IRAQ: Worries over North Korea Push Japan to U.S. Side

With the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq likely to last much longer that initially thought, Japan sees no choice but to step up its support to U.S.-led troops as an insurance given the unstable situation with North Korea's nuclear crisis.

NORTH AMERICA: Hemisphere Entangled in U.S.-Woven Net

A handful of Canadian soldiers are currently serving with the U.S., U.K. and Australian militaries in the attack on Iraq, although Ottawa has officially refused to join the U.S.-led invasion of Baghdad.

POLITICS-U.S.-EUROPE: The Split is Forever, Author Argues

Try as he might, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's desperate efforts to bridge the growing divide between the United States and Europe are doomed to fail in the long run, says Charles Kupchan, an influential foreign-policy expert and former National Security Council (NSC) officer.

POLITICS-IRAQ-US: War Looks Lost Even Before First Shot

Regardless of how quickly U.S. troops roll into Baghdad, the second Gulf War already looks like a historic defeat for the United States.

POLITICS: India Hits Unilateralism in Iraq, Anti-War Calls Rise

Indian officials kept up their opposition to the imminent, U.S.-led war on Iraq on Wednesday amid rising anti-war protests here, ranging from marches by Muslims and peace activists to calls for a boycott of U.S. and British goods.

IRAQ: Latin America Divided Over Prospect of Imminent War

The imminent United States-led attack on Iraq is opposed by the governments of the principal nations of Latin America, while non-governmental organisations in the region accuse President George W. Bush of demolishing ''multilateralism,'' the guiding principle of the United Nations.

U.S.: Bush’s Unilateralism Threatens Economic Globalisation

'Business Week' raised the key question this week in a lead article headlined 'The High Price of Bad Diplomacy'.

IRAQ: NGOs Urge States to Use U.N. Charter to Prevent Attack

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) condemned the U.S. decision to abandon multilateral diplomacy in favour of a unilateral military attack against Iraq on Tuesday, with some calling for an emergency session of the General Assembly to try and prevent war.

IRAQ: On Eve of War, U.S. Image in Europe and Russia Plummets

With the launch of a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq as close as 24 hours, major surveys of eight key European nations have shown a sharp rise in critical attitudes towards the United States, focused particularly on President George W.. Bush's foreign policy.

IRAQ: Azores Summit, a Declaration of War on UN, Say Analysts

Either the United Nations will undergo a change of heart and throw its unconditional support behind Washington's decisions, or its days are numbered, at least in its current shape and form.

RIGHTS: Brave New Court with Limited Reach

The International Criminal Court opened in The Hague this week but its writ will not run over much of the world in conflict. And where it does, it could still be years away.

POLITICS: Will Iraq Crisis Signal U.N.’s Final Disappearing Act?

At the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, a former Peruvian diplomat characterised the United Nations as a politically wobbly institution that survives only at the will - and pleasure - of the world's big powers.

IRAQ: US Spying Will Not Affect Chile’s UN Security Council Vote

The Chilean government will proceed with caution on the matter of U.S. spying at its diplomatic mission at the United Nations, attempting to separate that situation from its actions on the Iraq crisis as a member of the UN Security Council.

POLITICS: Non-Aligned Leaders End Summit with Focus on Mideast

Leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ended their summit late Tuesday with calls for a multilateral approach to the Iraq crisis and a stop to human rights violations in Palestine, highlighting their concern with two festering issues in the Middle East.

POLITICS: Mahathir’s Anti-war Calls Echo at Non-Aligned Summit

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's impassioned anti-war calls at a time when ‘'the world lives in fear'' set the stage for leaders at the Non-Aligned Summit here to speak out against war in Iraq, as well as unilateralism in international affairs.

MIDDLE EAST: U.S. War Plans Bode Ill for U.N., Multilateralism

A U.S.-led attack on Iraq without the approval of the United Nations would spell doom for the world body and be another ominous sign of unilateralism in international affairs, say analysts in the region.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Arabs Blast U.S. Dichotomy on Iraq, North Korea

The sharp distinction in Washington's approach to the crises in North Korea and Iraq - diplomacy in one, deployment in the other - reeks of double standards, say Arab commentators.

POLITICS-BRAZIL: Lula Sends Warning Signals to FTAA

The government of Luiz Inácio ''Lula'' da Silva will stiffen Brazil's stance in the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), to judge by the new make-up of the foreign ministry.