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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One of the key turning points in late 20th-century history
The UCS shop stewards paved the way for the creation of the Scottish Assembly, followed by the Scottish Parliament – but how does this legacy link in with the struggles of today? TOM MORRISON takes a look
James Reid (left foreground) chief spokesman for shop stewards, and James Airlie (right), co-ordinator, shop stewards’ committee, during a press conference, 1971
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
IN JULY 1971 8,500 shipyard workers took control of four shipyards on the Upper Clyde: Govan, Linthouse, Scotstoun and Clydebank to stop their closure.
The shop stewards remained in control of the yards for the following 15 months and only ended their “work-in” when the government had fully capitulated and financially guaranteed the survival of all four yards.
This action on the Clyde had a much wider national impact. The Tory government was alarmed at the growing shop stewards’ militancy with good cause, as the workers’ successful enforcement of their right to work gave encouragement to workers in hundreds of other workplaces facing closure during the recession years of 1971-73.
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