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[ad_1] Image caption Thirty-two-year old Salem Mohammad Achakzai was campaigning on a platform for "positive change" A young Afghan parliamentary candidate was among eight people killed in a suicide attack in the southern province of Helmand, officials say. The bomber blew himself up inside Salem Mohammad Achakzai's office in Lashkar Gah city. Eleven others were injured. It was the second suicide blast targeting a parliamentary candidate during the campaign for the 20 October election. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group have urged a boycott of the vote. No group has, however, said it carried out the latest bombing, which President Ashraf Ghani has blamed on "terrorists", news agency AFP reports. Helmand has long been a stronghold for the Taliban, who were removed from power in a US-led invasion in 2001. Omar Zwak, the Helmand ...

[ad_1] Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Jair Bolsonaro has divided Brazilians Few Brazilians feel indifferent towards Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right candidate who has made it into the run-off of the presidential election. Ever since he announced he was running for president, there have been rallies for and against the controversial former army captain. These divisions look set to deepen now that he will face his Workers' Party rival, Fernando Haddad, in the second round on 28 October. Jair Bolsonaro likes to court controversy. The 63-year-old has made provocative statements on issues ranging from abortion, race, migration and homosexuality to gun laws. He has portrayed himself as the defender of a Brazil of decades past, suggesting that th...

[ad_1] Image copyright Reuters Image caption A Bolsonaro supporter in Brasilia Should Brazil stick to democracy, or not? Unlikely as it might seem to outsiders, this has been a key debating point as Latin America's largest country edges towards its election. With just two days to go, a new survey by Datafolha suggests 69% of Brazilians believe democracy is the best way forward. However, some are concerned that leading candidate Jair Bolsonaro - a far-right former army captain - will threaten this path. He has talked positively of the military junta which ruled the country from 1964 to 1985, and promised to fill his cabinet with generals. 'Why not?': Transgender candidate busts stereotypes in Brazil Country profile "I'm in favour of a dictatorship!" he said boldly in a 1993 speech, Reuters n...

[ad_1] Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Daniel Urresti was a government minister and presidential candidate A leading mayoral candidate in the Peruvian capital Lima has been cleared of murdering a journalist. Daniel Urresti, a former minister and army general, was accused of ordering the death in 1988 of Hugo Bustios, who had been investigating rights abuses. Prosecutors had called for a 25-year sentence. However, Mr Urresti always denied the charges, saying they were politically motivated. The acquittal comes just ahead of Sunday's municipal elections. Peru ballet dancer who hid rebel is freed Two former soldiers were convicted of his murder. One of them accused Mr Urresti - who was then a military intelligence chief - of involvement. Bustios was a correspondent for the national magazine Caretas in ...

[ad_1] Image copyright AFP Image caption Tifanny Abreu is the first transgender woman to play in Brazil's premier female volleyball league At a women's volleyball game on a Monday night in São Paulo, the stands are packed and those in attendance are decidedly rooting for the away team. A large portion of the audience has come to see one of the away team's players in particular, Tifanny Abreu, the first transgender woman to play in Brazil's premier female volleyball league. She may also become Brazil's first transgender lawmaker in its national Congress. Under the campaign slogan "Why not?", she is running for the lower house in the general election on 7 October, defying those who think that a transgender woman cannot make it into the highest legislative body. "Tifanny you're my...