'Green gold': Avocado craze drives crop theft in S.Africa

Avocado patrol: Private security guards keep an eye on an orchard where 'green gold' is ripe for plucking

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  • Newsmax host under fire for blaming black army officer pepper-sprayed in traffic stop

    Second Lieutenant Caron Nazario filed a lawsuit against two Virginia police officers who reportedly pepper-sprayed and assaulted him

  • ‘If we don’t support them we’ll never get them back’: Punters brave Covid and the cold in return to the pub

    After months of disruption, Vincent Wood reports, a minority of the nation’s pubs are getting back to business – weather permitting

  • Coronation Street to resolve Gary and Faye's stories as they face court

    Will they both walk free?

  • China deploys jets and bombers into Taiwanese airspace in 'biggest incursion to date'

    Twenty-five Chinese military aircraft have entered Taiwanese airspace in the largest reported incursion to date, according to officials. Taiwan's government has complained in recent months after repeated missions by China's air force near the island. The incursions have been concentrated in the southwestern part of Taiwan's air defence zone.

  • Susanna Reid shares funny Prince Philip story on Good Morning Britain following royal’s death

    Pair met at an event for the Duke of Edinburgh award

  • Putin could spark war in Europe by invading Ukraine, says former US ambassador

    Michael McFaul warned world leaders should be ‘very’ concerned by unfolding situation

  • Midnight beer gardens and beauty treatments as people brave snow for England’s relaxed COVID lockdown

    England's COVID-19 lockdown was eased on Monday.

  • Dillian Whyte questions ‘joker’ Tyson Fury’s heavyweight credentials

    Brixton boxer is still after a fight with the ‘Gypsy King’

  • Have your say: Which lockdown rule change today are you most excited about?

    A number of lockdown restrictions eased in England on Monday.

  • ‘Per Mare, Per Terram’: What is the Marines slogan used by Harry in Philip tribute

    The Duke of Sussex has arrived in the UK ahead of Saturday’s funeral

  • Iran vows revenge against Israel for strike on Natanz nuclear plant

    Iran’s foreign minister on Monday vowed vengeance against Israel for an explosion a day earlier at the Natanz nuclear site that he blamed directly on Tehran’s arch enemy. “The Zionists want to take revenge because of our progress in the way to lift sanctions ... they have publicly said that they will not allow this. But we will take our revenge from the Zionists,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by state TV. Israel has all but claimed responsibility for the apparent sabotage operation that damaged the electricity grid at the Natanz site on Sunday, with multiple Israeli outlets reporting that Mossad carried out the operation, which is believed to have shut down entire sections of the facility. The sabotage could set back uranium enrichment at the facility by at least nine months, US officials briefed on the operation told the New York Times. Iran on Monday said the person who caused the power outage at one of the production halls at Natanz had been identified. "Necessary measures are being taken to arrest this person," the semi-official Nournews website reported, without giving further details. Iran's foreign ministry also said on Monday it is suspending cooperation with the European Union in various fields following the bloc's decision to blacklist several Iranian security officials over a 2019 protest crackdown. Foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh "strongly condemned" the sanctions and said Iran is "suspending all human rights talks and cooperation resulting from these talks with the EU, especially in (the fields of) terrorism, drugs and refugees". The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on eight Iranian militia commanders and police chiefs, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, over a deadly crackdown in November 2019.

  • EU, Britain seek to bridge differences over Northern Ireland

    Britain and the European Union are slowly working to overcome differences regarding trade flows between Northern Ireland and the British mainland after a month-long legal dispute and more than a week of rioting in the province. The EU is expecting a formal reply shortly from London to explain Britain's unilateral change to trading conditions that Brussels said breaches the Brexit divorce deal. A European Commission spokesman said the two sides were holding technical discussions and there could soon be a meeting of Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic and British negotiator David Frost.

  • ‘They do not work’: COVID expert’s warning over face shields as pubs and salons reopen

    Prof Christina Pagel warned that face shields should be worn with masks.

  • Over-40s set for COVID vaccines from this week – but many could face longer wait

    Coronavirus vaccines could be offered to over-40s from Tuesday – though supply constraints mean many will have to wait longer.

  • Police officer fired for pepper-spraying Black army officer in ‘horrifying’ traffic stop captured on film

    Army lieutenant has filed a federal lawsuit against two officers

  • In Belarus, protest movement struggles to regain momentum

    Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's authoritarian regime is doing its best to prevent a revival of the protests that marked the second half of last year. Opposition leaders are in jail or in exile. New so-called "anti-extremist" laws make it dangerous to even show the protest movement's red and white colours. Buildings that happen to be in those colours are being repainted. Many opposition supporters are struggling to keep up morale, but others are doing just that by finding inventive new forms of activism.

  • William and Harry's tributes to the Duke of Edinburgh show just how far apart they are

    The sentiments may have been similar – but the styles could not have been more contrasting. As the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex released very different tributes to their grandfather within 30 minutes of each other on Monday, it was impossible to resist reading between the lines. In days gone by, the royal brothers would have put out a joint statement commemorating such an important role model in both their lives. Yet with tensions between the two princes seemingly still bristling ahead of Prince Philip's funeral on Saturday, we were left to decipher the coded messages contained within. William's 173-word missive was the first to drop on the Kensington Palace website at 2pm, paying tribute to "a century of life defined by service". Praising his grandfather as an "extraordinary man and part of an extraordinary generation", the seemly eulogy gave a nod to the Duke of Edinburgh's "infectious sense of adventure as well as his mischievous sense of humour". There was also acknowledgement of his "enduring presence... both through good times and the hardest days", a reference to his stalwart support following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, when he encouraged William to walk behind their mother’s coffin with the words: "If I walk, will you walk with me?"

  • Counter protests shut down California ‘White Lives Matter’ rally

    ‘White Lives Matter’ rallies were planned to be held nationwide on 11 April, marking it as a national day of solidarity for the event

  • Nikki Grahame death: Big Brother winner Pete Bennett opens up about reality star’s death in tearful interview

    Reality star rushed to see Grahame weeks before her death

  • Ousted Myanmar ambassador ordered to leave London residence by military regime

    The ousted Myanmar ambassador to the UK has been ordered by the country’s military junta to leave his London residence or face prosecution by the new regime. In a hand-delivered letter, Kyaw Zwar Minn, who was last week forced out of the Myanmar embassy at the orders of the regime, has now been told to quit the Hampstead house where he has lived with his family since his appointment in 2013. In a move designed to strengthen the hand of officials loyal to the military government which ousted Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Kyaw Zwar Minn has been given until Thursday to leave. The ambassador’s supporters say he has been kept under constant surveillance at the house by regime officials and is unable to leave the building for fear they will enter and bar him access. Kyaw Zwar Minn was prevented from entering his own embassy last Wednesday and forced to spend the night in his car after the Mayfair building was seized by officials loyal to the junta.