London hosts key Syria talks, and other stories – our morning round-up
London hosts key Syria talks Arab and Western foreign ministers are to meet Syrian opposition officials in London today in an effort to persuade them to attend the next round…
Blog
The Maryville rape case raises questions about online vigilantism
Support from Anonymous appears to have given rape victim Daisy Coleman the strength to pursue justice. But does this kind of web activism risk undermining the legal process, asks Samira…
Prison officers warn of forced Islamic conversion of inmates, and other stories – our morning round-up
Britain’s jails facing ‘growing problem’ of forced conversion to Islam, officers warn The Prison Officers Union has said that Muslim gangs are growing in power in Britain’s jails, leading to…
Northern Ireland and the real-life implications of anti-choice zealotry
With new guidelines unlikely to liberalise strict Northern Irish abortion laws, the cases of two women highlight the pain and suffering inflicted by entrenched ethical positions, says Anna Vesterinen
Research suggests religious schools are the most racially segregated
Campaigners demonstrate that faith schools are failing to reflect the demographics of their areas, with potentially damaging consequences for community cohesion
Homo erectus skull throws theory of human evolution into disarray, and other stories – our morning round-up
Skull of Homo erectus throws story of human evolution into disarray Anthropologists working in Georgia have unearthed a skull dating from the Pleistocene period, and believe it may indicate that…
US government shutdown ends, and other stories – our morning round-up
US Congress approves debt deal The US Congress has passed a bill to reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit, with hours to spare before the nation risked…
Playing the apocalypse: video games and religion
It may come as a surprise to those opposed to "soul-destroying" violent video games to find that some of the most violent ones are far from diabolical.
Extreme weather ‘most important cause of poverty’, and other stories – our morning round-up
Extreme weather can be the ‘most important cause of poverty’ New research suggests that extreme weather events will keep people poor in many parts of the world. The researchers say…
Malaysia
Monday's court decision to ban a Catholic magazine from using the word 'Allah' is just the latest development in Malaysia's quest to spare its Muslim citizens from offence.
Beyond good and evil: the truth about GM crops
The Environment Secretary is wrong to call opponents of Golden Rice "wicked", because it closes down a very necessary debate, writes Nathan Oxley
Iran nuclear negotiations begin in Geneva, and other stories – our morning round-up
Key Iran nuclear talks begin in Geneva World powers have begun their first nuclear negotiations with Iran since Hassan Rouhani became the country’s president in August. Mr Rouhani has said…
Why conspiracy theories about Malala won’t go away
Pakistanis have reason to mistrust the actions of governments, but this risks obscuring a very real need to fight for education and against extremism, writes Samira Shackle
Christian newspaper must not use the word “Allah”, rules Malaysian court, and other stories – our morning round-up
Christian newspaper must not use the word “Allah”, rules court in Malaysia Three Muslim judges in Malaysia’s appeals court ruled that the word is specific to Muslims and may not…
New report raises concerns over evangelising in state schools
National Secular Society warns about growing incursion of evangelical Christians into state schools.