Afghans go to the polls

(BBC): Millions of Afghans have begun voting in the country’s second presidential election since the fall of the Taliban. Militants have threatened to disrupt the polls, in which President Hamid Karzai is running for a second term. Violence has escalated in recent days and there are fears some Afghans will be afraid to vote. Some 300,000 Afghan and international troops have been deployed to protect voters, but early on rocket attacks were reported in a number of cities. The rocket attacks happened in Helmand, Kandahar and Ghazni provinces, BBC reporters say, and a small blast occurred in Kabul. Polling stations opened at 0700 (0230 GMT) and will close at 1600.

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