An Afghan man reads a newspaper showing a picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry says that the top U.N. official in the country went beyond his authority by giving instructions on how to rid the government of corruption and warlords. It was strongest indication yet that the Karzai administration will resist prescriptions on how to rein in corruption or regional power brokers who often wield more power than the government. AP Photo logo AP Photo 2 weeks ago

An Afghan man reads a newspaper showing a picture of Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry says that the top U.N. official in the country went beyond his authority by giving instructions on how to rid the government of corruption and warlords. It was strongest indication yet that the Karzai administration will resist prescriptions on how to rein in corruption or regional power brokers who often wield more power than the government.

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  1. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 28: An Afghan policeman stands guard by a Karzai poster after tensions in city remain high after a suicide bomb attack on an international guest house October 28, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban militants killed six U.N. foreign staff in the early morning assault raising serious issues about security before the Presidential run-off election in less tham two weeks time. Rockets were also fired at a the Serena hotel but no injuries were reported.
  2. A poster of legendary assassinated Afghan mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud is displayed next to one portraying President Hamid Karzai at a Kabul cinema while a worker sets up scaffolding on September 28, 2009. Afghans considered Massoud a national hero who waged battle against Soviets and Talibans while Karzai awaits final result of the poll recounts of the August 20 presidential elections the second such election in the war-torn nation's history and one held amid a vicious Taliban insurgency against the Western-backed government which deterred voters.
  3. Daily wages laborers stand near an election poster of Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, center, with first vice president Mohammad Qasim Fahim and second vice president Mohammad Karim Khalili, right, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. The U.N. is warning that violence in Afghanistan could increase after the results from the country's disputed presidential election are finally tallied and disclosed. Preliminary results from the Aug. 20 vote show President Hamid Karzai with 54.6 percent.
  4. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai arrives to speak to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  5. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  6. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  7. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai arrives to speak to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  8. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai points as he speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  9. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  10. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  11. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  12. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  13. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  14. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  15. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  16. Afghan President Hamid Karzai addresses a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on September 17, 2009. Karzai on September 17 flatly denied major fraud in Afghanistan's troubled elections and urged foreign allies not to interfere in probes over irregularities that could slash his clear lead. Afghans went to the polls last month to elect a president for only the second time in history with a Taliban insurgency at its deadliest since the 2001 US-led invasion replaced the Islamist regime with Western-backed rule.

Recent Photos From The Wire

  1. Muslim pilgrims say their evening prayers on the side of the road in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca November 27, 2009. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail, on God's command.
  2. Muslim pilgrims say their evening prayers on the side of the road in Mina, outside the holy city of Mecca November 27, 2009. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail, on God's command.
  3. Shoppers attend Black Friday sales in Glendale, California November 27, 2009. Americans headed to department stores in droves in the dead of night on Friday to kick off the holiday shopping season, though many said they had pared back how much they would spend on family members and on themselves. Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, is often the single busiest shopping day of the crucial holiday season, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the retail industry's annual sales.
  4. Shoppers line up for Black Friday sales at the Disney store in Glendale, California November 27, 2009. Americans headed to department stores in droves in the dead of night on Friday to kick off the holiday shopping season, though many said they had pared back how much they would spend on family members and on themselves. Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, is often the single busiest shopping day of the crucial holiday season, which accounts for nearly one-fifth of the retail industry's annual sales.
  5. Pakistani shopkeeper sells knives, as some sharpen knives, ahead of the Eid-al-Adha celebrations in the old part of Rawalpindi city in Pakistan on Friday, Nov 27, 2009. Eid-al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son.
  6. BERLIN - NOVEMBER 27: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) and his partner Michael Mronz (R) attend the annual press ball 'Bundespresseball' at the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin on November 27, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.
  7. BERLIN - NOVEMBER 27: German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) and his partner Michael Mronz (R) attend the annual press ball 'Bundespresseball' at the Intercontinental Hotel in Berlin on November 27, 2009 in Berlin, Germany.
  8. People wait to get their knives sharpened at a shop, ahead of Eid-al-Adha in old part of Rawalpindi city in Pakistan on Friday, Nov 27, 2009. Eid-al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, is celebrated to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son.
  9. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - NOVEMBER 27: Kevin Pietersen of England is bowled out during the 3rd One Day International between South Africa and England at Newlands Cricket Ground on November 27, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.
  10. MUNICH, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 27: Member of the Boards of Bayern Muenchen (L-R) Bernd Rauch, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness, Franz Beckenbauer, Fritz Scheerer and Karl Hopfner pose prior to the FC Bayern Muenchen general meeting at the Neue Messe Munich on November 27, 2009 in Munich, Germany.
  11. CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - NOVEMBER 27: JP Duminy of South Afica is congratulated after taking the wicket of Kevin Pietersen of England during the 3rd One Day International between South Africa and England at Newlands Cricket Ground on November 27, 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.
  12. MUNICH, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 27: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (R), CEO of Bayern Muenchen talks to the players Mark van Bommel (L), Philipp Lahm (2nd L) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (3rd L) during the FC Bayern Muenchen general meeting at the Neue Messe Munich on November 27, 2009 in Munich, Germany.
  13. South Africa team members react after catching England's Jonathan Trott, unseen, during the One Day International game against South Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009.
  14. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko seen before their news conference at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community's Inter-State Council in Minsk, Friday Nov. 27, 2009. Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbors Kazakhstan and Belarus have agreed to form a customs union in a bid to strengthen their economic ties.
  15. Visitors await the opening ceremony of the world renown Christmas market in Nuremberg, southern Germany, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009.
  16. From left, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev seen during their news conference at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Community's Inter-State Council in Minsk, Friday Nov. 27, 2009. Russia and its ex-Soviet neighbors Kazakhstan and Belarus have agreed to form a customs union in a bid to strengthen their economic ties.