Once the bustling heart of Christian pilgrimage, Bethlehem now faces shuttered hotels, empty streets and a shrinking Christian community, while Israel’s assault on Gaza and the tightening grip of occupation destroy hopes of peace at the birthplace of Christ, writes Father GEOFF BOTTOMS
Biden’s huge stimulus package sets a new standard
Progressive political parties worldwide should be taking notes from the Democrats’ remarkable trillion-dollar boost to US infrastructure — and asking why we cannot be as ambitious, argues JAMES MEADWAY
After years hidden away, Oldham’s memorial to six local volunteers who died fighting fascism in the Spanish civil war has been restored to public view, marking both a victory for campaigners and a renewed tribute to the town’s proud International Brigade heritage, says ROB HARGREAVES
The June 2025 attacks on Iran have heightened the risk of a wider war, exposed the fiction of a rules-based international order and left ordinary Iranians trapped between external aggression and internal repression, says the Committee for Defence of Iranian People’s Rights
While pretending to seek peace, Europe is heading toward a collision course with Russia – using security guarantees, troop deployments, expropriation and censorship as tools, writes SEVIM DAGDELEN
A WWI hero, renowned ornithologist, medical doctor, trade union organiser and founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain all rolled in one. MAT COWARD tells the story of a life so improbable it was once dismissed as fiction
The long-term effects of chemical weapons such as Agent Orange mean that the impact of war lasts well beyond a ceasefire
JOE BIDEN’S administration has launched itself with striking purpose and drive, pushing through an initial $1.9 trillion stimulus package heavily targeted towards the poorest workers in the US. He is now following up with a planned $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan.”
$621bn is earmarked to overhaul America’s creaking road and rail infrastructure, $300bn is planned for manufacturing, $221bn for affordable housing, $100bn for superfast broadband across the whole country and billions for research and development.
In terms of scale, nothing like this has been attempted by a US government since President Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal” of the 1930s.
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Washington’s tariff policies become explicable in light of the US economy’s relative decline and the astonishing rise of China, argues MICHAEL BURKE
With a struggling economy, the US is facing a hard choice between ‘guns or butter.’ MEDEA BENJAMIN and NICHOLAS JS DAVIES see the signs that the incoming president will opt for the former