Olive oil remains a vital foundation of food, agriculture and society, storing power in the bonds of solidarity. Though Palestinians are under attack, they continue to press forward write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
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Be patient with your liquorice
Gardening with MAT COWARD
Liquorice roots
[Jeansef/Creative Commons] 
VIJAY PRASHAD looks at the web of militias and drug-trafficking gangs that emerged in the Sweida region through the Syrian civil war, and how they relate to recent clashes and Israel’s intervention
JOE ATTARD explains why trade unionists are rallying in solidarity against the recent arrest of political activists in Gilgit-Baltistan, the northernmost region of Kashmir, administered by Pakistan
by Roger D Harris and John Perry
Why not pay a visit to Feile an Phobail, a people’s festival of community arts with roots in the days of internment without trial, and where the spirit of solidarity remains undimmed, says LYNDA WALKER
VINCE MILLS says Scottish Labour has adopted better positions than its Westminster counterpart — but unless it starts to fight for them that will count for nothing
IF you’re sending off your seed orders this month, and fancy including something a little less familiar than potatoes and radishes, I’d suggest buying some liquorice seeds. It’s a surprisingly ornamental plant, and interesting to grow. The only thing is, you mustn’t be in too much of a hurry for your first crop.
Of course, readers in some parts of Yorkshire and Surrey may already have an old liquorice plant growing on their allotments, perhaps a souvenir of the days when Glycyrrhiza glabra was a commercial crop in Britain, and Pontefract cakes were made from home-grown rather than imported roots.
You’ll find the seeds offered in several catalogues, including Suttons (www.suttons.co.uk; tel 0844 326 2200), and there are also two-year-old plants on sale on the internet, which would give you a head start, but at a considerably higher price. If you know someone who’s already got a liquorice plant, you can propagate from it by taking root divisions in autumn or spring.
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