Ron Synovitz is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL.
There was heavy fighting today on both the eastern and western fringes of Al-Fallujah as U.S. forces encircled the insurgent-held city over the past 24 hours. Al-Fallujah's main hospital was seized overnight by U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies. Intense U.S. air and artillery strikes continue to target suspected insurgent positions in what is being described as a "preparatory phase" of for a ground assault that the Iraqi interim prime minister now says he has authorized.
Premier Allawi (file photo) Iraq's interim government declared a state of emergency for 60 days across the country except in Kurdish-controlled areas of the north. The statement from Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi comes as U.S. troops intensify air and artillery strikes on Al-Fallujah ahead of a long-expected ground assault there. U.S. military officials say more than 10,000 U.S. and allied Iraqi troops are poised on the outskirts of the insurgent enclave.
Hamid Karzai has been officially confirmed as Afghanistan's new president. With the announcement of the official election results from the 9 October ballot, Karzai is now set to be inaugurated by the end of November. But first, he must name his cabinet.
A complete version of Osama bin Laden's latest videotaped message has been released through an Islamist website. In it, the Al-Qaeda leader makes remarks about the U.S. invasion of Iraq that had not been previously aired by the Arabic television station Al-Jazeera. RFE/RL speaks with a leading expert on Al-Qaeda -- correspondent Jason Burke of the London-based newspaper "The Observer" -- about the significance of the Internet release.
International observers have arrived in several U.S. states for the presidential election on 2 November. Independent nongovernmental organizations and foreign diplomats will be scrutinizing activities in Florida, Ohio, and several other closely contested states. But in many states, those observers will not be allowed inside the actual polling stations. That task is reserved for official "monitors" -- such as those the U.S. State Department has invited from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The latest official preliminary results from Afghanistan's 9 October presidential election show transitional leader Hamid Karzai has won the clear majority needed for an outright first-round victory. The announcement yesterday of the election results was made with about 95 percent of the ballots counted. The final official result is not expected until the end of October, when the remaining 5 percent of the ballots have been counted. Karzai's closest rival, former Education Minister Mohammad Yunos Qanuni, appeared to concede defeat through a spokesman, although he also said he wants to see the conclusions of a probe into alleged electoral fraud.
Much attention has been focused on international efforts to bolster Afghanistan's national army and national police. But as the central government in Kabul begins to extend its influence into provincial regions, another essential operation is receiving less media attention -- the work of customs agents within the Afghan Finance Ministry. From Kabul, RFE/RL reports on how the U.S. government is helping Afghan customs officials to collect revenues and deprive warlords of illicit funds from smuggling operations.
After a delay of nearly a week, vote counting in Afghanistan's presidential election finally got under way yesterday -- only to be put on hold again today for celebrations marking the start of Ramadan. So far, with only about 26,000 valid ballots counted, transitional leader Hamid Karzai has garnered about 59 percent of the vote. But an estimated 8 million ballots remain to be tabulated before final official results can be announced.
Ordinary Afghans have been discussing how the country's historic presidential election was conducted on 9 October and whether the vote was free and fair. RFE/RL's Ron Synovitz and Freshta Jalalzai have been asking Afghan voters what they learned from their first exercise in democracy. All of those interviewed said they were excited about being able to vote. And those who said they were disappointed by the voting process were eager to suggest ways to correct what they see as faults in the system ahead of the more complicated parliamentary elections in 2005.
The Taliban has failed to carry out the massive terrorist attacks it had threatened during Afghanistan's presidential election. U.S. officials say tight security across the country averted two major attacks in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Oruzgun. That is where the U.S.-led coalition continues to battle remnants of the ousted Taliban regime. A handful of small-scale attacks across the country on election day failed to stop voting. Last night, suspected Taliban fighters fired rockets into Kabul -- the first such attack on the capital since the 9 October vote. But all in all, the chaos promised by Taliban fighters has not materialized. RFE/RL spoke with U.S. military officials about how the combined efforts of the coalition, the Afghan National Army, and the Afghan National Police kept the electoral process from being disrupted.
Vote counters in western Afghanistan on 10 October Afghanistan's presidential election is being called a major success by its international and Afghan organizers. Voter turnout has been described as "massive." Terrorist attacks threatened by Al-Qaeda militants and remnants of the Taliban appear to have been thwarted by tight security across the country. Still, the UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) admits that mistakes were made on 9 October when millions of Afghans cast secret ballots for the first time in order to choose their country's leader. The JEMB and an independent panel are now examining those mistakes to ensure they are not repeated when Afghanistan takes its next important step on the road to democracy -- the elections for parliament and local administrative offices slated for spring of 2005.
Thousands of election workers have begun tallying ballots at eight regional counting centers across Afghanistan following yesterday's presidential election. UN and Afghan election officials say the earliest preliminary results won't be available until late tonight or tomorrow. They say it could take a week for a clear trend to emerge. Final official results aren't expected before the end of October because ballot boxes in the most remote parts of the country have to be carried to the counting houses on mules and camels over roadless terrain. In the meantime, the UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) has begun to investigate claims of fraud and incompetence alleged by the challengers of Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai.
Election officials said voters turned out in large numbers in Afghanistan's first-ever presidential election, with no reports of major attacks or violence to disrupt the poll. But the election was marred by a different kind of turmoil -- complaints by some of Hamid Karzai's rivals, who said the vote should be halted largely because of irregularities. Voters at polling stations visited by an RFE/RL correspondent in Kabul today were initially excited and spoke of high expectations. But that mood turned to anger when voters discovered that the ink used to mark their thumbs and prevent multiple voting could be easily wiped off.
The UN's top official in Afghanistan has issued his overall assessment of conditions for tomorrow's Afghan presidential election. Jean Arnault, the UN secretary-general's special representative, says the disarmament of Afghan factional militias has fallen short of expectations. He says a culture of violence persists in which some candidates are encouraging voter intimidation. And he says most Afghans need to be better educated about how elections work. But despite these problems, Arnault concluded there is a "degree of freedom and fairness" that will allow Afghans to express their political will tomorrow.
[For more on the Afghan elections, see RFE/RL and Radio Free Afghanistan's dedicated webpage "Afghanistan Votes 2004-05." --> http://www.azadiradio.org/en/specials/elections/ ]
The UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body says it has completed most preparations for the 9 October presidential election. What remains is to deliver ballots and other election materials from provincial centers to the most remote polling stations. The UN's election security chief, John McComber, says security is also ready. The Afghan national police, army, and international forces are guarding against attacks by the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. They also are keeping an eye on possible intimidation of voters by various militia groups that back different candidates.
Sudanese refugees from Darfur in Chad (file photo) The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says a complete end to violence in Sudan's western region of Darfur is needed to convince hundreds of thousands of displaced people they can eventually return to their homes. Ruud Lubbers said there is enormous mistrust between Darfur's displaced population and Sudanese authorities. Although security has improved in recent months, more than 1.4 million Darfur residents have been displaced and are still afraid to return home amid continuing reports of attacks by Arab militia fighters. A UN Security Council resolution threatens Sudan with possible sanctions if it fails to stop the violence. The UN has called Darfur the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The United States describes it as genocide and accuses Sudan's Islamist government of involvement. But Sudan's foreign minister says the administration in Washington is exaggerating the crisis to gain votes in the upcoming U.S. election.
A debate about whether the Koran allows men to instantly divorce their wives through the "triple talaq" is dividing Muslim communities in India. On one side is the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. It is followed by about 60 percent of India's 120 million Muslims. In India, the Hanafi interpretation of Shari'a law says that a marriage immediately ends if a man tells his wife "talaq" -- or, "I divorce you" -- three times in a row. But other Muslim schools of thought in India argue that the Koran requires a waiting period after each utterance of "talaq." The dispute has been highlighted recently by reports of several Indian Muslims who instantly divorced their wives by mail, over the telephone, and even through mobile-phone text messages.
Yunos Qanuni (file photo) Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai's aides have been trying to convince his main rival in next month's presidential election to drop out of the race. Officials from the political teams of both Karzai and his former education minister, Yunos Qanuni, have said that a deal is close. But Qanuni said he is not ready to quit the election and support Karzai's candidacy. For his part, Karzai told RFE/RL that he would welcome some political opponents into what he called a "national partnership" government. But the front-running incumbent says he will not create a coalition government in exchange for support from any of his 17 challengers.
Asian political leaders have created a special fund to help Afghanistan with priority reconstruction projects. The fund was announced today as heads of state from 10 countries in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) gathered in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. On the sidelines of the summit, the presidents of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan have been talking about a proposed highway project that could become a major trade route for their countries.
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