From London’s holly-sellers to Engels’s flaming Christmas centrepiece, the plum pudding was more than festive fare in Victorian Britain, says KEITH FLETT
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Economic warfare against Russia won’t help
As sanctions on begin to hurt business in the West, it’s clear the disastrous economic impact will result in years of chaos and economic crisis – so why is Europe doing this to itself, asks JOHN GREEN
Putin at the 10th edition of the BRICS summit
[South African Government / Creative Commons]
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
From a lockdown digital project to a vital tool for class solidarity, ROBERT POOLE and HENRY FOWLER reflect on half-a-decade of struggle
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
A DEFEAT, or at least weakening, of Russia is viewed by US military and big business circles as a necessary step in the attempt to isolate and encircle China.
The US is using Ukraine as its proxy, as it can’t just invade Russia as it has done in Iraq, Aghanistan and Syria, so an economic war in the form of draconian sanctions is seen as the solution.
It is the US that is the leading force behind the sanctions movement and its determination to arm Ukraine to the hilt. But why are the European countries following like sheep on this?
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