Cops and civilians killed in attacks

Afghanistan: Suspected Taliban militants led a string of attacks on police and civilians across northern and eastern Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least 14 people.

Two gunmen dressed in police uniforms stormed into the Mazar-e-Sharif police headquarters and opened fire, killing two officers.

Fighters also killed three officers at a police checkpoint in eastern Kunar province, while three building workers died in a rocket attack in Laghman province.

Rightwinger Neves backed by Silva

Brazil: Self-styled socialist and environmentalist Marina Silva showed her true neoliberal colours yesterday by backing big-business candidate Aecio Neves in the runoff with President Dilma Rousseff on October 26.

Mr Neves said that Ms Silva’s backing would be key to their effort to beat the Workers Party representative’s bid for a second term.

Ms Silva said that she would support the right-wing candidate and trusted that he would do what he has promised for Brazil.

Opposition to boycott vote

Bahrain: Opposition Shi’ite group Al-Wefaq announced at the weekend that it and and three other groups in the National Democratic Opposition Parties will boycott next month’s elections.

“This election is a government election. We are boycotting because we want our legislative rights that still do not exist,” said Al-Wefaq leader Ali Salman.

Al-Wefaq withdrew its 18 MPs from the 40-seat lower house during the height of state repression in 2011.

Police break up legal injustices meeting

China: Human rights lawyer Sui Muqing reported yesterday that police had broken up a Beijing meeting called to discuss legal injustices.

Mr Sui Muqing said that about 40 lawyers, relatives of wrongfully convicted prisoners and other citizens had gathered in a hotel when police stormed into their conference room.

He added that police had packed everyone onto a bus bound for central Beijing.

Two dozen killed by militia clashes

Libya: Fighting between Islamist militias and rival groups in western Libya has killed at least 23 people, hospital official Emad Khalifa Abdul-Salam said yesterday.

He added that an ongoing battle in the town of Kikla had also left 43 people injured, 10 critically.

The fighting is part of a power struggle between Islamists who seized control of Tripoli airport from anti-Islamist groups, driving them out of the capital.

Minister pleads with vital health workers

Liberia: Deputy Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah pleaded yesterday with nurses and physician assistants to show up to work today amid a dispute over hazard pay.

He said a strike would have “very negative consequences” for the fight against Ebola, which has killed over 2,300.

National Health Workers Association leader George Williams said that members are after £435 a month in hazard pay on top of monthly salaries of £124-186.

Brotherhood man jailed

Egypt: Leading Muslim Brotherhood figure Mohammed el-Beltagy and two other Islamists were sentenced by a Cairo court at the weekend to 15 years in jail for torture.

The three were accused of having tortured a man during the 2011 protests against then president Hosni Mubarak.

They were convicted of holding and beating a man whom they suspected of being an undercover policeman spying on an 18-day sit-in against Mr Mubarak.

Five Islamists killed in mountains

Algeria: Military sources claimed the deaths yesterday of five suspected Islamist militants, bringing the total killed in three days to nine.

The suspects were killed on Saturday in the mountainous Lakhdaria region, near where a French hiker was kidnapped and beheaded last month.

Thousands of soldiers have been combing the mountainous Kabylie area, especially the Djurdjura mountain range where he was taken.