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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The divisions that continue to plague institutionality in Northern Ireland
LYNDA WALKER looks at the background to present disarray in the Police Service of Northern Ireland
(Left) Time for Truth campaigners outside the Sean Graham bookmaker's on Ormeau Road in Belfast in February 2019 collecting signatures for a petition to implement mechanisms to deal with Northern Ireland's troubled past; (right) Mark Sykes stands at the memorial to those killed during the attack on February 5 1992, he survived after being shot four times his 18-year-old brother-in-law, Peter Magee was killed
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 resignation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Simon Byrne this month was expected. According to the media his term of office as the PSNI’s most senior officer was marked by a series of damaging controversies.
The latest was the result of a judicial review over the suspension of one police officer and the repositioning of another.
A High Court judge said the actions were “unlawful” and quashed the measures — however the suspension of one police officer and the of repositioning of another had been lifted. In addition, the court said the chief constable “bent to political pressure” in the process.
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Why not pay a visit to Feile an Phobail, a people’s festival of community arts with roots in the days of internment without trial, and where the spirit of solidarity remains undimmed, says LYNDA WALKER
Peaceful protesters are facing increasingly authoritarian clampdowns, including two recent arrests for putting a sticker on a Barclays ATM. LYNDA WALKER reports
Remembering a dedicated T&GWU activist, internationalist and anti-sectarian