KABUL - The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan appealed today to all groups threatening violence in Afghanistan on Election Day to allow their fellow Afghans to choose their future leader.

18 August 2009 - The candidate, clad in a simple salwar kameez, her head mostly hidden under a scarf, except for a tousle of thick black hair that deliberately manages to escape cover, enters a room filled with eager supporters.

17 August 2009 - In a country where regime change has often been violent the appearance of incumbent President Hamid Karzai in a live televised debate must have come as a surprise to many Afghans.