Thousands of people have joined anti-war protests across the globe in the first few hours of the US-led attack on Iraq.
Italian anti-war activists and labour unions have staged demonstrations and downed tools. Protesters in Milan held a vigil in front of the city's cathedral while in Venice and Rome groups of hundreds gathered for spontaneous sit-ins.
Thousands more were expected to march to the US embassy in Rome in the afternoon.
Public employees declared a day-long strike, while Italy's three biggest unions, with a combined 11 million members, said they would go on strike for two hours.
The vast majority of Italians are against war, with 70 per cent saying they would oppose military action even with United Nations backing. More than one million people converged on Rome for an anti-war protest in February.
Peace campaigners in Britain called on the public to stage a mass walk-out from their workplaces, colleges and schools today. Leading aid agencies also urged the British government to take "all possible precautions" to avoid civilian casualties during the conflict.
Up to 40,000 protesters gathered across Australia within hours of the first bombing of Baghdad. They clogged city centres, bringing central Sydney and Melbourne to a standstill.
Chants of "Howard Out, No War", "Shame Howard, Shame Howard" echoed through Sydney streets. "Regime Change Begins At Home," read several placards, warning Prime Minister John Howard he faced a voter backlash for going to war.
In Pakistan, thousands of students, lawyers and journalists took to the streets of the Islamist northwest, yelling slogans denouncing US "aggression". Many protesters demanded authorisation to travel to Iraq to take up arms against US-led forces.
More than 100 protesters staged rallies at the US embassy in Tokyo and in the western city of Hiroshima, calling for an immediate halt to the military action. Some 50,000 people are expected to join a planned rally in Tokyo tomorrow.
Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri said her government fiercely opposed the attack on Iraq and asked the United Nations to call an urgent meeting. Moving to allay fears Westerners could be targeted, police said they had plans to evacuate foreigners to the airport in Jakarta if necessary.
At least 2,000 people from a conservative Muslim party protested in front of the US embassy, which said it was on a heightened state of alert and might temporarily close amid security concerns.
Agencies