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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Defending sovereignty from corporate rule
Neoliberal trade deals are a real and present threat to workers' rights, environmental protection, even food standards — and if we don't remain vigilant, big business will set up parallel legal systems that bypass our own, warns ARTHUR WEST
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 Trade Justice Scotland Coalition is a coalition of trade unions, campaigning organisations and local activists. The coalition came together in 2015 to campaign against trade deals that threatened to give new powers to big business while privatising public services and weakening the democratic rights of ordinary citizens.
One of the big successes of the coalition was stopping the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
It was a trade deal which was conducted behind closed doors between the European Union and the US.
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