Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday he would consider an asylum request from U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden if the country receives one.

"We have not received an official request. But in the event we were to receive one, we would evaluate it as we understand Ecuador is doing," Maduro said on state television from Haiti, where he was on an official visit.

In the buildup to his 30th birthday last week, U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden came to the sudden realization over a dinner of pizza and Pepsi that Hong Kong may be a less welcoming refuge than he'd thought, his legal adviser said on Tuesday.

Even before the United States issued an arrest warrant on Friday -- his birthday -- the truth was dawning on the former IT technician that he risked prolonged detention in Hong Kong with no creature comforts: no computer, and no Internet access.

The White House said early Monday it expected cooperation from Russia on returning fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden back to the United States to face espionage charges.

"Given our intensified cooperation after the Boston Marathon bombings and our history of working with Russia on law enforcement matters -- including returning numerous high-level criminals back to Russia at the request of the Russian government -- we expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged," said National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.

The Justice Department has charged former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden with espionage and theft of government property in the NSA surveillance case.

Snowden, believed to be holed up in Hong Kong, has admitted providing information to the news media about two highly classified NSA surveillance programs.

Hundreds of protesters staged a rally in rain-hit Hong Kong Saturday to urge the city's government not to extradite former spy Edward Snowden, and slam the United States for its surveillance programs.

Snowden, 29, has gone to ground in the city after blowing the lid on the U.S.'s vast electronic surveillance operation and has vowed to fight any extradition request.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called Monday for "a political solution" to the conflict in Syria, after its regime was suspected of using chemical weapons and after two Israeli raids on the country.

Israeli raids on Sunday hit three military sites outside Damascus, the second such reported attack in 48 hours, reportedly targeting weapons bound for Lebanon's Hizbullah which is an ally of President Bashar Assad's regime.

Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong Tuesday, calling for the city's embattled leader to quit and demanding greater democracy 15 years after it returned to Chinese rule.

Organizers have said they expected 50,000 people to join the New Year's Day march against Leung Chun-ying, while pro-government groups staged separate and smaller rallies in support of the Beijing-backed chief executive.

Six crew members were arrested Tuesday over a collision between a ferry and a pleasure boat in Hong Kong that killed 37 people in the city's worst maritime disaster in decades, officials said.

More than 120 passengers and crew were on the Hong Kong Electric company's vessel to watch a huge National Day fireworks display in Victoria Harbor Monday evening when the collision occurred near Lamma island.

Hong Kong voted Sunday in legislative elections seen as a test for the pro-Beijing government, after it was forced to scrap mandatory Chinese patriotism classes in the face of escalating protests.

The government has been besieged by protests since it took office in July with support from Beijing, and a strong vote for democratic parties will be seen as a rejection of the mainland's growing influence in the former British colony.

Scores of people were injured and trees were ripped from the ground as a typhoon lashed Hong Kong packing winds in excess of 140 kilometers (87 miles) an hour, officials said Tuesday.

Authorities issued a hurricane warning for the first time since 1999 as Typhoon Vicente roared to within 100 kilometers of Hong Kong shortly after midnight, disrupting dozens of flights to the regional hub.