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
Liam Fox's dodgy holiday: how far will the Tories ape the US hard right?
The US Christian conservative movement is in ecstasy over the blow to abortion rights and is excitedly setting its targets on gays, the unmarried and education — are Britain's own rightwingers building links? SOLOMON HUGHES investigates
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
FROM Britain, the US Supreme Court decision to let states ban abortion looks shocking. The US jumped back nearly 50 years when it overturned the 1973 Roe V Wade decision, with Republican-led states already banning abortions.
The ban comes from the US Republicans’ hard-right turn, towards a mix of “culture war” social reaction and free-market fundamentalism.
British Tories have also amped up their “socially conservative” themes in recent years, to make up for the obvious failures of free-market politics.
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SYMON HILL looks at Tommy Robinson’s bid to use Christmas to spread division and hate — and reminds us that’s the opposite of Jesus’s message
From hunting rare pamphlets at book sales to online panels and courses on trade unionism and class politics, the MML continues connecting archive treasures with the movements fighting for a better world, writes director MEIRIAN JUMP
Despite using female spokespeople for its campaigns against clinic buffer zones, ADF UK’s board consists entirely of men, with 80 per cent living outside Britain and most funding from its US parent, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES
SUE TURNER is inspired by the example of a librarian’s struggle to confront the book-banning movement