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
Oil grab: US moves against Venezuela's CITGO
The nation’s seized oil company is at risk of an immediate break-up — part of the US-led campaign of subversion to topple the legitimate government, writes TIM YOUNG of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign
NATIONAL TREASURE: A marcher carries a tribute to ‘Super Moustache’ Nicolas Maduro, protected by a shield bearing the name of Pequiven, the nationalised petrochemical company
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
VENEZUELA’S most prized and lucrative foreign asset, the US-based oil subsidiary CITGO, is on the brink of being broken up to satisfy creditors against the Venezuelan state. The move is part and parcel of the US government’s drive to destroy its economy and bring about regime change in the country.
In pursuit of this goal, the US government has since 2017 imposed crushing economic and trade sanctions on Venezuela, including an oil embargo, a blanket ban on all dealings with Caracas, secondary sanctions and freezing or seizing a number of Venezuelan assets abroad.
The illegal sanctions have resulted in losses of $150 billion to the country, while around $11bn in deposits in banks and funds abroad have been seized or frozen, including $1.2bn gold deposits in the Bank of England.
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The global left must be unwavering in it is support for Venezuela as Washington increases its aggression, and clear-eyed about the West’s cynical motives for targeting it, says CLAUDIA WEBBE
Calls have been made for the return to Venezuela of a two-year-old girl currently being held in the US, after being separated from her family by immigration officials, reports SUSAN GREY
Two months into Donald Trump’s second run as president, what can we glean about his policies towards Latin America so far, asks TIM YOUNG, ahead of this Saturday’s Socialism or Barbarism day school in London
FIONA SIM of the Black Liberation Alliance reports on a whirlwind week in Caracas, including President Maduro’s inauguration