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
One swallow does not a summer make
Where do swallows go over winter, asks JOHN GREEN
FEATHERED FRIENDS: An RSPB handout photo of a swallow
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
VERY soon we will be observing the return of swallows to our shores. These are iconic birds, symbolising the arrival of summer and idyllic sunny days to come.
Sadly, the numbers of these birds have been declining over recent decades as a direct result of the calamitous decline of insects, their sole food source.
In my childhood I remember having to regularly clean the car’s windscreen on long journeys because it became caked with the bloody and sticky corpses of insects.
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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
ALEX DITTRICH hitches a ride on a jaw-dropping tour of the parasite world
PHIL KATZ applauds the biography of a man of principle that is a vibrant excavation of the radical tradition itself
Although there’s not much growing in the garden in January, globe artichokes are worth a try if you follow these tips from MAT COWARD