Jordan King willing to send troops to Iraq
AMMAN, Jordan, July 1 (UPI) -- Jordan's King Abdullah said Thursday he is willing to send troops to Iraq if that country's new government asks for them.
"If the Iraqis ask us for help directly, it will be very difficult for us to say no," he told the BBC.
"Again, I would feel that we are not the right people. But at the end of the day, if there is something that we can provide, a service to the future of Iraqis then we will definitely study that proposal."
If the troops go to Iraq, Jordan would become the first Arab country to do so.
Praising the new Iraqi leaders as "good, tough, courageous people," the monarch urged them to call on the Jordanian people for support.
"The challenges... that face them on security are going to be their major problem and they are going to need everybody's help," he said.
"My message to the president and prime minister is 'tell us what you want, tell us how we can help and we have 110 percent support for this," he said.
Saudi Arabia:Two more militants killed
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, July 1 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia police said Thursday two more militants were shot and killed in Riyadh a day after they eliminated a top al-Qaida suspect.
One of the men killed Thursday was described as a top wanted man but police gave no other details. The other militant was not identified, the BBC reported.
The previous day, police said they killed Abdullah al-Rashud, described by the Saudis as "one of the most dangerous suspects in the kingdom".
The Saudi security forces have been battling a wave of attacks by militants inspired by the al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, which have caused 80 deaths.
Saudi King Fahd last week declared a conditional amnesty for militants who surrendered within one month.
Under the amnesty, no charges will be brought by the state against those who surrender, although relatives of the victims of attacks in Saudi Arabia can still demand punishment.
Sources: Indian leads for Iraq U.N. rep.
UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (UPI) -- Salman Haidar of India is a leading candidate to be U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special representative to Iraq, UPI has learned.
A U.N. spokesman said Thursday a decision had not been reached on the post. Annan is traveling in Africa but was reported to have meet with Haidar in Doha Tuesday.
U.N. officials confirmed Haidar was at U.N. World headquarters in New York Wednesday.
Haidar leads the list to replace Sergio Vieira de Mello, diplomatic sources told UPI. Vieira de Mello was killed along with 21 others last August in the terrorist truck bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad.
A Muslim, Haidar served as India's foreign secretary, equivalent to a deputy foreign minister, from 1995 to 1997. He had a brief turn as India's high commissioner to Britain before retiring later the same year, wrapping up a 37-year career in the diplomatic service.
Sources at headquarters said Haidar and Thailand's Surin Pitsuwan, a former foreign minister and also a Muslim, were on Annan's short list. Pitsuwan is in his mid-50s.
4th of July worst day for traffic deaths
ARLINGTON, Va., July 1 (UPI) -- More than 300 are likely to die in traffic accidents over the Fourth of July weekend with July 4 threatening to be the deadliest day, a study said.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a Virginia-based group best known for vehicle crash tests, looked at federal statistics on fatal motor vehicle accidents over 17 years. The analysis showed an average of 161 people die in road crashes nationwide on Independence Day, about 40 percent more than occur on an average day.
July 3rd was the second worst day for motor vehicle fatalities between 1986 and 2002.
Six of the 10 days with the most fatalities were holidays or around holidays -- including December 23, January 1, and September 2.
"It is documented that at least 40 percent of all the fatalities on the Fourth of July are related to high blood alcohol concentrations," said Joe Thomas, vice president for GEICO Insurance in Virginia Beach, Va.
Three-quarters of crash fatalities were vehicle occupants, 13 percent pedestrians and 7 percent motorcyclists, the study said.
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