Monday, December 31, 2007

(kwa Kinorwejiani, herufi Ø na Å hazipo, herufi mbadala zimetumika)

WATCH OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ON
KIBAKI AS THE WINNER ON YOUTUBE/NTV

Raila also declared 'president'

Raila Odinga

Story by DAVID MUGONYI
Publication Date: 12/31/2007-

ODM leader Raila Odinga Sunday declared that Kenyans had elected him the President of Kenya just moments before the Electoral Commission released the final results..

However, the results announced by the commission’s chairman showed that President Kibaki had emerged the winner.

Mr Odinga had earlier asked the President to concede defeat.

He told an international news conference at ODM’s Pentagon offices: “The people know that they voted to reject the incumbent and put in place a President and a Government they have faith in. That is why they have elected me President.”

However, he appealed for national calm, telling ODM supporters not to cause any chaos or destroy property.

He demanded that all presidential ballots be brought to Nairobi for a public recount under the full glare of the media and observers.

Deeply disturbed

Mr Odinga added: “Kenyans are deeply disturbed and angered by the attempt of this Government to steal this election through a process that was fraudulent at every step of the way.”

He said he was not going to accept a Kibaki win when the results from all parts of Kenya did not give him the mandate.

“I cannot and would not accept a Kibaki win; the results are there, if I had lost I would have accepted, this is fait accompli (over),” Mr Odinga said.

However, he said he was not declaring himself the President.

“I am not trying to do an Abiola in Kenya... I hope some sanity will prevail,” he added amidst a rare laughter in the tense media conference.

He was referring to an incident in which former Nigerian President Moshood Abiola declared himself President.

And he warned: “If they go ahead and declare Kibaki the winner, the consequences are too grave to contemplate ... look at Ivory Coast one of the most successful countries in West Africa ... we want to remain peaceful, prosperous and democratic.”

The Langata MP-elect challenged President Kibaki to be a statesman “the way he has always claimed” by conceding defeat, saying his Government had lost legitimacy and could not govern.

He talked of massive rigging in some regions, saying that even with the rigged results, ODM tallies from all 210 stations showed that he was ahead of President Kibaki by about 200,000 votes.

However, he said, the real result would have him leading by over 500,000 votes.

He said some ECK officials who were dissatisfied with the election had provided them with information that figures in some of President Kibaki’s strongholds were being inflated so that he could emerge the winner.

Mr Odinga argued that if the genuine results in the remaining 19 constituencies were computed President Kibaki would get 268,530 while he got 318,491, leaving him a winner with about 200,000 votes.

“Despite this deeply flawed process, the result of the presidential vote was still in our favour,” Mr Odinga added.

He said the results were being altered at the ECK offices at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

Tight race

Mr Odinga wondered how President Kibaki was going to rule on basis of results from two regions.

The candidate, locked in a tight race with the incumbent, spoke as the nation awaited the outcome of an overnight audit of presidential votes from all the 210 constituencies by the Electoral Commission.

Mr Odinga said the commissioners were under pressure to declare rigged results, but he appealed to them to consult their conscience and not to let Kenyans down.

“It is not true that Mr Kivuitu has no option. He can resign if his conscience tells him he is being forced to declare wrong results,” he said.

Mr Odinga said Kenya was bigger than any single individual and asked for calm and patience nationwide as the electoral process moved on.

He said President Kibaki’s Government had suffered serious defeat in the polls, losing 20 ministers and no longer had the legitimacy to govern.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Ni Kibaki tena - "Kazi Iendelee"!

Kibaki named victor in Kenya vote

Raila Odinga (l) and President Mwai Kibaki (r)

Mr Odinga has accused Mr Kibaki of electoral fraud

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki won Thursday's closely-fought election, the electoral commission has declared.

The announcement came after opposition leader Raila Odinga accused Mr Kibaki of electoral fraud and called for a full re-assessment of the results.

Opposition protesters began riots in the capital Nairobi, just minutes after the announcement.

The count was badly delayed, sparking violence in which at least 10 people are reported to have been killed.

Opposition heckling

Mr Kibaki won 4, 584,721 votes, beating Mr Odinga by more than 230,000 votes, the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) said.

[Mr] Kibaki has flooded this [electoral] commission with his cronies

Raila Odinga, opposition leader

Kibaki: Dream or nightmare?

Odinga: King-maker

Kalonzo Musyoka, another presidential contender, got 879,903 votes.

"The commission therefore declares Honourable Mwai Kibaki as the winner," ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu said.

Mr Kibaki was then immediately sworn in for his second five-year term.

Mr Odinga had led since vote counting began, but saw his advantage evaporate as later votes were added.

The ECK announcement was delayed, following chaotic scenes at the commission's headquarters in Nairobi.

Just minutes after Mr Kivuitu began reading the poll results, an opposition member approached the podium, shouting "Justice!" and "This is not a police state!"

Pandemonium then broke out, as other members of Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement got to their feet and began shouting, the BBC's Adam Mynott reports from inside the ECK headquarters.

Mr Kivuitu had to be led away from the building by police, only to return later and announce Mr Kibaki as the winner of the poll.

Mr Odinga had earlier said that Mr Kibaki "flooded this [electoral] commission with his cronies".

From BBC News

Raila called on President Mwai Kibaki to concede defeat

Kenya's opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, speaking to the ...

Sun Dec 30, 4:17 AM ET

Kenya's opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, speaking to the media in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007. Raila called on President Mwai Kibaki to concede defeat Sunday, accusing him of fraud after a chaotic vote count sparked widespread violence and fears of rigging. 'This government has lost all legitimacy and cannot govern,' Raila Odinga said Sunday, three days after the vote. Odinga clung onto his razor-thin lead by 38,000 votes, but the electoral commission suspended announcing results Saturday night, promising to look into allegations of fraud.

(AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

Kenya's opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, after speaking to ...

Sun Dec 30, 4:18 AM ET

Kenya's opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, after speaking to the media in Nairobi, Kenya, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2007.

(AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

No trace of company that

BoT paid 40bn/-:

Appears to have disappeared

into thin air

THISDAY REPORTER

Dar es Salaam

MYSTERY surrounds the actual physical location of a Dar es Salaam-registered private company at the centre of the latest revelations of massive funds fraud at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT).

The virtually-unknown Kagoda Agriculture Limited, which in late 2005 was paid nearly $30.8m (approx. 40bn/-) by BoT through the use of apparently forged documents, lists Plot Number 87 in the Kipawa industrial area in Temeke District on the outskirts of the city as its official office premises.

But despite a physical visit by THISDAY coupled with a series of inquiries at the Ministry of Land, Housing and Settlement Development, it has proved quite impossible to locate the said plot where the company’s offices are supposed to be.

’’I’m afraid we do not have such a plot listed in our Land Registry Office,’’ a ministry official said when asked to help locate the stated address.

At the same time, it has come to light that although the Kagoda company’s registered address is plot number 87, Kipawa industrial area, there is no evidence that the firm ever carried out any business activities whatsoever, or even that the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) received any tax on the billions of shillings that passed through its account.

Even more mysterious is the actual whereabouts of the company’s listed directors and shareholders, John Kyomuhendo (40 shares) and Francis William (60 shares), who both share the same postal address (PO Box 80154, Dar es Salaam) and are listed as residents of Dar es Salaam.

Sources familiar with the whole, increasingly-messy issue say Kyomuhendo works with a big construction company located in the same Kipawa area, but is known to be using an alias to conceal his surname.

Official government records show that Kyomuhendo and Francis William registered the Kagoda company on September 29, 2005, with certificate of incorporation number 54040, an event witnessed by one Benjamin Mwangonda who was described as an accountant with Khatco Management Limited.

Among other things, the company’s stated objectives include: ’’To carry on the business of agriculture and farming of all types of food, cash and permanent crops, breeders of livestock, dairy farmers. Breeders of chicken, ducks, turkeys, geese, dealers, processors, exporters and importers and vegetable farmers.’’

Kagoda Agriculture Limited is also licensed to ’’distribute meat, eggs, chicks, poultry feeds, poultry medicines, and poultry equipment; export fresh vegetables; conduct florist activities; and engage in the business of building farm houses, cold rooms and roads.’’

It has been revealed that auditors last year discovered a pattern of massive fraud in the payments made by BoT to the company, whereby various facilitation documents appear to have been clearly forged.

The auditors, Deloitte & Touche, also asserted in their report that senior BoT officials had colluded in the matter, recommending that the officials involved be suspended and urgent action including ’’an immediate and thorough investigation’’ be instituted.

But the BoT governor, Dr Daudi Ballali, opted to ignore the recommendations and did nothing. And it was only in September of this year that the government did launch a special audit on the BoT, following pressure from donor countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

At the heart of the special audit conducted by another firm, Massawe Ernst & Young the verdict of which is expected in January - was the balance sheet of the BoT’s external payment arrears account for the year 2005/06.

Meanwhile, BoT insiders are now strongly hinting that the dubious $30.8m payments to the Kagoda company were not an isolated incident, with another $200m (approx. 240bn/-) or so also squandered in the same scam involving a number of other suspected ’shell’ companies.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Tanzanian ambassador attacked

in South Africa.

Ambassador Emmanuel Mwambulukutu.

Johannesburg - South Africa by News24.com

Tanzania's ambassador to South Africa

was beaten unconscious and several of his guests were assaulted and robbed at his farewell dinner in Pretoria on Friday night. About five armed men pushed aside the barbed wire and jumped over the wall of a diplomatic residence in Garsfontein around 22:00, a government official at the function said on Saturday morning.

"There were about 25 of us and we had just had supper. They ordered us to lie down, tied our hands, robbed us of cellphones, money and household goods," said the official, who asked not to be named.

He said Tanzania's High Commissioner Emmanuel Mwambulukutu was beaten unconscious and his wife stabbed in the head. Both were taken to hospital.

Pretoria police spokesperson Captain Paul Ramaloko said Mwambulukutu was in a serious but stable condition. His wife and about six other people sustained minor injuries.

Threatened with rape

The official added: "Quite a few people were assaulted, hit with bottles. They kept threatening my 15-year-old daughter with rape."

According to the official the ambassador had told the thieves: "Gentlemen, God bless you", to which they allegedly replied: "We don't care for God. Let's stab these dogs".

The thieves packed the stolen goods into Mwambulukutu's 4x4 Mercedes and fled. Before doing so they pressed another man against a wall and "beat the hell out of him" when they failed to start his Audi.

He said police took about 25 minutes to arrive after guests called 10111.

"They [the police] kept asking us questions that delayed [them] while these guys were getting away.

"This is really embarrassing for South Africa. Most of the guests are Tanzanians who said they are going to leave this country."

Ramaloko said one man was arrested in Mamelodi West following the attack. He was shot and wounded and taken to a local hospital under heavy police guard. Police found him and the ambassador's Mercedes using the vehicle's satellite tracking device. His accomplices were still at large. A firearm believed to have been used during the robbery was found in the car.

No shots were fired during the robbery.

On July 21 South Africa's ambassador to the United Nations Dumisani Khumalo was robbed at his son's home in Greenside, Johannesburg after he returned from OR Tambo Airport.

Mbegu za papai tiba ya mba....... na Sarah Peter

Pia mapapai yaliyoiva yanatibu mapunye (ringworm), mabichi yanatibu msukumo mkuu wa damu (high blood pressure), mapapai yanatumika kama mkuyati (aphrodisiac), yanatumika kama kituliza maumivu (analgesic), mbegu za mapapai zinapunguza maumivu ya tumbo (stomachache). na http://watanzaniaoslo.blogspot.com.
Kuhusu mapapai (papaya) kutoka Wikipedia.

Mba au mabaka mabaka kwenye ngozi ni miongoni mwa mambo yanayosababisha ngozi kukosa muonekano mzuri na hata kumfanya mhusika mwenye matatizo kujikuta akijikuna kila wakati.

Kitaalamu mba ni aina mojawapo ya magonjwa yanayoambukizwa na fangasi ambao husababisha muwasho.

Wanawake wengi wanakumbana na matatizo haya ya mba, kutokana na kupaka aina ya vipodozi vinavyowaletea athari katika ngozi zao.

Unapokumbana na tatizo la namna hii ni vizuri kujipaka dawa zinazofaa badala ya kutafuta krimu ambazo ni hatari zaidi. Mbegu za papai ni tiba nzuri na ya asili ambayo haiwezi kukuletea madhara zaidi.

Jinsi ya kuondoa mba kwenye ngozi ya uso

Mbegu za papai ni dawa ya asili inayoweza kutibu ngozi yako na kukuondolea tatizo la kuwashwa au mabaka yanayokukabili.

Unachotakiwa kufanya ni kuzipondaponda na kujipaka kwenye eneo lililoathirika na mba. Hii itasaidia kuondoa ugonjwa huo na kuiacha ngozi yako ikiwa safi na yenye afya nzuri.

Unaweza kutumia krimu maalum za kuondoa mba hizo, zinapatikana katika maduka ya dawa, lakini unachopaswa kufanya ni kufuata masharti na kupaka kwa umakini kwenye sehemu ilioathirika.

Waweza pia kutumia sabuni maalum ya maji, shampoo, poda na hata baadhi ya losheni zote hizi zinaweza kuisafisha ngozi yako na kuifanya iondokane na muwasho unaokukera na wakati huo kuiacha ngozi yako ikiwa safi na yenye kuvutia.

Kutoka: http://www.dar411.com/

Norway:

Last explosive celebration

A new law forbidding private fireworks from the end of 2008 will mean one last chance for ordinary Norwegians to indulge their passion for ending the year with a bang.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Nigeria corruption tsar sidelined

Nuhu Ribadu was promoted in April

The head of Nigeria's anti-corruption unit has reportedly been ordered to go on year-long study leave, in an apparent attempt to sideline him.

Nuhu Ribadu, who has spearheaded Nigeria's attempts to combat financial crime, is involved in the prosecution of seven former state governors.

Observers say that if he is removed from his post, it will be a blow to President Umaru Yar'Adua's credibility.

The president came to power in May promising to fight rampant corruption.

Reports say Mr Ribadu was told to tender his resignation in readiness for further studies.

Nigeria's police chief Mike Okiro called a press conference to say there were no ulterior motives behind the move, and that Mr Ribadu had been ordered to attend a one-year policy and strategic studies course in central Nigeria.

The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says that despite the official denials, the notion that Mr Ribadu may be removed from office is highly controversial and invites suspicion that the move is designed to hinder the campaign against corruption.

In the last few months the agency has arrested a number of former state governors, most recently James Ibori from Delta state: a hugely wealthy and powerful politician who was a key figure in President Yar'Adua's election campaign.

Promotion

In April, outgoing President Olusegun Obasanjo promoted Mr Ribadu and gave him a new four-year mandate to co-ordinate anti-corruption work.

His critics, who saw Mr Ribadu as an ally of Mr Obasanjo, said he was being rewarded for silencing the opposition.

Chris Albin-Lackey, researcher on Nigeria at Human Rights Watch, told Reuters that if Mr Ribadu's suspension goes ahead, "the day he leaves office will be the day the credibility of Nigeria's 'war on corruption' is entirely destroyed".

The campaign group Transparency International, describes Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) under Mr Ribadu has convicted over 150 persons involved in economic and financial crimes since its establishment in 2003.

Source: BBC News

Waraka wa uraia wa nchi mbili wakamilika

Na Boniface Meena

WAZIRI wa Mambo ya Ndani, Joseph Mungai amesema waraka wa mapendekezo ya mwananchi kuwa na uraia wa nchi mbili umekamilika na kufikishwa kwenye Baraka Baraza la Mawaziri.

Hata hivyo, waraka huo utapelekwa kwa Serikali ya Mapinduzi Zanzibar (SMZ) ili kupata muafaka wa pande zote mbili za Muungano.

Mugai alisema hayo jana alipokuwa akizungumza na waandishi wa habari kuelezea mafanikio ya wizara hiyo na vitengo vyake kwa miaka miwili ya serikali ya awamu ya nne.

"Suala la uraia wa nchi mbili mchakato wake unaendelea na suala la vitambulisho vya uraia pia mchakato wake unaendelea na kwamba mchakato huo utagharimu kiasi cha dola Marekani milioni 152 (karibu 15.2 bilioni )," alisema Mungai.

Akizungumzia suala la wakimbizi, Mungai alisema idadi ya wakimbizi nchini imepungua kutoka 615,000 mwaka 2005 hadi wakimbizi 432,583 mwezi Novemba, mwaka huu baada ya zoezi la kuwarejesha makwao wakimbizi kuendelea vizuri.

Hata hivyo, alisema utafiti uliofanyika kuangalia ni asilimia ngapi ya wakimbizi hao wangependa kurudi nchini mwao hasa wale wa Burundi, imeonekana kuwa asilimia 21ya wakimbizi wa Burundi wangependa kurudi kwao na asilimia 79 wangependa kubaki nchini na hatimaye kuomba uraia.

Kwa upande wa magereza, alisema uwezo wa kisheria wa kutunza wafungwa umeongezeka kutoka wafungwa 22,6699 hadi 27,653 pia wafungwa na mahabusu wamepungua kutoka 46,416 hadi 43,262, lakini hata hivyo bado kuna tatizo la msongamano wa wafungwa na mahabusu gerezani.

Alisema sababu za msongamano katika magereza ni ongezeko la uhalifu nchini ambalo husababisha ongezeko la idadi ya wafungwa lisilowiana na ongezeko la nafasi za kuwahifadhi pamoja kesi zao kuchelewa kusikilizwa mahakamani.

Kuhusu zimamoto Mungai alisema wizara inajitahidi kuboresha miundombinu ya kikosi hicho ili kiweze kukabilia na na majanga ya moto na mengine.

New charges for South Africa's Zuma

South African prosecutors have brought corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, who last week was elected leader of the governing African National Congress.

Mr Zuma was first tried for corruption in 2005, before charges were dropped. Recently prosecutors have said they were investigating new charges.

Reports say the new charges also include racketeering and tax evasion.

His position as party leader makes him a frontrunner to become South Africa's president after elections in 2009.

BBC News

Umeme bei juu.

na Ratifa Baranyikwa.

MAMLAKA ya Usimamizi na Udhibiti wa Matumizi ya Maji na Nishati (EWURA), imeridhia Shirika la Ugavi wa Umeme (Tanesco) kupandisha gharama za umeme kwa asilimia 21.7 ya bei ya sasa kwa watumiaji wa Tanzania Bara, badala ya asilimia 40 iliyoombwa na shirika hilo.

Kwa upande wa gharama za kuunganisha umeme kwa wateja wapya, EWURA imeridhia ongezeko la kati ya asilimia 66 hadi 215.

Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari jana ofisini kwake, Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa EWURA, Haruna Masebu, alisema kuwa bei hizo za umeme na gharama za maunganisho zitaanza kutumika rasmi Januari 1, 2008.

Masebu alisema kuwa maamuzi hayo yametokana na maoni ya wadau mbalimbali, yaliyotolewa na kufuatia kikao cha bodi ya wakurugenzi wa EWURA, kilichojadili na kufanya uchambuzi kwa kina juu ya ombi la Tanesco na maoni hayo.

Awali, TANESCO iliwasilisha ombi la kutaka kuongeza bei ya umeme kwa wastani wa asilimia 40 na ongezeko la kati ya asilimia 66 hadi 281 kwa gharama za maunganisho kwa kipindi cha miaka miwili ya 2008 na 2009.

Kwa mujibu wa Masebu, Ewura pia imeridhia shirika la mafuta na umeme Zanzibar kupandishiwa gharama za umeme kwa asilimia 168.

Alipoulizwa ni kwa nini Zanzibar imepandishiwa kwa kiasi hicho kikubwa ukilinganisha na Tanzania Bara, Mkurugenzi wa marekebisho ya Uchumi wa EWURA, Felix Ngamlagosi, alisema kuwa gharama za umeme kwa upande wa Zanzibar zimekuwa ndogo kwa muda wote ukilinganisha na upande wa Tanzania Bara ambako zimekuwa zikipanda kila mara.

Masebu alisema kuwa ongezeko hilo lina mantiki na ni halali na kwamba uchambuzi uliofanywa ulizingatia gharama ambazo Tanesco inazitumia katika kuzalisha umeme, gharama za uendeshaji, matengenezo, uwekezaji mdogo na hivyo isingekuwa vema kuikatalia Tanesco kupandisha gharama hizo.

"Ilikuwa ni lazima Tanesco ipandishe gharama, kwani isingefanya hivyo uchumi wake ungeshuka na hivyo kulifanya shirika kuyumba na kushindwa kutekeleza majukumu yake ipasavyo," alisema.

Aidha, alisema kuwa kutokana na ongezekop hilo, mwakani Tanesco inatarajiwa kukusanya sh bilioni 56.4 zaidi ya kiwango inachokusanya hivi sasa na kwamba imekubaliwa fedha hizo zitatumika kwa ajili ya matengenezo ya mfumo wa usambazaji umeme nchini.

"Tafsishi tuliyofanya ilihusisha tathmini ya masuala ya kiuchumi na ya kiufundi pamoja na kufanya mikutano ya tafsishi katika miji mitano, ya Arusha, Mwanza, Dodoma, Mbeya na Dar es Salaam ili kupata maoni kutoka kwa wadau," alisema.

Masebu alisema kuwa nyongeza iliyoidhinishwa itaiwezesha pia TANESCO kulipia gharama za uendeshaji na ukarabati wa miundombinu bila kujumuisha gharama za uchakavu.

Aidha, itaiwezesha TANESCO kupata fedha za kununulia vifaa kwa ajili ya kuwaunganisha wateja wapya.

"Tanesco itafanya utafiti wa kina wa kutambua viwango vya upotevu wa umeme wa kiufundi na kibiashara katika mfumo wake, utafiti huo utalenga kupata mkakati wa kupunguza upotevu wa umeme kutoka viwango vya sasa hadi kufikia viwango vinavyokubalika, taarifa ya utafiti itawasilishwa ndani ya miezi 12 tangu kutolewa kwa agizo hili," alisema.

Aidha, alisema kuwa ndani ya kipindi cha miezi sita, Tanesco itapitia upya uamuzi wake wa kusitisha matumizi ya mitambo yake ya dizeli na wa kutofanya matengenezo muhimu ya mashine zake zilizoko katika maeneo mbalimbali hapa nchini na kutoa taarifa kwa EWURA.

Kwa upande mwingine, alisema kuwa ifikapo Machi 1, 2008, TANESCO itawasilisha kwa EWURA mpango wa ukarabati na uboreshaji wa mitambo kutokana na kiwango cha gharama kilichoidhinishwa.

Pia, ifikapo Machi 31, 2008, TANESCO inatakiwa iwe imewasilisha EWURA uthibitisho kwamba imeanza kufunga makasha ya dira za umeme zenye teknolojia ya kiusalama zinazozuia wizi wa umeme.

Kwa mujibu wa mkurugenzi huyo, TANESCO pia itatakiwa kuwasilisha taarifa mbalimbali EWURA kuhusu wateja ambao wana nia ya kuchangia upanuzi wa miundombinu ya usambazaji umeme, pia kutoa taarifa zake za fedha kila wakati zitakapokuwa zinahitajika EWURA.

Taarifa hizo zitazingatiwa na EWURA katika kufanya tathmini ya uhalali katika maombi yote yajayo ya TANESCO ya kurekebisha bei za huduma.

Alisema kuwa Tanesco tayari walishapatiwa taarifa za viwango vilivyoidhinishwa na iwapo shirika hilo halitaridhishwa na maamuzi hayo, lina haki ya kukata rufaa.

Kutoka Tanzania Daima.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Breaking news!!!

Benazir Bhutto has been killed.

Benazir Bhuto

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a military spokesman has announced on TV.

The last head of state to talk to Benazir Bhutto, was President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. This photo was taken this morning, shortly before she was assassinated. Photo: Getty.

This photo was taken after making her last speech at an election rally. Photo: EPA

The scene of the assassination (Reuters)

Earlier reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.

Ms Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally in the town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack and several more were injured. Ms Bhutto had twice been the country's prime minister.

She had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January.

The BBC's Barbara Plett says the killing is likely to provoke an agonised response from her followers, especially from her loyal following in Sindh Province.

The PPP has the largest support of any party in the country.

Scene of grief

The explosion occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.

The blast caused carnage

Wasif Ali Khan, a member of the PPP who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital, said she died at 1816 (1316 GMT).

Supporters at the hospital began chanting "Dog, Musharraf, dog", referring to President Pervez Musharraf, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

Some broke the glass door at the main entrance to the emergency unit as others wept.

A man with a PPP flag tied around his head could be seen beating his chest, the agency adds.

An interior ministry spokesman, Javed Cheema, was quoted as saying by AFP that she may have been killed by pellets packed into the suicide bomber's vest.

However, AP quoted a PPP security adviser as saying she was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle, before the gunman blew himself up.

Return from exile

The killing was condemned by the US and Russia, and a statement is expected shortly from the UK.

The killing undermined reconciliation in Pakistan, the US state department said.

Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.

Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.

Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf had broken down.

On the day of her return she led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.

Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.

VIDEO AND AUDIO NEWS

Benazir Bhutto's death is confirmed