An Afghanistan cop opens fire on journalists with deadly results – US Feds bust-up an alleged right wing terrorism plot – Kurt left us 20 years ago today – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs. 

An Afghan police commander shot and killed one award-winning Associated Press photojournalist and wounded another while muttering “Allahu Akbar” before turning himself over to other police.  48-year old Anja Niedringhaus from Germany was killed.  She was covering the lead-up to elections this weekend along with her colleague, 60-year old Afghan Bureau Chief Kathy Gannon, who is reportedly in stable condition.  Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry is investigating if the police commander mistook the blond, western females for militants.

The Taliban is vowing to disrupt this weekend’s Afghanistan elections.  But ballots are being taken out to as many voters as possible, by whatever means are available – that means by donkey if necessary.  This election is the first peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history. 

Authorities at Britain’s Heathrow Airport have a Chinese man in custody that the United States alleges conspired to sell devices to Iran that could be used for enriching uranium.  The indictment says Sihai Cheng funneled the US-made parts through his Shanghai-based business, and sold them to a front company that was operated by the Iranians.  Iran claims its nuclear program is not meant for weapons, but only for power generation and medical research.

Mali is reporting three suspected cases of Ebola disease near its southern border with Guinea, where at least 86 people have died.  But the regional toll is more than 90 lives lost, because the Guinea outbreak has already spread to Liberia and is believed to have spread to Sierra Leone.  The three patients in Mali have been quarantined outside Bamako, a city of almost two million people, and medical samples have been sent to the United States Centers for Disease Control for analysis.

A labor demonstration against austerity turned into a pitch battle in Brussels.  Thousands took part peacefully, until at some point some started throwing oranges at cops, which begat cobblestones, which were met with water cannons and tear gas.  The organizers are seeking a better deal for Europe’s working men and women, who are losing ground because of austerity cuts.

Former residents of a favela in Sao Paulo, Brazil say the A$165 compensation is not enough to salvage their lives after a fire swept through the shantytown of closely packed wooden shacks earlier this week.  More than 300 homes were wiped out in a matter of a couple of hours leaving more than 1,200 people homeless.  Amazingly, only two people wre seriously hurt.  Brazil has built a lot of high rises for its ample low-income population, but 600,000 more units are needed in Sao Paulo alone.

Brazilian police in the northeastern city of Salvador say they rescued eleven crewmembers from “slave-like conditions” on an Italian cruise ship.  The workers say they were forced to work up to 16 hours a day, and some were subjected to sex harassment.  The Italian cruise operator MSC Crociere denies the allegations.

US Federal Agents near San Diego arrested a 73-year old woman in connection with a pair of sophisticated smuggling tunnels running into her southern California home from Tijuana, Mexico.  Feds say the tunnels, 550 and 640 meters, were used to sneak drugs into the US.  The longer tunnel has its own rail system to ease cargo transfer, and ventilation.

FBI agents in Texas arrested a rightwing extremist who allegedly was plotting to use C-4 explosives and weapons to kill police officers, rob banks and armored cars, and blow up government buildings and mosques.  38-year old Robert James Talbot Jr. of Katy, Texas advertised his ultra-conservative “American Insurgent Movement” on Facebook, his page since removed, looking for fellow loons to stop the US Government “with action by bloodshed”.  The US corporate media, which freaks out every time a Muslim is arrested for a traffic infraction, didn’t mention this that much.  Nary a peep, outside of some local news.  However, the US corporate media DID report it in detail when conservatives were outraged, outraged that the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning on the rise of right-wing extremists. 

After more than three months in a coma, Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher is reportedly showing “moments of consciousness and awakening”.  Schumacher remains in intensive care after suffering brain injuries in a skiing accident on 29 December in the French Alps.  Schumacher won a record 91 races and seven driver’s championships in his 19-year racing career.

A Pakistani cop has been suspended after arresting a 9-month old baby for attempted murder.  Little Muhammad Musa happened to be there when his dad got into a row with the local utility company in Lahore, and some rocks were thrown.  The kid was arrested, booked, and fingerprinted.

On this day 20 years ago, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain took his own life in his Seattle home.  On 10 April, Nirvana will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by former REM singer Michael Stipe at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.  Artists are eligible 25 years after their first record is released.

Ewe Gotta be Kidding!  Dad’s a goat and Mum’s a sheep.