Rival's exit hands Karzai second term

Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai was effectively handed a second five-year term when his only challenger dropped out of the race and the US said it was prepared to work with the man it had previously criticised to combat corruption and confront the Taliban.

Barack Obama has been waiting for a new government in Kabul to announce whether he would send tens of thousands of new troops to Afghanistan. The war has intensified and October was the deadliest month of the eight-year war for US forces.