Ahead of visit to Paris, Gaddafi asks hosts to build him a Beduin tent

Ahead of his upcoming visit to Paris next month, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has requested that his French hosts construct a Beduin tent for him. Sources close to Gaddafi explained the strange request by saying that the Libyan leader has a phobia of enclosed spaces. Gaddafi reportedly intends to use the tent to host people who wish to see him, but will sleep in his hotel room. The French government, according to Army Radio, was likely to grant permission, but fear that doing so could serve as a precedent for other future leaders to make similar requests.