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
The old myths are crumbling
As independent media exposes Establishment media lies about Israel’s genocide in Gaza, claims of anti-semitism are being exposed as a tactic to silence critics, argues JULIAN VIGO
Nicaragua's ambassador Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez gives a statement outside the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, April 30, 2024
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
On April 9, Germany defended itself from claims that its arms sales to Israel were playing a role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Arguing before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), lawyers for Germany maintained that most of the equipment it has supplied since October 7 2023 was non-lethal.
Nicaragua brought this case against Germany at the ICJ as Alain Pellet, a lawyer for Nicaragua, urged judges to order a cessation of German weapons sales to Israel, a request which the court ruled against last week.
Perversely, Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States, also claimed that it has been one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
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The intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza are an attempt by Netanyahu to project strength amid perceived political vulnerability, argues RAMZY BAROUD
Israel continues to operate with impunity in what seems to be a brutal and protracted experiment, while much of the world looks on, says RAMZY BAROUD
With its track record of leveraging cultural power for US gain and barely concealed promotion of coup attempts, the US Agency for International Development will not be mourned among the US’s southern neighbours, write JOHN PERRY and ROGER D HARRIS