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
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It's crunch time for the trade union movement
During the pandemic we’ve seen how powerful unions can be – we must be bolder in promoting what we want and how we're going to get it, argues CWU general secretary DAVE WARD
Posties on the picketline
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
IT’S crunch time for the government. The temporary nature of the measures taken in response to the coronavirus pandemic are now coming up against the reality – that this is a public health crisis that is going to be with us for a long time and is going to create long-running economic problems.
It feels like we’re on the brink of disaster. The short extension to the evictions ban will soon be up. The approaching end to the furlough scheme is one of the biggest concerns. So what’s the government going to do? Will we see a return to 1980s levels of unemployment – because the steps announced so far are just not going to save enough jobs to stave off catastrophe?
No sector of the workforce will be safe from the economic storm coming our way if that’s the case. But it doesn’t have to be.
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