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
Front-line workers need effective health and safety – especially in our schools
A decade of cuts to ‘red tape’ has undermined efforts to keep workplaces safe against the transmission of the deadly coronavirus, says PATRICK ROACH
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
A DECADE ago, the Conservative-led coalition government branded health and safety as mere “red tape.”
Schools were designated as low-risk environments and the message to school employers was to exercise their common sense while the government systematically set about a renewed “red tape” challenge, cutting rights and undermining the safety of workers.
Roll forward 10 years, and health and safety has been brought centre stage as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.
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Labour’s watered-down legislation won’t protect us from unfair dismissal or ban some zero-hours contracts until 2027 — leaving millions of young people vulnerable to the populist right’s appeal, warns TUC young workers chair FRASER MCGUIRE
Our members face serious violence, crumbling workplaces and exposure to dangerous drugs — it is outrageous we still cannot legally use our industrial muscle to fight back and defend ourselves, writes STEVE GILLAN
MATT WRACK issues a clarion call for a rejuvenation of public services for the sake of our communities and our young people
RMT senior assistant general secretary EDDIE DEMPSEY highlights the priorities for the union’s meeting taking place in York