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UPI Hears:

By JOHN DALY, International Correspondent

Brits say no to tight security for Bush

The British, whose police are usually unarmed, are saying no to the U.S. Secret Service request for a London lockdown and hunkerdown for President Bush's visit.

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If the Secret Service had their way, London would resemble Baghdad in its security preparations for Bush's state visit.

Among Secret Service demands rejected by the British government are closure of the subway, patrolling of London skies by U.S. Air Force fighters and Black Hawk helicopters and the deployment of battlefield weaponry to use against rioters.

British Home Secretary David Blunkett has denied diplomatic immunity to armed Secret Service agents and snipers in Bush's entourage, noting that in the case of the accidental shooting of a protester, the American gunman will be tried in a British court.

Londoners are already grumbling about both the size and cost of the 900-person American entourage. The most conservative estimates suggest that the three-day state visit will cost almost 10 million pounds, or $17 million.

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London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, declared that local taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for the massive police operation. Business groups fear that excessive security could empty Central London at huge economic cost.


Saudis:talk or toughness toward terror?

Saudi crown Prince Abdullah is keeping the world guessing about whether he'll meet with clerics in an effort to open a dialogue with terrorists.

The Saudi Press Agency quotes official sources as denying any such meeting will take place. The SPA said, "An official source has described such reports as totally baseless."

Nonetheless, Muslim theologian Safar al-Hawali told Al-Hayat newspaper, "A meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah and a group of more than 40 Saudi scholars is scheduled over ... three days in Mecca to consider mediation."

Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz is more blunt, "We can talk to them only with the gun and the sword."


A nominee for the Darwin award

An Iraqi man files an injury claim against U.S. Marines and is busted by the Army.

The man, certainly no Einstein, presented himself to the 1st Armored Division to file a financial claim for injuries inflicted by coalition forces, claiming that Marines, withdrawn in September, had wounded him.

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Except for combat, the military is allowed to make discretionary payments for damages, injuries and deaths caused by coalition actions.

The man had not only been wounded by Marines but questioned by them as well and ultimately released. But not before they had entered his name into a massive database of "bad guys."

Using the database the 1st Armored determined he was a Fedayeen fighter and arrested him.

"The gall of that guy to attempt to collect payments, thinking since the Marines were gone we wouldn't know who he was," a coalition source said.


Swedes take advantage of EU regulations

Swedes raveling by ferry from Finland are loading up with tax-free beer, thanks to European Union regulations.

According to those regulations, passengers on ferries to Sweden from Finland pass the autonomous Aland Islands and thus are allowed to import two separate rations of alcoholic drinks for "personal use" -- an EU allowance and a tax-free ration.

That amounts to 16.9 gallons of tax-free beer purchased on board the ferries, as well as an additional 29 gallons bought on shore in an EU country.

The Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs estimates that about 10 percent of adult men are heavy drinkers, and other Swedish reports say that about 20 percent of all men experience alcohol-related problems during their lifetime.

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Swedish health workers are already dreading the social consequences. Research carried out by Swedish doctors indicates that 44 percent of deaths caused by accidents or other events are linked to drinking.


Bosnians joining the fight in Iraq?

The United States has been having trouble persuading Muslim countries to sent troops to Iraq, except for two -- Azerbaijan and maybe Bosnia.

So far Azerbaijan has officially contributed 150 peacekeepers but the Sarajevo journal "Walter" is now reporting that 30 Bosnian soldiers have been secretly deployed to serve under Polish command in the southern central zone in Iraq.

The Federation Minister of Defense, Miroslav Nikolic, would not comment on the report. However, Sulejman Tihic, one of Bosnia-Herzegovina's three presidents, publicly read a letter sent on Nov. 7 in which the Bosnian presidency invited President Bush, to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The letter said: "We definitely don't have significant capacities regarding personnel and equipment, but we want to take responsibility, just like other countries did when they sent their troops to establish peace in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We want to start with these activities and take our international role in this sense."


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