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
Black workers must unite against the structural racism exposed by Covid-19
The last year has seen longstanding factors consolidate under the pandemic to become a racial justice emergency, writes NASUWT general secretary and chair of the TUC Anti-Racism Taskforce DR PATRICK ROACH
Young people from black backgrounds are more likely to be unemployed than white workers at every qualification level. As we witnessed in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher’s government, young black people once again face a very real prospect of being left behind.
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
ON the eve of UN Anti-Racism Day, it is prescient that our trade unions will be coming together at the TUC Black Workers’ Conference to advance a progressive agenda of anti-racism on the anniversary of the first coronavirus lockdown.
In the last year we have seen the country plunged into a health emergency, an economic emergency and a racial justice emergency. A health pandemic and the government’s response to it has reopened the deep wounds of structural racism that continue to blight and scar our country and our economy.
Structural racism continues to hold back communities and blight life chances. We have seen that most starkly in data showing the highest rates of Covid-19 deaths amongst black communities that have been systematically failed by a government response that was supposed to protect all of us during the pandemic.
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The Employment Rights Bill is a vital opportunity to rebalance power between workers and employers. As it passes to the Lords, pressure must be brought to bear to strengthen this key legislation, argues ANDY McDONALD MP
Persistent inequality for women shows we still have a long way to go, but Wales TUC leader SHAVANAH TAJ is confident we can build a fairer country when we work together
