Afghan voters defy Taliban threats

Afghan voters turned out in large numbers Saturday, braving Taliban threats, to choose a successor to President Hamid Karzai in the country's first democratic transfer of power as US-led forces wind down their 13-year war. Long queues formed outside polling stations in cities across the country, despite cold, wet weather, as voters cast their ballots at around 6,000 centres under tight security. The Taliban have rejected the election as a foreign plot and urged their fighters to target polling staff, voters and security forces, but there were no major attacks reported in the early hours of voting. The head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani said turnout was better than expected, without giving figures, but lower in rural districts than cities, according to AFP.