Briefly: Middle East

YEMEN

U.N. envoy: All agreed on power transfer deal

SANAA — The U.N. secretary-general’s envoy to Yemen said all parties have agreed on a plan under which longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh would step down.

Several times Mr. Saleh has agreed to the plan, sponsored by Gulf nations, but backed away at the last minute.

U.N. envoy Jamal bin Omar told reporters Tuesday that he was working now on setting a date for signing the deal.

“All parties agreed today on the Gulf initiative and the implementation of its mechanism,” he said.

The deal calls for Mr. Saleh to transfer power to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Mr. Saleh has hung onto power despite months of mass protests. Al Qaeda-linked militants have used the turmoil to strengthen their positions in Yemen.

LIBYA

International court: Libya can try Gadhafi’s son

TRIPOLI — The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said Tuesday that Libya can put Moammar Gadhafi’s son on trial at home, but that The Hague court’s judges must be involved in the case.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo was in Tripoli on Tuesday for talks with Libya’s new leaders about their plans for Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who was captured Saturday in southern Libya and is being held by fighters in the mountain town of Zintan, southwest of the capital.

The ICC has charged him with crimes against humanity. Libya’s new leaders have said they will try Seif al-Islam at home even though they have yet to set up a court system.

“Seif is captured, so we are here to ensure cooperation,” Mr. Moreno-Ocampo told reporters after arriving in Libya. “If they [Libyans] prosecute the case, we will discuss with them how to inform the judges, and they can do it, but our judges have to be involved.”

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, also has charged Gadhafi’s former intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi, with crimes against humanity.

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