Nato’s battle with the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and a possible extension of the alliance’s support for African peacekeepers in Darfur are set to dominate a meeting of allied defence ministers this week on Slovenia’s Adriatic coast.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said today that if current trends continue, his war-battered country hopes to eradicate opium poppy cultivation in five to ten years.

Labour MPs opposed to the air strikes against Afghanistan have arranged a House of Commons vote on the campaign later today.