Libya Transitional Council set to hand over power

08/07/12: Al Jazeera reports Libya’s interim authorities say they will hand over power to a newly elected congress on Wednesday, less than a year after its fighters overthrew the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.  “We affirm that August 8, 2012 will be the day that power will be transferred peacefully,” Saleh Darhoub, spokesman for the outgoing National Transitional Council (NTC), said Monday.  Libyans cast ballots on July 7 in the country’s first free elections following a 2011 popular uprising that escalated into a civil war and overthrew Gadhafi’s regime.  The dictator himself was captured and killed in October.  Libya elected a 200-member legislative assembly comprising party and independent representatives, which will replace the NTC and lead the country until fresh elections are held on the basis of a new constitution.