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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Lakenheath: starting today, we can send the nukes back
KATE HUDSON, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, argues that CND has seen success in the past — and if US bombs are being stationed in Britain once more, we can force their removal through protest
A mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb
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
HUNDREDS of protesters are making their way to an air force base in Suffolk today, to protest against the return of US nuclear weapons to Britain. We will be meeting at RAF/USAF Lakenheath — the likely recipient of the bombs; this development makes Britain once again a forward nuclear base for the US in Europe.
There is a powerful history of successful anti-nuclear activity at Lakenheath. In 2008, 110 US/Nato free-fall B61 nuclear bombs were removed from the base, following sustained protest at the base by CND and the Lakenheath Action Group.
US nuclear bombs had been located there since 1954. Their return, assigned to Nato, will increase global tensions and put Britain on the front line in a Nato versus Russia war. B61s have continued to be sited in five other countries in across Europe — Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey — in spite of strong opposition to them in some of the “host” countries.
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