CIA operative says US, Pakistan agree on Bhutto killer, PPP skeptical, accused denies; UK property fund halts withdrawals amid panic...

18 January :: LA Times quotes unnamed CIA operative as saying US concurs with Pakistan on Bhutto killer; the official is quoted as saying "There are strong indications that Baitullah Mahsud was behind the Bhutto assassination", adding "There is certainly no reason to doubt that Mahsud was behind this", though Mahsud has publicly denied involvement, and political goals of Pakistani Islamists are not clear with regard to opposition groups seeking to depose Musharraf, as was Bhutto's case; Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party has expressed skepticism about the allegation, citing lack of investigation to date, according to LA Times "Party officials say that most, if not all, of the evidence in the case was destroyed by police and firefighters who hosed down the site within hours of the shooting and suicide attack, making it virtually impossible to gather evidence to help determine who else might have been involved"... One of the UK's wealthiest property investment funds was forced to shut its doors yesterday, as panic selloffs and withdrawals threatened its solvency; the Guardian reports "Scottish Equitable said yesterday that 129,000 small investors in its £2bn property fund will not be able to access their money for up to a year, although payments relating to regular income already being paid, retirements and death claims will not be affected"... Allegations emerge in Nevada of voter-intimidation efforts by Culinary Workers Union; no investigation as yet into allegations, which came from Clinton campaign, just hours after a judge ruled the Nevada Democratic party can host caucuses inside casinos and other such venues, where many workers are members of the CWU...