World in brief

U.S. is discussing Liberian intervention

WASHINGTON - Facing international pressure to intervene militarily in Liberia, the Bush administration said Tuesday it was "actively discussing" a U.S. role there and did not rule out sending American troops to the war-torn West African nation.

Administration officials have been sending ever-stronger signals in recent days that Washington is edging away from its reluctance to lend U.S. troops for international peacekeeping missions.

ASYLUM REJECTED: Nigeria offered safe haven to Charles Taylor but the embattled Liberian president turned it down, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, quoting unnamed senior U.N. diplomats.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Taylor rejected the offer for several reasons, including uncertainty over whether the offer would shield him from a U.N. indictment he is facing on war crimes charges.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi police have arrested 124 people during the kingdom's recent crackdown on terrorism, and some of the suspects are linked to Osama bin Laden's terror network, the government said Tuesday.

Saudi authorities launched an extensive manhunt after the May 12 Riyadh bombings that killed 34 people, and a June 14 raid on a terror cell that was allegedly planning attacks in Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

BRUSSELS - European Union officials urged lawmakers Tuesday to approve regulations on genetically modified foods that could end an EU ban on new biotech products, but keep labels that the United States says could make the foods impossible to sell.

The European Parliament is due to vote today on laws to allow biotech imports only if genetically engineered products are clearly identified as such for consumers.

The new rules are designed to replace the EU's seven-year freeze on the introduction of new biotech foods, which has been much criticized by the United States.

HONG KONG - A new law targeting crimes against the state drew hundreds of thousands of people into the streets of Hong Kong on Tuesday in a protest that overshadowed the sixth anniversary of the handover of the territory from Britain to China.

The protesters marched through the city peacefully to show opposition to antisubversion legislation, which many fear will be used to suppress free expression and other liberties long available in Hong Kong but nonexistent in China. Police said 350,000 people were on the streets at its height.

N. KOREA WARNING: As it often has, North Korea threatened on Tuesday to abandon the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, and warned that it will retaliate for any economic blockade.

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