President Hamid Karzai has taken key steps to reform Afghanistan's electoral system, naming a respected former judge to head an organising body and ending his bid to exclude international representatives from a fraud-monitoring group.

A 23-YEAR-OLD woman, who is the first Afghan in three decades to take part in a beauty pageant, could face prosecution if she returns to her native country, a senior justice official said.

Afghanistan’s only pub, the new Irish Club, has been a runaway success with many foreigners desperate for a drink and a little bit of nightlife.