the Left, writes Colin Randall.
Anti-EU parties expected to gain in upcoming European polls
The potential rise of anti-EU parties could diminish Europe's role on the world stage.
