Palestinians to seek $187 million at Berlin security conference

European advisers to the Palestinian police said Thursday that the Palestinian Authority will ask international donors for $187 million to upgrade its police force and creaky courts system at a conference to be held next week in Germany. The head of the European Union police mission to the Palestinians, Britain's Colin Smith, said that the bulk of the funding was expected to come from the $7.4 billion promised at a donors' conference in Paris last year. Smith said fresh pledges would be welcome. He spoke at a news conference in Ramallah.