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
UAW to begin massive organising campaign
The US auto workers’ union is looking to expand its membership base following successes at GM, Ford and Stellantis, writes TONY BURKE
UAW president Shawn Fain
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
FOLLOWING on from its major success in securing much-improved contracts with the US’s Big Three auto manufacturers (GM, Ford and Stellantis), the United Autoworkers union intends to launch simultaneous organising campaigns across the US to organise over 150,000 new members.
UAW says the Big Three dispute has encouraged many workers in non-union plants to join the UAW already.
The companies to be targeted include Tesla, which is in a hardening battle with the Swedish union IF Metall over union organising and collective bargaining and in Germany where the company is refusing to recognise the IG Metall union at its Brandenburg plant.
The towering figures of the North American right and the South American left are set to clash this summer as Brazil hosts Brics, an alliance Trump is determined to smash, reports TONY BURKE