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
Midsummer magic
EXHUBERANCE AND DARING: Bonfire at the Saint John festivities in Madrid’s neighbourhood of Fuenlabrada
[Pic: Ayuntamiento de Fuenlabrada/flickr/CC]
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
STANDING around at Stonehenge. Smoking too much weed. Bonkers dancing. That’s one way of celebrating the solstice. Linking hands in a ring on a medieval mound in a municipal park and singing circle songs as the cloudy grey dawn lightens is another. All good.
I’ve learnt better ways to do it, though — for myself.
It’s three weeks now since Midsummer, but I’m still enjoying the memories of one of the best and longest I’ve celebrated… so no apologies for this piece, despite its late timing.
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