Mass mobilisations are forcing governments to seriously consider imposing sanctions and severing ties — even in places like Australia and the Netherlands — despite continued arms shipments to Israel’s war machine, writes RAMZY BAROUD

THIS winter’s endless storms have, I fear, done for my purple sprouting broccoli.
It’s not that they’ve been toppled by the winds. I long ago learned the hard lesson that tall, overwintering brassicas need to be thoroughly staked if they are to survive. Preferably, the stakes themselves should be taller than the plants, even once they’ve been driven 18 inches (46cm) into the ground. The stem of the plant must be tied to the pole in several places.
My stakes had held, and so had the old bootlaces I used as string, but when I went to check the purple sprouting after one of the recent gales I found the fine-mesh netting had blown away.

The heroism of the jury who defied prison and starvation conditions secured the absolute right of juries to deliver verdicts based on conscience — a convention which is now under attack, writes MAT COWARD

As apple trees blossom to excess it remains to be seen if an abundance of fruit will follow. MAT COWARD has a few tips to see you through a nervy time

While an as-yet-unnamed new left party struggles to be born, MAT COWARD looks at some of the wild and wonderful names of workers’ organisations past that have been lost to time

Timeloop murder, trad family MomBomb, Sicilian crime pages and Craven praise