Libya's transitional council to hand power

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- Libya's first elected assembly has met for the first time, poised to take power in a ceremony from the transitional council that has ruled the country since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown last year.

The 200-member assembly convened late Wednesday, the day that marked the anniversary of the liberation of Tripoli, the capital, during the civil war.

Fireworks lit the sky as Libyans celebrated while breaking their daily fast for Muslims' holy month of Ramadan.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the outgoing National Transitional Council, was giving a speech before dissolving his council and transferring power to the new assembly.

The nation faces severe problems. The transitional council succeeded in holding Libya's first elections in decades but failed to unite competing militia groups under a national army.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)