ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Benazir Bhutto's husband, rejecting the Pakistani government's claim the former prime minister died of a fractured skull, insisted she was shot.

"I can say confidently that she was shot," Asia Ali Zardari said in a CNN report.

Zardari called the official explanation on Bhutto's death, who was assassinated Thursday at a political rally, "a useless excuse." He said it was meant to draw attention from the main subject of the person responsible for her death.

The Pakistani government had first said she died from shrapnel wounds but later said X-rays showed she died after her head hit a metal lever on the sunroof of her car after the explosion.

Zardari, who becomes co-chairman of Bhutto's party while his son becomes its leader, said his wife's assassination threatens Pakistan's disintegration, the CNN report said.

Separately, Nawaz Sharif, another former premier and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, was quoted as saying he believed Pakastani President Pervez Musharraf planned to delay the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections because Musharraf's party won't win the needed seats to stay in power.

The country's election commission was to decide Tuesday whether to have the elections as scheduled.

Sharif's own party decided to boycott the polls but has changed its position because of appeals from Bhutto's party not to do so.

U.S. military death toll in Iraq declining

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. military deaths in Iraq declined for the seventh consecutive month in December, USA Today reported Monday.

While 2007 has been the deadliest since the invasion in March 2003 with nearly 900 U.S. troops killed, the pace has slowed month by month since a peak in May, Pentagon statistics showed.

As of Sunday, 14 U.S. troops were killed in combat this month and six died in non-combat-related incidents, the report said.

U.S. Army Col. Steven Boylan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led forces in Iraq, said attacks and deaths were down 60 percent overall in the country since June but that didn't allow for complacency.

"We're not even close to declaring any kind of victories," he said. "We know, based on the enemy that we are facing, they can and do conduct what people call 'spectacular attacks,' which can inflict significant casualties."

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said troop numbers will be reduced by 30,000 to 130,000 by the middle of 2008 and said it was possible even more would be sent home if violence levels continue decreasing, the newspaper said.

Bloomberg presidential run speculated

NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appears to be laying the groundwork for an independent presidential bid.

"I would be among those who would urge Mr. Bloomberg to very seriously consider running for president as an independent," former U.S. Sen. David Boren, D-Okla., told The New York Times. (NYSE:NYT)

Though insiders told the Times a final decision on a Bloomberg candidacy isn't likely until February, staff members were working to create campaign infrastructure, the Times said. Third-party candidates will officially launch campaigns March 5, the date they may begin circulating nominating petitions in Texas, the newspaper said.

Insiders said Bloomberg would promote himself as a pragmatic, progressive centrist, the Times said.

Al-aqsa allegdly wants to 'eliminate' PM

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A leaflet allegedly from the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades called for the assassination of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad, a report said Monday.

"The command of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip calls on all its elements and striking forces in the West Bank to immediately eliminate the so-called Salaam Fayad," the leaflet said.

The leaflet marks the first time the armed wing of the Fatah party called for the assassination of Fayad following several leaflets demanding his resignation, the Jerusalem Post said.

Some Fatah officials in the West Bank distanced themselves form the leaflet, calling it a forgery, and accused Hamas of involvement in the threat

"We call on all our members and the policemen in the West Bank not to obey orders from the Fayad government, because it's serving an American agenda and helping Israel eliminate the Aksa Martyrs Brigades," the leaflet said.

Fatah supporters accuse Fayad of trying to wrest the authority's presidency from Mahmoud Abbas and denying the group funding in an effort to secure his power.

Champagne prices to bubble up in '08

SCARSDALE, N.Y., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- People wanting to taste the good life, such as sipping pricey Champagne, might to do so now as U.S. analysts say luxury items will cost more in 2008.

Observers said they expect prices for luxury goods imported from Europe to rise next year, USA Today reported Monday. That $100 bottle of sparkling wine from the Champagne region in France, for example, could cost between 5 percent and 30 percent more in 2008.

"This is the last call. I don't think we'll see Champagne at these prices for a long time to come, if ever," Jeff Zacharia, president of national retailer Zachy's Wine and Liquor in Scarsdale, N.Y., told USA Today.

One reason is the U.S. dollar's decline against the euro. Also, demand is high worldwide and the Champagne region in France is maxed out production-wise.

U.S. retailers resisted price increases in 2007, USA Today reported, but absorbing losses are likely to end early next year.

"January, February and March are often the times when (holiday) discounts come off. It is also the time when Champagne houses set prices for the coming year," Sam Heitner, director of the Office of Champagne U.S.A., the industry's promotional arm, said in the USA Today article.