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
Brodowin: King Charles and the post-socialist farm
The King was probably attracted to the organic farming methods at the largest ‘biodynamic’ farm in Germany, rather than the politics behind them, muses JOHN GREEN
King Charles III, Dietmar Woidke, prime minister of Brandenburg, and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, from left, visit a cheese dairy in the Brodowin eco-village
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
BRODOWIN is not exactly a renowned landmark for a foreign head of state to visit, but on March 30, King Charles III paid a visit to a farm there to see how its take ecological agriculture works and how the farmers there are helping protect the wetlands.
The village was very surprised to receive a letter from the royal household back in January asking if the King could pay a visit. In his honour, the local cheese factory he visited has created a new Brodowin King’s Cheese.
I wonder, though if he knows anything about the history of this village and if he will ask the villagers about their lives in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR). I somehow doubt it.
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