The crew of the Freedom Flotilla boat, Handala, warned Israel to obey international law but are now in captivity, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER

SEED catalogues are a good source of free information and inspiration, especially for those new to vegetable gardening.
I suggest you get hold of as many as possible, online or on paper, because the range of crops you can grow in your garden or allotment these days may be much wider than you imagined.
I must admit I’ve never much fancied blue potatoes, but one of the reasons people choose so-called “heirloom varieties” is because, if gardeners have used them for generations, they are likely to have proven themselves in terms of flavour, yield or reliability.

MAT COWARD presents a peculiar cabbage that will only do its bodybuilding once the summer dies down

A heatwave, a crimewave, and weird bollocks in Aberdeen, Indiana horror, and the end of the American Dream

A corrupted chemist, a Hampstead homosexual and finely observed class-conflict at The Bohemia

Beet likes warmth, who doesn’t, so attention to detail is required if you’re to succeed, writes MAT COWARD