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
Worrying signs of 'community-washing' energy transition
LUKE FLETCHER is concerned by the vagueness of Great British Energy's promised benefits to communities in Wales
FOR THE MANY OR THE FEW? Gwynt y Mor offshore wind farm, Wales, 2017 owned jointly by RWE Renewables, Stadtwerke Munchen and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (former owners of Thames Water)
[Llywelyn2000/CC]
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
BRITAIN has deliberately structured its plans to deliver change to the energy system around big business. The dependency on entities which have extraction at their heart have no regard for lowering energy bills, increasing energy security or combatting climate breakdown.
Central to Labour’s climate agenda has been the establishment of Great British Energy, a state-owned energy company tasked with driving the shift to renewables.
It has been hailed as a transformative step, with £8.3 billion set aside for the next parliamentary term. The funding has two key components: £3 billion for Labour’s Local Power Plan, a scheme allowing local governments to apply for funds to develop community energy projects, and £5 billion earmarked for co-investments.
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