Global briefs
POLAND: Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Miller will be stepping down as the head of the country's governing Democratic Left Alliance. Support for Mr Miller's party has slumped as the government pushes ahead with unpopular spending cuts in preparation for joining the European Union in May.* * * AFGHANISTAN: A top US defence official played down hundreds of desertions from the Afghan national army, predicting that the force would exceed 10,000 troops by the year's end. Visiting Pentagon budget chief Dov Zakheim claimed that the Afghan army was emerging as a well-trained and professional fighting force. President Karzai has little control in the provinces of Afghanistan, where warlords with private militias hold sway. Army recruitment has been eroded by the desertions and by meagre pay and poor conditions. Since the army was set up nearly two years ago only about 7000 out of a target of 70,000 soldiers are under arms.* * * BRITAIN: Furious green campaigners attacked the government after leaked Cabinet documents revealed plans to approve the growing of GM maize in Britain despite mass opposition from scientists and the public. Former environment minister Michael Meacher stressed that there was no "moral, scientific or political authority" for the decision. "Why is the government going ahead?", he asked. "It is not because of the science. It is because of the Bush administration applying pressure and because of big companies like Monsanto who want to make a big profit out of cornering the world's food supply. It has nothing to do with feeding the world", said Mr Meacher.* * * JAPAN: Japan announced an estimated $2 billion deal for a Japanese consortium to develop an Iranian oil field despite opposition from the United States, which believes that the money could go towards nuclear proliferation. The deal with Iran grants the government-backed consortium development rights in the Azadegan oil field. With reserves of up to 26 billion barrels, it is believed to be one of the largest in the Middle East. It could offer a key resource of energy for resource-poor Japan, which is also pursuing similar arrangements in Russia and other countries. The agreement gives the Japanese consortium a 75 percent stake while Iran's national oil company retains the remaining 25 percent in the project. Iran uses a "buy back" arrangement in which foreign companies participating in energy projects are repaid for their investment in oil or gas revenues.* * * NAMIBIA: Namibia's President Sam Nujoma has announced that Namibia is to start taking land back from white farmers. He is committed to keeping expropriations fully legal. Whites make up only 5 percent of the 1.8 million population, but they own 92 percent of Namibia's 32 million hectares of agricultural land.