M A I N   N E W S

Karzai’s lead slips

Kabul, October 23
As counting in Afghanistan’s presidential election neared its end, a fall in incumbent Hamid Karzai’s lead today put more onus on an independent panel to decide if voting irregularities could have upset the result.

Election officials hope the panel, that includes a Canadian diplomat and election experts from Britain and Sweden, will have its report ready by midweek, shortly after the counting ends. — Reuters

16 die in Iraq car blast

Ramadi (Iraq), October 23
A suicide car bomber set off an explosion today at an Iraqi police station near a U.S. Marine base in western Iraq, killing at least 16 policemen, the U.S. military and the police said.

Police chief Col Saeb Munthre said 16 persons were killed and 40 injured in the morning attack in Baghdadi, 230 west of Baghdad near Ramadi. — AP