The 70-year-old former president, who led France from 2007 to 2012, was cleared of other charges, including passive corruption, illegal campaign financing, concealment of embezzled public funds, and criminal association, according to ABC News. Sarkozy is expected to file an immediate appeal, which would suspend the sentence during the appeals process.

Prosecutors alleged that Sarkozy struck a corrupt agreement with Gaddafi's regime in 2005, while serving as France's interior minister, to secure campaign funds for his 2007 presidential campaign. In return, prosecutors claimed, Sarkozy agreed to help rehabilitate Libya's international standing at a time when the country faced diplomatic isolation, according to ABC News.

The case centers on allegations that the Libyan government secretly transferred millions of euros to Sarkozy's campaign through suitcases of cash delivered to Paris. The allegations first surfaced in 2011, when both a Libyan news agency and Gaddafi himself claimed Libya had covertly financed Sarkozy's electoral victory.

According to ABC News, French investigative publication Mediapart added fuel to the controversy in 2012 by publishing what it described as a Libyan intelligence document detailing a 50 million-euro funding arrangement. While Sarkozy dismissed the document as fraudulent and filed defamation charges, French magistrates subsequently determined the memo appeared genuine, though definitive proof of the money transfer remains elusive.

The investigation examined multiple trips to Libya by Sarkozy's associates during his tenure as interior minister between 2005 and 2007. Key testimony came from Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, who initially told Mediapart in 2016 that he personally transported cash-filled suitcases from Tripoli to the French interior ministry. Takieddine later withdrew these claims, ABC News reported.

His reversal prompted a separate investigation into potential witness tampering, resulting in preliminary charges against both Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. That case has yet to proceed to trial. Takieddine, who was among 11 co-defendants in the current case, died Tuesday in Beirut at age 75. He had fled to Lebanon in 2020 and did not participate in the trial.

Throughout the three-month proceedings, Sarkozy maintained his innocence, characterizing the charges as a politically motivated conspiracy orchestrated by what he called "liars and crooks," including members of the "Gaddafi clan." He argued the allegations represented retaliation for his role in calling for Gaddafi's ouster during the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, when he became one of the first Western leaders advocating military intervention in Libya. Gaddafi's 40-year rule ended with his death during Libya's 2011 uprising. "What credibility can be given to such statements marked by the seal of vengeance?" Sarkozy asked during the trial, according to ABC News.

The verdict marks Sarkozy as the first former French president convicted of accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions. His legal troubles extend beyond this case. In June, authorities stripped him of France's Legion of Honor medal following a separate conviction for corruption and influence peddling, ABC News reported.

That earlier case involved attempts to bribe a magistrate in 2014 for information about another legal matter. Sarkozy received a sentence requiring him to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for one year, though he secured conditional release in May due to his age, removing the device after approximately three months.

Additionally, Sarkozy was convicted last year of illegal campaign financing in his unsuccessful 2012 reelection campaign, allegedly spending nearly double the legal limit. He received a one-year prison sentence with six months suspended. That verdict is under appeal to France's highest court.

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Search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings, and even the sea Wednesday to look for bodies in a coastal Libyan city where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed at least 5,100 people.

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The Mediterranean city of Derna has struggled to get help after Sunday night's deluge washed away most access roads. Aid workers who managed to reach the city described the devastation in its center, with thousands still missing and tens of thousands left homeless.

Video: Drone footage shows scale of destruction in Libya's Derna / Credit: Reuters

"Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children," Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. "Entire families were lost."

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding Sunday in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst hit was Derna. Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna River and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks.

As much as a quarter of the city has disappeared, emergency officials said.

Waves rose as high as 7 meters (23 feet), Yann Fridez, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya, told broadcaster France24.

Teacher Mohammed Derna said he, his family, and neighbors rushed to the roof of their apartment building, stunned at the volume of water rushing by. It reached the second story of many buildings, he said. They watched people below, including women and children being washed away.

"They were screaming, 'Help, help,'" he said over the phone from a field hospital in Derna. "It was like a Hollywood horror movie."

Derna lies on a narrow coastal plain, under steep mountains. The only two usable roads from the south take a winding route through the mountains.

Collapsed bridges over the river split the city center, further hampering movement.

Search teams went through shattered apartment buildings and retrieved the dead floating offshore in the Mediterranean Sea, al-Falah said.

Ossama Ali, a spokesman for an ambulance center in eastern Libya, said at least 5,100 deaths were recorded in Derna, along with around 100 others elsewhere in eastern Libya. More than 7,000 people in the city were injured.

A spokesman for the eastern Libyan interior ministry put the death tally in Derna at more than 5,300, according to the state-run news agency.

The number of deaths was likely to increase since teams are still collecting bodies, Ali said. At least 9,000 people are missing, but that number could drop as communications are restored.

At least 30,000 people in Derna were displaced by the flooding, the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration said.

The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the towns of Bayda, Susa, and Marj. Rescuers retrieved at least 150 bodies Wednesday from the sea off Bayda, bringing the death tally in the town to about 200, Ali said.

The startling devastation pointed to the storm's intensity, but also Libya's vulnerability. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of infrastructure in many areas.

Ahmed Abdalla, a survivor who joined the search-and-rescue effort, said they were putting bodies in the yard of a hospital before taking them for burial in mass graves at Derna's sole intact cemetery.

"The situation is indescribable. Entire families died in this disaster. Some were washed away to the sea," Abdalla said by phone.

Derna is 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Benghazi, where international aid started to arrive on Tuesday.

Neighboring Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, as well as Turkey, Italy, and the United Arab Emirates, sent rescue teams and aid. The U.K. and German governments sent assistance too, including blankets, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, tents, water filters and generators.

U.S. President Joe Biden also said the United States would send money to relief organizations and coordinate with Libyan authorities and the United Nations to provide additional support.

Authorities transferred hundreds of bodies to morgues in nearby towns. More than 300, including 84 Egyptians, were brought to the morgue in the city of Tobruk, 169 kilometers (105 miles) east of Derna, the local Medical Center reported.

The victims' lists reflected how Libya, despite its turmoil, was always a magnet for workers from around the region because of its oil industry.

More than 70 of Derna's dead hailed from a single southern Egyptian village, el-Sharif. On Wednesday morning, hundreds attended a mass funeral in the village for 64 people.

Rabei Hanafy said his extended family lost 16 men in the flooding, 12 of whom were buried Wednesday. Another funeral for four others was held in a town in the northern Nile Delta.

Among those killed in Libya was the family of Saleh Sariyeh, a Palestinian originally from the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon who had lived in Derna for decades. The 62-year-old, his wife, and two daughters were all killed when their home in Derna was washed away, his nephew Mohammed Sariyeh said.

The four were buried in Derna. Because of ongoing gunbattles in Ein el-Hilweh, the family there could not hold a gathering to receive condolences from friends and neighbors, Mohammed said.

Derna, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli, is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the eastern Libyan government. The rival government in western Libya, based in Tripoli, is allied with other armed groups.

Derna was once a hub for extremist groups in the years of chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

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One of Libya's rival prime ministers said Monday he has suspended his foreign minister a day after Israel revealed that its chief diplomat met with her last week – news that prompted scattered street protests in the chaos-stricken North African nation.

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Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads the government of national unity in the capital, Tripoli, also referred Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush, for investigation over the meeting, which was the first ever between top diplomats of Libya and Israel. Mangoush fled to Turkey following the Israeli announcement of the meeting, according to a Libyan foreign ministry official.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Mangoush met in Rome last week. It was a small breakthrough for Israel's government, whose hard-line policies toward the Palestinians have led to a cooling of its burgeoning ties with the Arab world.

Cohen said they discussed the importance of preserving the heritage of Libya's former Jewish community, including renovating synagogues and cemeteries. The talks also touched on possible Israeli assistance for humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management, according to Israel's Foreign Ministry.

The Libyan foreign ministry, meanwhile, sought to downplay the importance of the meeting as "unprepared and an unofficial meeting during a meeting with Italy's foreign minister. It said in a statement that Mangoush's encounter with Cohen didn't include "any talks, agreements or consultations."

Dbeibah's decision to suspend Mangoush suggested that he was not aware of the meeting. However, two senior Libyan government officials told The Associated Press the prime minister did know about the talks between his foreign minister and the Israeli chief diplomat.

One of the officials said Dbeibah gave the green light for the meeting last month when he was on a visit to Rome. The prime minister's office arranged the encounter in coordination with Mangoush, he said.

The second official said the meeting lasted for about two hours and Mangoush briefed the prime minister directly after her return to Tripoli. The official said the meeting crowned US-brokered efforts to have Libya join a series of Arab countries establishing diplomatic ties with Israel.

The official said normalization of relations between Libya and Israel was first discussed in a meeting between Dbeibah, and CIA Director William Burns, who visited the Libyan capital in January.

The Libyan premier gave initial approval for joining the US-brokered Abraham Accords, but he was concerned about public backlash in a country known for its past support for the Palestinian cause, the official said.
The official, meanwhile, said Mangoush who was surprised by the Israeli announcement, quickly fled the Libyan capital on a private flight to Istanbul.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety. Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow specializing in Libya at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, said Dbeibah has sought to please foreign governments as he has come under growing pressure from the UN. and other countries over the political stalemate in his nation.

Harchaoui said the Libyan prime minister's decision to suspend his foreign minister "undoubtedly" aimed at calming public anger. Israel's foreign ministry did not respond to reporters' questions early Monday, including whether Cohen's announcement had been coordinated with Libya.

Video: Clashes between protesters and police in Libya / Credit: Reuters

An Israeli official, however, said the Foreign Ministry was forced to go public after an Israeli media outlet planned to publish a report on the meeting. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes diplomacy, said that Israel informed the Libyans about the leak and said that both countries had previously agreed to announce the meeting at an unspecified time.

Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich country has been split between the Western-backed government in Tripoli and a rival administration in the country's east. Each side has been backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Gadhafi was hostile to Israel and a staunch supporter of the Palestinians, including radical militant groups opposed to peace with Israel.

Sunday's announcement of the meeting prompted scattered protests in Tripoli and other towns in western Libya. Protesters stormed the foreign ministry headquarters to condemn the meeting, while others attacked and burned a residence for the prime minister in Tripoli, according to local reports.

In the town of Zawiya protesters burned the Israeli flag, while others held the Palestinian flag. There were also protests in the city of Misrata, a stronghold for Dbeibah, according to footage circulated on social media and verified by The Associated Press.

Khalid al-Mishri, an Islamist politician who was the chair of the State Council, a Tripoli-based legislative body, condemned the meeting and called for the dismissal of Dbeibah's government, which is close to the US and the West.

"This government has crossed all prohibited lines and must be brought down," he wrote on the X platform, previously known as Twitter.

The east-based House of Representatives also slammed the meeting as a "legal and moral crime." It called for an emergency session Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi. Libya criminalizes normalization of ties with Israel, according to a 1957 law.

In Israel, Yair Lapid, a former foreign minister and prime minister, criticized Cohen for going public with the sensitive meeting.

"Countries of the world this morning are looking at the irresponsible leak of the meeting of the Israeli and Libyan foreign minister and asking themselves: Is it possible to manage foreign relations with this country? Is it possible to trust this country?" Lapid said in a statement.

Israeli officials told Israel Hayom that both sides had agreed to publish the meeting's taking place and that the only surprise was that journalists got word of it so there was no choice but and make it public sooner. They also noted that "the most high-ranking levels" in Libya were involved in coordinating the meeting. They stressed that there is no breach of confidentiality since there was never an agreement to keep it secret, noting that the foreign minister may have fled because of the protests that were clearly threatening.

A senior diplomatic official dismissed the claims made by the Israeli Opposition that this caused an embarrassment to Israel's diplomatic standing. "The suggestions that this was a flop on Israel's part come from Israel, whether in the Opposition or from Likud, who want to undermine the Foreign Ministry's," the officials said.

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Lybian Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush has been suspended over a meeting held last week in Rome with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

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While some reports said Mangoush was being investigated, during which time she would be placed on "administrative suspension," others stated she left the country on a private jet hours after the suspension and headed to Turkey.

Video: Foreign Minister Eli Cohen meets with NYC mayor Eric Adams

Libya's Foreign Ministry said that "what happened in Rome was a chance and unofficial encounter that did not involve any discussion, agreement or consultation." Mangoush "refused to meet with any party" representing Israel, while stressing "in a clear and unambiguous manner Libya's position regarding the Palestinian cause."

Libyan Presidential Council leader Mohammed Menfi said the meeting between Mangoush and Cohen did "not reflect the foreign policy of the Libyan state," and is "a violation of Libyan laws that criminalize normalization with the Zionist entity."

Cohen's office, on the other hand, hailed the talks as the "first step in the relationship between Israel and Libya."

The news brought protesters out into the streets against Israel and in solidarity with the Palestinians.

The meeting was hosted by Antonio Taiani, Italy's foreign minister. Cohen said the meeting was part of his government's efforts to expand "the circle of peace and normalization of Israel."

This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns.

Natural uranium can't immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel, as the enrichment process typically requires the metal to be converted into a gas, then later spun in centrifuges to reach the levels needed.

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However, each ton of natural uranium obtained by a group with the technological means and resources can be refined to 5.6 kilograms (12 pounds) of weapons-grade material over time, experts say.

In a statement, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said its director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, informed member states Wednesday about the missing uranium.

On Tuesday, "agency safeguards inspectors found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of uranium ore concentrate were not present as previously declared at a location in the state of Libya," the IAEA said. "Further activities will be conducted by the agency to clarify the circumstances of the removal of the nuclear material and its current location."

One such declared site is Sabha, some 410 miles southeast of Libya's capital, Tripoli, in the country's lawless southern reaches of the Sahara Desert. There, Libya under dictator Moammar Qadhafi stored thousands of barrels of "yellowcake uranium" for a once-planned uranium conversion facility that was never built in his decadeslong secret weapons program.

While inspectors removed the last of the enriched uranium from Libya in 2009, the yellowcake remained behind, with the UN in 2013 estimating some 6,400 barrels of it were stored at Sabha. Sabha grew increasingly lawless, with African migrants crossing Libya, saying some had been sold as slaves in the city, the UN reported.

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In recent years, Sabha largely has been under the control of the self-styled Libyan National Army, headed by Khalifa Hifter. The general, who is widely believed to have worked with the CIA during his time in exile during Qadhafi's era, has been battling for control of Libya against a Tripoli-based government.

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Interim Prime Minister of Libya Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Mossad Director David Barnea recently met in in Amman Jordan, Syrian Al Hadath news quoted sources as saying on Wednesday. 

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According to the report, Dbeibeh – who leads Libya's interim Government of National Unity – discussed with Barnea security operations between the two countries. Sources claimed Dbeibeh asked Jerusalem for assistance to stay in office during the pre-election transition period. 

Dbeibeh's office denied the claims that any meeting had taken place between the prime minister and the Mossad director.

In December 2021, Libya postponed its presidential elections after the arrangements committee failed to complete the required preparatory work. Sources claimed Dbeibeh told Barnea now was not a suitable time to hold an election in Libya .

In October last year, Libya seemed to be moving toward normalization with Israel. Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who was a leading presidential candidate at the time, voiced his desire on several occasions to normalize ties with the Jewish state, and declared he would work to that end if he is elected.

Nevertheless, an official in Haftar's campaign headquarters told Israel Hayom that "it's still too early to discuss a normalization agreement with Israel and how that would look. First of all, Gen. Haftar has to actually win, and we are certain he will. As of now, though, we have no interest in bringing the issue of future relations with Israel to the agenda, because the Libyan public harbors traditional and structured hostility toward it."

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Following the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan – is Libya the next in line to make peace with Israel and join the Abraham Accords? The political camps in the North African country, which has suffered two brutal civil wars over the past decade, are preparing for a highly charged election campaign that will determine Libya's future.

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According to senior Libyan officials with close ties to the leading presidential candidate, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, it appears the large Arab country is moving toward normalization with Israel. Haftar has recently voiced his desire on several occasions to normalize ties with Israel, and declared he would work to that end if he is elected president on December 24.

Israel Hayom reported in late October that an Israeli consulting firm was advising both Haftar and his main rival, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former tyrant Muammar Gaddafi, who was deposed and killed in a violent uprising 10 years ago.

Haftar, who has also earmarked a senior role in the next government for his son, Saddam, if he wins the election, has the support of the US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Western actors, but he has apparently pinned a great deal of hope on relations with Israel.

"Only a normalization agreement with Israel, which will bring Libya into the Abraham Accords, can catalyze Libya's rehabilitation plan, which stands at hundreds of billions of dollars," Haftar has reportedly told his confidantes.

Libya's goal, he has said, is to receive financial aid from the international community, which requires a change of direction from the next president-elect and his government. Joining the Abraham Accords, according to Haftar, could pave the path for Libya to return to the family of nations, secure the necessary aid from the International Monetary Fund, and diplomatic support from the US and European Union.

A senior official in the UAE, who is close to both the leading candidates in Libya, told Israel Hayom: "On the matter of Libya's desire and need to normalize its relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords, there is consensus among the two candidates. Both have said in the past that normalization with Israel is on the table, and on many occasions both have told their close advisers in private that they would work in earnest to make that happen."

The senior UAE official added, however, that even if either of the candidates eventually does normalize ties with Israel, it would be a vastly different type of relationship than with the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.

"If the initiative is implemented," the official said, "it will happen at a very slow pace, very cautiously, somewhat similar to the normalization process between Israel and Sudan."

Meanwhile, an official in Haftar's campaign headquarters told Israel Hayom that "it's still too early to discuss a normalization agreement with Israel and how that would look. First of all, Gen. Haftar has to actually win, and we are certain he will. As of now, though, we have no interest in bringing the issue of future relations with Israel to the agenda, because the Libyan public harbors traditional and structured hostility toward it. At this juncture, such conversations can only harm Haftar's chances of winning the election."

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Libyans will go to the polls in two months to elect a new president, after many years of internal strife. The renegade general, Khalifa Haftar, is up against Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former tyrant Muammar Gaddafi, who was deposed and killed in a violent uprising 10 years ago.

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But regardless of who emerges victorious, there is one certain winner: an Israeli consulting firm advising both candidates. 

Israel Hayom has learned that one of Haftar's sons has recently signed the contract with the firm, which successfully ran campaigns in Israel and around the world, including for prime minister and president. The firm later got a request from the other candidate, through a female model living in Dubai. 

According to senior figures in the Gulf, the firm registered a new company in the United Arab Emirates so that it would have two separate entities run the campaigns. Both contracts are reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars in fees. 

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UN-sponsored talks aimed at paving the way for elections in Libya in late December failed to find common ground, the deputy of the United Nations mission in Libya said on Friday night after weeklong talks near Geneva.

"The people of Libya will certainly feel let down as they still aspire to the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights in presidential and parliamentary elections on 24 December," Raisedon Zenenga, assistant secretary-general and mission coordinator of the UN Support Mission in Libya, told the closing session.

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"This does not bode well for the credibility and future relevance of the LPDF (Libyan Political Dialogue Forum)," he said. "I encourage you to continue to consult among yourselves to pursue a workable compromise and cement what unites you."

The talks, held at a hotel about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Geneva, had been extended into a fifth day on Friday with delegates struggling to agree. They had been expected to establish the constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections by July 1.

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In the latest round of hostilities with Israel, Hamas used weapons, rockets, and components of missiles and rocket launchers that were smuggled into the Gaza Strip from Libya, intelligence officials in the Libyan military told Israel Hayom on Monday.

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The Libyan officials accused Turkey, Qatar, and Iran of exploiting the instability in Libya to use it to smuggle weapons and technology to Hamas in Gaza. According to the Libyan reports, these three countries also fund and support radical Islamist groups in Libya, which handled the contact and deals with Hamas for the weapons and rockets, as well as supplying them with technical information.

Israel Hayom has also learned that Hamas operatives have undergone training in Libya along with militias and foreign fighters dispatched to Libya by Turkey and Iran. This training was funded by money from Qatar.

While these programs were taking place, Qatar, Turkey, and Iran were all supposedly working against the radical Islamist groups in Libya.

According to information obtained by Israel Hayom, Israel discovered that some of Hamas' weapons and weapons manufacturing knowledge had arrived from Libya. In some cases, the materials were smuggled in by sea, and in other cases smuggled over land – from Libya to Egypt, through the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza.

Western intelligence sources said that Israel was coordinating with the US and Europe to prevent Turkish and Qatari support for radical Islamist groups in Libya by setting up a mechanism to oversee the money transferred to Libya through international bands and close American oversight to keep Turkey from intervening in north Africa.

In related news, the Libyan officials told Israel Hayom that Libyan elections, planned for Dec. 24, would likely be postponed due to ongoing instability in the country. The officials said that the unity government under Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh was not able to "balance" internal matters in Libya, despite having been established with the agreement of regional players. The officials said there was a need to strengthen Libyan government institutions and eradicate all the armed militias, terrorist groups, and foreign fighters that had been sent to Libya by Turkey, Qatar, and other regional players.

According to the Libyans who spoke to Israel Hayom, there was agreement in Libya that Gen. Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan military and a moderate, would be the best person to oversee the period of transition, whether he were elected or served as head of a governing military council.

Video of #LNA Commander Khalifa Haftar meeting with the Director of #Egypt's Military Intelligence Department Major General Khaled Megawer & his accompanying delegation including a high-rank general from the #Egyptian Air Force. https://t.co/R7YGDYb1Bm pic.twitter.com/vfwkQRfNpP

— Mahmoud Gamal (@mahmouedgamal44) August 19, 2020

The December election would likely be pushed to June 2022, the sources said, although they added that "regional forces have already picked Khalifa Haftar as the next leader of Libya because of his moderation and also the fact that the areas under his control are quiet, and everyone there lives in harmony. He knows how to balance between everyone and how to eradicate extremism, instate law and order, and conduct reasonable trade and economic activity in Libya's difficult situation."

Israel, the US, and Europe see Haftar as having rebuilt Libya's military apparatus, as well as being a good governor of the areas under his control, able to contend with the armed militias and foreign fighters shipped to Libya by Qatar and Turkey.

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