Remembering Bhutto one year after her death

Remembering Bhutto one year after her death

GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH, Pakistan — Wailing and beating their chests, tens of thousands of people paid homage to Benazir Bhutto on Saturday on the one-year anniversary of her assassination — an event that dashed U.S. hopes that the moderate Muslim politician would regain power and galvanize the campaign against al-Qaida.

The commemoration came amid heightened tensions with India over the Mumbai terror attacks and a Pakistani troop buildup along their shared border, though Pakistan’s leaders used the occasion to call for peace.

Above, Pakistanis read passages from the Quran during a memorial.

‘Magic Negro’ tiff

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Saturday he was “shocked and appalled” that one of his potential successors had sent committee members a CD this Christmas featuring a 2007 parody song called “Barack the Magic Negro.”

In spite of RNC Chairman Robert M. “Mike” Duncan’s sharply negative reaction, former Tennessee GOP leader Chip Saltsman said that party leaders should stand up to criticism over distributing a CD with the song. He earlier defended the tune as one of several “lighthearted political parodies” that have aired on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show.

Saltsman, who managed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign, is seeking the RNC chairmanship.

Tainted-milk compensation

BEIJING — Chinese dairy companies that sold melamine-tainted milk are ready to pay compensation to the families of the nearly 300,000 children who became ill or died from drinking contaminated infant formula, a state news agency reported Saturday.

Twenty-two dairy producers will make a one-time cash payment to the victims’ families, China’s Dairy Industry Association announced, although it did not disclose an amount, the official Xinhua News agency said.

“The money for compensation is in place now and will soon be handed to the people who have custody of the sickened children through various channels,” the association said. The group did not specify a date.

Rocket attack in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan — A rare rocket attack in the Afghan capital Saturday night demolished two rooms of a mud-brick home and killed three teenage sisters, the family and police said.

The rocket attack on the southern end of Kabul landed on a house adjacent to an Afghan police training center. The attack crushed a mud home and killed three sisters, ages 13, 15 and 16, said Sayed Farah Muz, the girls’ uncle.

“There are 40 countries in Afghanistan, and still we are hit by rockets. What is the benefit?” said Sayed Shah Barat, a cousin of the three girls. “The Iraqi people hit [President George W.] Bush with their shoes, but we should do the same with our leaders.”

Associated Press