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From The Associated Press

Pakistan rejects foreign assistance

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Pakistan rejected foreign help Saturday in investigating the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, despite controversy over the circumstances of her death and three days of paralyzing turmoil.

The Islamic militant group blamed by officials for the attack that killed Bhutto denied any links to the killing on Saturday, and Bhutto’s aides accused the government of a cover-up.

President Pervez Musharraf ordered his security chiefs to quell rioting by Bhutto’s grieving followers that has killed at least 44 people over three days and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

“Criminals should stop their despicable activities, otherwise they will have to face serious consequences,” Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party called a meeting Sunday expected to choose a new leader, decide whether to participate in Jan. 8 parliamentary elections and hear her last will and testament.

If the party pulls out, it would destroy the credibility of the poll, already being boycotted by rival opposition leader Nawaz Sharif. The U.S. government has pressured Musharraf, who seized power in a coup eight years ago, to push ahead with the election to promote stability in this nuclear armed nation, a key ally against Islamic extremism.

Questions about Bhutto’s assassination have intensified since she died Thursday evening when a suicide attacker shot at her and then blew himself up as she waved to supporters from the sunroof of her armored vehicle outside a campaign rally.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband offered his country’s assistance. “Obviously it’s very important that a full investigation does take place, and has the confidence of all concerned,” he said.

The government blamed the attack on Baitullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, a newly formed coalition of Islamic militants along the Afghan border believed to be linked to al-Qaida and committed to waging holy war against the government.

But a spokesman for Mehsud, Maulana Mohammed Umer, dismissed the allegations as “government propaganda.”

Authorities initially said Bhutto died from bullet wounds. A surgeon who treated her later said the impact from shrapnel on her skull killed her.

But Cheema said Friday that Bhutto was killed when the shockwaves from the bomb smashed her head into the sunroof as she tried to duck back inside the vehicle.

Bhutto’s spokeswoman Sherry Rehman, who was in the vehicle that rushed her boss to the hospital, disputed that.

“She was bleeding profusely, as she had received a bullet wound in her neck. My car was full of blood. Three doctors at the hospital told us that she had received bullet wounds. I was among the people who gave her a final bath. We saw a bullet wound in the back of her neck,” she said. “What the government is saying is actually dangerous and nonsensical. They are pouring salt on our wounds. There are no findings, they are just lying.”

Cheema stood by the government’s version of events, and said Bhutto’s party was free to exhume her body for an autopsy.

Bush signs extension of children’s health program

CRAWFORD, Texas—President Bush on Saturday signed legislation that extends a popular children’s health insurance program after twice beating back attempts to expand it.

Politically, the move was a victory for Bush, although Democrats say it will come back to hurt Republicans at the polls. Two times, Bush vetoed bills that would have broadened coverage to more children.

The extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is expected to provide states with enough money to cover those enrolled through March 2009. Bush and some Republican lawmakers say the program will still serve those that it should: children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance.

“We’re pleased that the program will be extended and that states can be certain of their funding,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

China says Hong Kong to wait until 2017

HONG KONG—Hong Kong must wait another 10 years to directly elect its own leader, China said Saturday, drawing protests from hundreds in the former British colony who said they were being cheated of the right to vote.

Protesters marched, lit candles and raised banners, saying the government in Beijing ignored the wishes of Hong Kong’s 7 million people. Proponents of democracy, who say the bustling financial hub is mature enough to choose its own government, had tried to have the first direct elections held in 2007, then in 2012.

“We are extremely disappointed, you could say we are furious, about this decision in ruling out 2012,” Democrat Party chairman Albert Ho told the government-run RTHK radio station. “The wishes of the Hong Kong people have been totally ignored.”

“A timetable for obtaining universal suffrage has been set,” Hong Kong’s leader, Donald Tsang, said in announcing Beijing’s decision on Saturday. “Hong Kong is entering a most important chapter of its constitutional history.”

Setting a timetable for universal suffrage showed Beijing trusts Hong Kong’s people and will allow the wealthy city to focus on developing its economy, according to Qiao Xiaoyang, a senior member of China’s parliament who flew to Hong Kong to explain the decision.

Wait for election results sparks violence in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya?—Thousands of Kenyans enraged over delays in announcing the country’s next president burned down homes and attacked political rivals with sticks and machetes on Saturday, tainting a vote that initially was seen as a beacon of hope for democracy in Africa.

Three people were shot dead during protests in Migori, 360 miles west of Nairobi, said area police chief Grace Kaindi. In the capital Nairobi, hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Raila Odinga marching on the electoral commission were beaten back by police using tear gas.

Thursday’s vote pitted incumbent President Mwai Kibaki against Odinga, a flamboyant millionaire who cast himself as a champion of the poor. It was the country’s most closely fought election since independence from Britain in 1963. On Saturday, both parties said they had won but the electoral commission said counting was not finished yet.

With votes in 180 of 210 constituencies counted, Odinga clung to his razor-thin lead by 38,000 votes. Despite pleas from both parties to release final results quickly, electoral commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu suspended announcing tallies for the night, promising to look into allegations of rigging from both sides.