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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Out of Britain, back into Europe
Under the SNP Scotland should leave the United Kingdom to rejoin the EU, argues BILL KIDD MSP
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
FOR three years, Scotland has fought to secure our place in Europe and defend the peoples’ vote for the right to remain within the European Union. This has ranged from an Emergency Bill in the Scottish Parliament to ministerial efforts from the Scottish government to liaise with the British government.
Now, in harmony with the many Scots who desire independence, the Scottish government is putting forward legislation that, if successful, could see Scotland become an independent nation that would be able to pursue membership of the European Union of its own accord.
This follows the EU referendum vote on June 23 2016, where Scotland voted by 62 per cent to remain within the EU. Recent polling shows that pro-EU feeling has grown even stronger since the vote, with two thirds of Scottish voters now supportive of remaining in the European Union (EPC, June 2019).
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VINCE MILLS looks at how UK Labour’s backpedalling on policy has left Scottish Labour with nothing to offer its own electorate
As polls show Scottish Labour’s support crumbling and Reform rising even among independence supporters, an urgent need emerges for an alternative based on public investment paid for by radical progressive taxation, argues VINCE MILLS