World briefs 12A

Gas explosion in The Hague wounds 16

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- A powerful explosion apparently caused by a gas leak ripped through a crowded shopping district in The Hague on Saturday, wounding 16 people, including a boy who was buried under rubble for nearly five hours.

The explosion occurred about 10 a.m. in the basement of a snack bar. It damaged two apartments in one building and a jeweler and a clothing store in two adjacent buildings.

Ambulances shuttled victims to municipal hospitals, and some of the wounded were treated at a makeshift first aid center at a nearby library.

A helicopter evacuated the 10-year-old boy who was found in the rubble by a search dog, to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition, officials said.

Seven other victims were hospitalized in critical condition, many with burns.

The blast was probably caused by a gas leak, said Wim Deetman, the mayor of The Hague.

Peace force discussed for warring Liberia

MONROVIA, Liberia -- West Africa promised a peace force of at least 5,000 troops for Liberia if warring sides halt fighting, and France suggested Saturday it was open to contributing troops -- stepping in where the United States, Liberia's colonial-era founder, has so far declined to tread.

After a four-day battle between government and rebel forces for the Liberian capital, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Security Council on Saturday to authorize sending a multinational force to enforce a cease-fire that fell apart soon after it was signed last week.

He called for the deployment to Liberia of a force "to prevent a major humanitarian tragedy and to stabilize the situation in that country."

Liberia's capital counted its dead from this week's siege, the rebels' fiercest assault yet on Monrovia, a city of 1 million crowded with hundreds of thousands of refugees. Rebels pulled out of the city Friday after a four-day siege by artillery and rockets, and after fighting that left an estimated 500 civilians dead.

Beijing passes law protecting Great Wall

BEIJING -- Beijing has restricted development close to the Great Wall of China to protect it from commercial encroachment, and made it a crime to damage its structure, local media reported.

No new development will be permitted within 1,650 feet of the wall, while commercial activities within two miles of it must undergo a special approval process, the reports said, quoting a new law passed Thursday.

The law outlaws carving, painting, or plundering of stones or bricks from the wall and bans developers from setting up shops and stalls on it, the Beijing Times reported in its Friday edition.

It also restricts hiking and climbing along its unrestored sections and requires authorization for television and movie productions, the paper reported.

Washington to repatriate wounded Syrian soldiers

DAMASCUS, Syria -- The United States is working out details to repatriate five Syrian border guards wounded by American forces during a fierce attack on the Syrian-Iraqi frontier this month, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Saturday.

The June 18 fighting at a border outpost south of the town of Abu Kamal had threatened to sour already strained Syrian-U.S. relations. But both countries have tried to play down the incident.

The spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the State Department and Pentagon were working out the timing and logistics for returning the Syrian guards.

In the attack, U.S. warplanes and commandos struck a convoy of vehicles suspected of carrying former Iraqi officials fleeing to Syria.

U.S. officials have been unable to explain the full circumstances of the attack, including why houses in a nearby village as well as the vehicles were struck and who was being targeted.

-- From wire reports