WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
No More War by Dan Kovalik
Accessible introduction to international law is a powerful plea for global peace
ILLEGAL: US navy cruise missile attack on Libya, 2011
[Roderick Eubanks/Wikipedia] 
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
IN HIS latest book, Pittsburgh-based lawyer and peace activist Dan Kovalik is at pains to stress that the UN Charter, the principal instrument of international law since its signing in 1945, lays down a number of important precepts regarding humanity’s need for peace, equality and freedom from oppression.
Prevention of war is at its core, and states are to resolve disputes by peaceful means if these are available. An armed attack on one state by another can only be considered legal if, having exhausted all non-violent paths, the attack has been approved by the UN security council, or if it is carried out in urgent self-defence against an armed attack, or if the invading party has been granted consent by the leader of the host state.
More from this author
The US’s bid for regime change in the Islamic Republic has become more urgent as it seeks to encircle and contain a resurgent China, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ
CARLOS MARTINEZ condemns Europe’s failure to develop genuine autonomy from US hegemony, as leaders like Starmer and Macron cling to a declining imperial order rather than building good relations with the emerging powers
Chinese socialist planning and action over decades have created the world’s greatest reforestation programme, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ, and now its lessons in fighting desertification and climate change are taking root worldwide
Despite relentless hostility, the People’s Republic of China has lifted millions out of poverty, and become a global leader in innovation and climate action, while pursuing peaceful development in a multipolar world, writes CARLOS MARTINEZ
