Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated at a political rally, along with at least 15 others. I have nothing interesting or original to say on the topic, so I won't strain for something. However, I'm surprised at how harsh BBC World News has been. For now, BBC America has suspended regular programming for the news broadcast, and the interviewee they just had on isn't waiting for the body to get cold.
If you're looking for some background on Pakistan, you can't do better than our October article, and the follow-up web-only interview. The Economist also has a short backgrounder with links to articles.
I have no views on Ms Bhutto but Jemima Khan has.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/10/21/do2102.xml
I remember what a big deal it was when Benazir Bhutto was first elected Prime Minister. Pakistan had long been a military dictatorship (under Zia ul-Haq); Bhutto's election, coming as it did in the same era as Glasnost and Perestroika and the burgeoning emancipation of Eastern Europe from Russian domination, was a big contributor to the feeling of optimism I had about the future in those days. Freedom truly did seem to be on the march in those days, and Benazir Bhutto was one of the symbols of that progress.
Not having watched BBC's coverage, I was wondering: In what way was the BBC "Harsh"?