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
How British universities are militarising education
CHARLIE JAAY talks to campaigners about how the military-industrial-academic complex is expanding on-campus and directing STEM research towards arms manufacture and development
[Action Against Oxford War Crimes]
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
A NEW report by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) and Demilitarise Education (dED) gives a detailed analysis of how universities are working with the arms industry and military, to research and develop technologies for future warfare.
Titled Weaponising Universities: Research Collaborations between UK Universities and the Military Industrial Complex, the report discusses the ties between British universities, arms companies and the military Establishment — the “military-industrial-academic complex,” their collaboration for military research and dual use systems, and also outlines a series of recommendations and potential solutions.
Marketisation of higher education started in the 1980s when the Tories reduced overall government funding of universities. Their agenda of aligning university research with their economic agenda meant that while universities were getting less funding, private companies, including arms companies, were being invited to start helping that business model.
Similar stories
The intensified Israeli military operations in Gaza are an attempt by Netanyahu to project strength amid perceived political vulnerability, argues RAMZY BAROUD
This is the most anti-migrant government in decades, argues RAVISHAAN RAHEL MUTHIAH