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Protests greet Rice in Britain

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: What was billed as a leisure trip aimed at "bonding'' with ordinary Britons turned into a bit of an exercise in dodging anti-war protests and boycotts for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she started a two-day visit to north-west of England on Friday as the guest of Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

Ms. Rice, who flew into Liverpool on Tuesday night to a frosty reception and shouts of "go home,'' was dogged by more protests on Friday.

A planned visit to a mosque in the predominantly Muslim town of Blackburn, Mr. Straw's parliamentary constituency, was cancelled after threats from a local Muslim group and members of Stop the War Coalition.

The management of Masjide al-Hidaya mosque withdrew its invitation to Ms. Rice saying it would have "compromised'' her safety. "What these people had threatened to do was invade the mosque during dawn prayers,'' a spokesman for the mosque said. Mr. Straw said he was "disappointed'' that his guest would not be able to visit the mosque which had been stated as a highlight of Ms. Rice's tour. She had more taste of the anti-war sentiment among Blackburn's Asian community when she visited a local school.

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