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
Austerity was never anything more than a big lie
The last 14 years have completely disproven the economic myths the Tories used to set us on the path of cuts and devastation – we need massive direct investment to rebuild the post-industrial communities, writes JON TRICKETT
Then Prime Minister David Cameron (right) and then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg hold their first joint press conference in the Downing Street garden in central London, May 2010
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
IT’S time that we had an honest debate about the underlying assumptions which have been used for so long to drive the British economy into the doldrums.
Of course, it is true that the Conservatives have proved incompetent in economic management. But this poor fiscal administration has only compounded the mistakes which are baked into the whole neoliberal era which was kicked off in Britain by Margaret Thatcher.
It follows, therefore, that getting a more competent government will not be enough, although it is absolutely essential that the country kicks the Tories out of office.
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DR DYLAN MURPHY challenges the idea that social security places an economic burden on the public