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
‘A law for the future of a liveable planet’
DR ANDREW BOSWELL, an independent environmental consultant and former Green Party councillor, assisted in the drafting of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. Here he tells Ian Sinclair about the Bill’s key components and why it is so desperately needed
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
ON AUGUST 12 Green MP Caroline Lucas, with the support of a group of 11 cross-party MPs, tabled the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, a private member’s Bill, in Parliament.
According to the campaign backing it, the Bill “has the potential to become the most significant move forward since the Climate Change Act 2008.”
The Westminster government often proclaims itself as a world leader when it comes to responding to the climate emergency. Can you explain the current legal targets and laws the government is required to adhere to, and what the problems are with these and the government’s response to them?
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ANDY HEDGECOCK relishes two exhibitions that blur the boundaries between art and community engagement
World’s wealthiest 1% have already burned through their share of the entire annual carbon limit, Oxfam warns