Voting begins in historic Afghan presidential election![]() April 5, 2014 - 11:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Voting began on Saturday, April 5 in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, according to Reuters. Taliban insurgents launched a spate of attacks in the run-up to the vote, which they brand as a U.S.-backed sham, but there was no word of violence as voting got under way at 7 am (0230 GMT) local time. After 12 years in power, the incumbent Hamid Karzai is ineligible to run again due to the constitution, and there are eight candidates contesting the election. The favorites are former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmay Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani. Related links: ![]() ![]() Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. ![]() ![]() Partner news | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |