WORLD BRIEFS

YEMEN

Saudi diplomat abducted

Gunmen kidnapped a Saudi diplomat while he was on his way to work Wednesday in the southern port city of Aden, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. Abductions are frequent in Yemen, where tribesmen and al-Qaida-linked militants take hostages in try to swap them for prisoners or cash. The Saudi ministry said a group of armed men abducted Abdullah al-Khaldi, the deputy consul at the consulate in Aden, in front of his residence. It was not clear whether the abduction was politically motivated. Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries have been heavily involved in a power-transfer deal that forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to relinquish power after a year of mass protests against his rule. Saleh stepped down last month and handed power to his deputy.

POLAND: Charges over CIA prison

Poland has pressed the first charges in an investigation into a secret CIA prison on its territory, according to the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza. It said former intelligence chief Zbigniew Siemiatkowski has been charged with exceeding his powers, depriving prisoners of war of their freedom and allowing corporal punishment in an investigation that began in 2008. Siemiatkowski told The Associated Press on Wednesday he is obliged to remain silent on the matter. He was head of Poland's Intelligence Agency between 2002 and 2004 when Poland joined in the Washington-led war on terrorism. The charges would make Poland the first country to incriminate an official over CIA sites operated during Washington's fight against terror. Prosecutors are investigating whether Poland's leaders illegally allowed the CIA to run a site and whether terrorism suspects were tortured there a decade ago. Former CIA officials have said the prison operated from December 2002 until the fall of 2003, and that prisoners were subjected to harsh interrogations.

ISRAEL: Challenger for Netanyahu

While gliding to a surprisingly easy victory over Kadima Party Chairwoman Tzipi Livni, newly elected opposition leader Shaul Mofaz faces an uphill battle in keeping the once-dominant centrist political party from splintering. The Iranian-born Mofaz, 64, defeated Livni in Tuesday's primary with nearly 62 percent of the vote. He wasted no time Wednesday in setting his sights on the next national election, which could be called as early as this fall. "I will lead Kadima to a victory over [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," said Mofaz. He is considered politically savvy and has better relations with Israel's religious parties than Livni. But it remains to be seen whether he can rescue Kadima, which three years ago won more votes than any other party but now is trailing badly in opinion polls.