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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Time for trade unions to deliver our own agenda for change
Nobody wants to go back to the way things were before the pandemic. Unions must seize the opportunity to secure a new deal, says CWU general secretary DAVE WARD
A banner reading 'Thank You Key Workers' in the stands during the Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth. Unions must use the new appreciation for key workers to secure a better deal for everyone
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
THROUGHOUT the pandemic key workers have been absolutely essential in keeping our country running – treating the sick, keeping the shops stocked and open, the streets clean, the buses and trains moving, our internet connected and making deliveries.
And trade unions have made a decisive difference in protecting workers, fighting to ensure safety advice and social distancing guidelines are applied, intervening at government level to win programmes like the job retention scheme that, while flawed, have protected millions of households’ incomes.
There has never been a better moment for our movement to harness our collective strength and deploy it to secure further-reaching, longer-lasting change.
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CWU leader DAVE WARD tells Ben Chacko a strategy to unite workers on class lines is needed – and sectoral collective bargaining must be at its heart
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