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
Latest editorial
Now it's 'clap for veterans' — good
We should still celebrate the achievements of those who helped defeat fascism in 1945, despite the jingoism of the VE day celebrations, writes TOM KING
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
THE 75th anniversary of VE Day was supposed to be a grand affair. Alongside the usual bells and whistles of national celebration — cathedral services, flypasts, the Buckingham Palace balcony — we could look forward to street parties, dancing and a bank holiday to boot.
Then Covid-19 set the pandemic cat among the patriotic pigeons, and Hitler’s downfall must instead be celebrated at a distance: in the home, online and from eerily quiet television studios. Village halls throughout the land will be empty, no crowds shall fill the Mall.
However, as many have been keen to point out, the current crisis lends itself very well to the mythology of the second world war. No better time, surely, to “Keep Calm and (sort of) Carry On,” invoke the “Blitz Spirit” and join a nationwide chorus of “We’ll Meet Again.”
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