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
IT’S nearly three years since the Brexit referendum. Unless you were under 18, outside the UK, or too angry to bother voting at all, you probably remember the ballot paper. And the options it listed did not include “martial law in the United Kingdom.”
It’s a sign of the state we’re now in that when the Sunday Times reported on civil servants making plans for the possible introduction of martial law, it didn’t even put it on the front page.
It quoted anonymous Whitehall sources saying that martial law had been discussed as one of several options for dealing with the breakdown of public order following a no-deal Brexit.
While working people face austerity, arms companies enjoy massive government contracts, writes ARTHUR WEST, exposing how politicians exaggerate the Russian threat to justify spending on a sector that has the lowest employment multiplier
Unions and campaigners condemn Prime Minister's ‘far-right’ rhetoric and new immigration policies



