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
‘You have destroyed my house and at the same time you prevent me from looking for safety’
BETHANY RIELLY speaks to Saleh, a Yemeni asylum-seeker facing deportation on one of the Home Office’s notorious charter flights
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
DOZENS of asylum-seekers are set to be removed from Britain next week as the Home Office accelerates its brutal deportation drive ahead of Brexit.
Three charter flights to EU nations are scheduled to Germany, Belgium, France and Spain despite warnings that the Home Office’s rushed removal operations risk unlawfully deporting vulnerable people.
Among those facing imminent deportation is Saleh (not his real name), a Yemeni asylum-seeker.
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A recent Immigration Summit heard from Lord Alf Dubs, who fled the Nazis to Britain as a child. JAYDEE SEAFORTH reports on his message that we need to increase public empathy with desperate people seeking asylum
