World Scene

RUSSIA

Putin to become party leader, too

MOSCOW — Russia’s biggest party will invite Vladimir Putin to become its leader, the party’s chief said yesterday, a role that would further bolster Mr. Putin’s influence after he steps down from the presidency next month.

Mr. Putin is expected to become prime minister when his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is sworn in on May 7, but leadership of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party would effectively give him control of parliament, where the party has a large majority.

“If Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin headed United Russia, it would be the very best option,” Boris Gryzlov, the head of United Russia and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, told reporters.

KENYA

Bickering delays power-sharing deal

NAIROBI — Kenya’s rival politicians blamed each other yesterday for delaying a power-sharing agreement to end the country’s postelection crisis, the latest sign that the reluctant partners will struggle to heal a battered nation.

Raila Odinga, who is the prime minister-designate under the peace deal, said President Mwai Kibaki’s party is going to “astonishing lengths … to ensure that it monopolizes power.” Mr. Kibaki accused his rival of failing to “engage constructively” in talks.

Both men claimed victory in the Dec. 27 presidential election, which sparked weeks of violence that killed more than 1,000 people and drove some 300,000 people from their homes before the two agreed in February to share power.

AFGHANISTAN

Coalition forces hit insurgent site

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. and Afghan forces attacked a remote village in a mountainous region of northeastern Afghanistan following reports that an infamous insurgent leader was in the area, a governor said yesterday. At least 16 people were killed.

Gov. Tamim Nuristani said U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces thought Gulbuddin Hekmatyar was meeting with top deputy Kashmir Khan in the Dohabi district of Nuristan province on Sunday, sparking a fierce bombardment that included air strikes.

Mr. Nuristani said it was too early to know if any of the 16 killed were civilians.

MOROCCO

9 terrorism convicts escape from prison

PARIS — Nine people convicted in cases linked to 2003 terrorist attacks in Casablanca have escaped from prison, Morocco’s state news agency reported yesterday.

The Moroccan Justice Ministry said in a statement that officials discovered yesterday morning that the nine had escaped from a prison in Kenitra, some 25 miles northwest of the capital, Rabat, the MAP news agency reported.

Suicide bombings in Casablanca in May 2003 killed 45 people, including the attackers. The attacks stunned this relatively moderate Muslim nation and U.S. ally, waking it up to the threat of terrorism.

NETHERLANDS

Court ruling backs anti-Islam lawmaker

THE HAGUE — A Dutch lawmaker who sparked protests across the Muslim world with a film criticizing the Koran is entitled to express his anti-Islamic views, a court ruled yesterday, rejecting a request to muzzle him.

The court ruled that the views expressed by legislator Geert Wilders do not exceed the legal boundaries against inciting hatred or violence.

The short movie, which links terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists with texts from Islam’s holy book, triggered angry street protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as calls in other countries to boycott Dutch goods.

From wire dispatches and staff reports