US Asserts 'Managing' Oil Revenues to 'Support Libyan People'

Dbeibeh-affiliated forces in Tripoli, Libya AFP
Dbeibeh-affiliated forces in Tripoli, Libya AFP
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US Asserts 'Managing' Oil Revenues to 'Support Libyan People'

Dbeibeh-affiliated forces in Tripoli, Libya AFP
Dbeibeh-affiliated forces in Tripoli, Libya AFP

US officials focused on the "management of Libya's oil revenues" in their meetings with interim Libyan unity government officials, headed by Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh and the governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL).

A statement by the US embassy said that a delegation that included US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joshua Harris, and Chargé d'Affaires Leslie Ordeman, met in Tunisia with CBL governor Siddiq el-Kaber. They discussed efforts to enhance financial transparency and promote economic stability.

They agreed on the importance of ensuring that Libya's resources provide essential services and support the Libyan people.

Kaber said that the meeting dealt with global economic challenges and CBL efforts to increase transparency and achieve financial and monetary sustainability in Libya.

In a second statement, the US embassy announced a meeting between Ordeman and a delegation from the Dbeibeh government, led by Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Juma, to discuss the importance of enhancing financial transparency and combating corruption.

Regarding the meeting, the US embassy announced in a tweet that the US "looks forward to building on this important conversation. We agreed that Libyan revenues belong to all of its people and must be distributed transparently and with accountability."

Meanwhile, the Zawiya Court of Appeal accepted the petition submitted by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Public Property Authority, Samir al-Belazi, against Dbeibeh's decision.

Earlier, the head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, sent a letter to Dbeibeh asking him to keep the real estate registration system closed until the current transitional stages are completed.

In the letter, which was leaked to local media, Menfi demanded that the role of the authority during the transitional period be limited to administrative work only.

In addition, 32 members of the House of Representatives (HoR) from the eastern region demanded its speaker, Aguila Saleh, hold a live session to discuss the country's unamended 1951 constitution and return to the federal system based on the three historical regions.

The statement called on HOR members to support this request, pointing out that the referendum on the draft constitution completed by the Constitution Drafting Assembly has failed.

Furthermore, Egypt's Permanent Representative at the UN Ambassador Osama Abdel-Khalek affirmed his country's full support to the UN envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathiliy, in his new mission.

Abdel-Khalek met with the UN envoy in New York, during which he stressed the international community's reliance on Bathiliy's constructive efforts to advance the political process in Libya during the current critical stage the country is going through.



Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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Libya Says UK to Analyze Black Box from Crash That Killed General

Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Military personnel carry portraits of the Libyan chief of staff, General Mohamed al-Haddad (2-R), and his four advisers, who were killed in a plane crash in Türkiye, during an official repatriation ceremony at the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tripoli, Libya, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

Libya said on Thursday that Britain had agreed to analyze the black box from a plane crash in Türkiye on December 23 that killed a Libyan military delegation, including the head of its army.

General Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their Falcon 50 jet to crash shortly after takeoff.

Three crew members, two of them French, were also killed.

The aircraft's black box flight recorder was found on farmland near the crash site.

"We coordinated directly with Britain for the analysis" of the black box, Mohamed al-Chahoubi, transport minister in the Government of National Unity (GNU), said at a press conference in Tripoli.

Haddad was very popular in Libya despite deep divisions between west and east.

Haddad was chief of staff for the Tripoli-based GNU.

Chahoubi told AFP a request for the analysis was "made to Germany, which demanded France's assistance" to examine the aircraft's flight recorders.

"However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analyzing the black box must be neutral," he said.

"Since France is a manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew was French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, was accepted by Libya and Turkey."

After meeting the British ambassador to Tripoli on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour said a joint request had been submitted by Libya and Türkiye to Britain "to obtain technical and legal support for the analysis of the black box".

Chahoubi told Thursday's press briefing that Britain "announced its agreement, in coordination with the Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Turkish authorities".

He said it was not yet possible to say how long it would take to retrieve the flight data, as this depended on the state of the black box.

"The findings will be made public once they are known," Chahoubi said, warning against "false information" and urging the public not to pay attention to rumors.


STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
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STC Says Handing over Positions to National Shield Forces in Yemen's Hadhramaut, Mahra

National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)
National Shield forces in Hadhramaut. (National Shield forces)

Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in Yemen began on Thursday handing over military positions to the government’s National Shield forces in the Hadhramaut and al-Mahra provinces in eastern Yemen.

Local sources in Hadhramaut confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the handover kicked off after meetings were held between the two sides.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said the National Shield commanders met with STC leaderships to discuss future arrangements. The sourced did not elaborate, but they confirmed that Emirati armored vehicles, which had entered Balhaf port in Shabwah were seen departing on a UAE vessel, in line with a Yemeni government request.

The National Shield is overseen by Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi.

A Yemeni official described Thursday’s developments as “positive” step towards uniting ranks and legitimacy against a common enemy – the Houthi groups.

The official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, underscored to Asharq Al-Awsat the importance of “partnership between components of the legitimacy and of dialogue to resolve any future differences.”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Yemeni military sources revealed that some STC forces had refused to quit their positions, prompting the forces to dispatch an official to Hadhramaut’s Seiyun city to negotiate the situation.


One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
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One Dead as Israeli Forces Open Fire on West Bank Stone-Throwers

Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)
Israeli troops during a military operation in the Palestinian village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank city of Jenin, 27 December 2025. (EPA)

The Israeli military said its forces killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank in the early hours on Thursday as they opened fire on people who were throwing stones at soldiers.

Two other people were hit on a main ‌road near the ‌village of Luban ‌al-Sharqiya ⁠in Nablus, ‌the military statement added. It described the people as militants and said the stone-throwing was part of an ambush.

Palestinian authorities in the West Bank said ⁠a 26-year-old man they named as ‌Khattab Al Sarhan was ‍killed and ‍another person wounded.

Israeli forces had ‍closed the main entrance to the village of Luban al-Sharqiya, in Nablus, and blocked several secondary roads on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA reported.

More ⁠than a thousand Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between October 2023 and October 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some by settler violence, the UN has said.

Over the same period, 57 Israelis were killed ‌in Palestinian attacks.