WASHINGTON — The CIA's top officer in Algeria has been returned to Washington amid allegations that he drugged and raped two women at his Algiers residence.

The Algiers station chief was ordered home after an investigation of alleged rapes in 2007 and 2008. Two women said that they became unconscious after receiving what they believed were knockout drugs served to them in drinks.

ABC News, quoting unnamed officials, said the women's accounts were backed up by videotapes found in the CIA officer's residence. The tapes, apparently secretly made, allegedly show the CIA officer engaged in sex acts with several women, including one of the alleged victims who appears to be in a semiconscious state, the network reported.

EARLY VOTES CAST IN IRAQI ELECTIONS

BAGHDAD — Soldiers, police, prisoners and hospital patients cast ballots yesterday in a run-up to provincial elections. The early balloting ensured that security forces are available for duty Saturday, when the rest of Iraq's voters will choose from among 14,467 candidates for 440 council seats.

Officials hope the elections will redress inequities resulting from 2005 elections. Most Sunnis boycotted that vote, leaving even Sunni-dominated regions under control of Shiite Muslims and Kurds.

BLAIR CONFIRMED FOR TOP SPY POST

WASHINGTON — The Senate yesterday confirmed retired Adm. Dennis Blair as the new national intelligence director.

Blair, 61, served in the Navy for 34 years. He was chief of the U.S. Pacific Command during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and crafted what many intelligence and military officials say was an effective international counterterrorism strategy in southeast Asia.

MIDEAST ENVOY PLEDGES VIGOR

JERUSALEM — President Obama's new Mideast envoy promised yesterday a vigorous push for peace, saying Gaza militants must end their weapons smuggling and the blockaded borders must be pried open if a cease-fire is to take hold.

George Mitchell held his first round of talks with regional leaders to determine the next steps the Obama administration would take toward reviving peace negotiations following Israel's military offensive against Gaza's Islamic Hamas rulers.

But continued violence in Gaza underscored a more immediate priority — shoring up the 10-day-old cease-fire.