World Scene

RUSSIA

Mine blast leaves 52 dead, 38 missing

MEZHDURECHENSK | Thirty-eight Siberian coal miners are buried so deep in Russia’s largest underground coal mine that rescuers use up most of their oxygen tanks trying to reach them and can’t spend much time searching for the missing men, the regional governor said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin traveled to the Raspadskaya mine, about 1,900 miles east of Moscow, to observe rescue operations, and he raised a series of sharp questions about mine safety and whether the initial rescue work was conducted improperly.

The death toll from the two explosions that hit the mine in the Siberian region of Kemerovo rose to 52 and prospects of finding any survivors nearly three days after the blasts were dimming. Rescuers searching the tunnels have not established contact with any of the missing.

Ventilation has not been restored to the mine, and rescuers are forced to work with oxygen masks.

Those missing are believed to be some 1,600 feet below the surface and nearly a mile from the nearest shaft.

SWEDEN

Muhammad cartoonist assaulted during lecture

STOCKHOLM | A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was assaulted Tuesday as furious protesters interrupted his university lecture about the limits of artistic freedom.

Lars Vilks told the Associated Press a man leapt from the front row and head-butted him as he was delivering his speech, breaking Mr. Vilks’ glasses but leaving him uninjured. Two people were arrested but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the attacker was among them.

A video clip of the incident by a Swedish newspaper showed police using pepper spray and batons to hold off an angry crowd shouting “God is great” in Arabic after Mr. Vilks was escorted out of the lecture hall.

Mr. Vilks has faced numerous threats over his controversial drawing of Muhammad with a dog’s body, but Tuesday’s incident was the first time he has been physically assaulted.

Earlier this year, U.S. investigators said Mr. Vilks was the target of an alleged murder plot involving Colleen LaRose, an American woman who dubbed herself “Jihad Jane,” and who now faces life in prison. She has pleaded not guilty.

SOUTH AFRICA

Ruling party reins in youth leader

JOHANNESBURG | South Africa’s governing party says the fiery leader of its youth wing needs anger-management courses.

In a statement late Tuesday after a disciplinary hearing for Julius Malema, the African National Congress said he had pleaded guilty to sowing division between the ANC and its Youth League.

His punishment includes attending “programs on effective leadership communication and anger management” or other classes ANC leaders deemed appropriate. He also was fined 10,000 rand (about $1,300) and asked to make a public apology.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who is the ANC’s leader, had publicly criticized Mr. Malema in April after months of pressure to rein in the younger leader. That was followed by the disciplinary procedures that started last week.

FRANCE

Parliament lays basis for veil ban

PARIS | French lawmakers unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday asserting that face-covering Muslim veils are contrary to the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity on which France is founded.

The nonbinding resolution, passed 434-0, lays the groundwork for a planned law forbidding face-covering veils in public, including in the streets.

The bill calling for a global ban on such garments goes before parliament in July. A draft text is to be reviewed by the Cabinet on May 19. A similar veil ban is in the works in neighboring Belgium.

• From wire dispatches and staff reports