ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A private burial was held for Yevgeny Prigozhin, ending a tumultuous journey from St. Petersburg street thug to Kremlin-financed mercenary leader, following a suspicious plane crash two months after his brief mutiny that challenged the authority of President Vladimir Putin. Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying Prigozhin was laid to rest Tuesday without any publicity, per his family's wishes. Just before the crash, Prigozhin had reportedly returned from a trip to Africa, where he sought to expand Wagner Group’s activities. The crash came exactly two months after the brutal and profane mercenary boss launched a rebellion against the Russian military leadership. Putin said Wagner fighters could sign a contract with the Russian military, move to Belarus or retire from service.

The U.S., U.K., and Qatar had facilitated a meeting between Libyan and Israeli officials in Vienna in 2004. Yet the United States pressed Libyan leaders to find a way to normalize relations with Israel. Doubling down on the dishonesty, Israeli officials claimed that the Americans did not protest Cohen’s actions. Israel, in endangering Libyan officials and threatening to spark unrest, was acting with characteristic bad faith. The United States, however, is ultimately responsible, again, for risking lives in Libya.

Al-Ahrar private news channel, citing a government source, said Mangoush had been fired following a meeting last week in Rome with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. AdvertisementThe Libyan foreign ministry, in a statement, defended the meeting with Cohen as a “chance and unofficial encounter”. Tyres burn on the road as people protest against a meeting held last week in Italy between the foreign ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya on Monday. They “have used Libya’s first female foreign minister as the fall person for decisions they all partook in,” Gomati said. The meeting in Rome had been hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the Israeli foreign ministry said.

U.S., Arab Diplomats: Turmoil in Libya After Israeli Minister Meeting Could Deter Arab Countries From NormalizationAs Israel works to expand its relations with Arab and Muslim countries, one senior diplomat warned that 'No leader wants to images like those [from Libya] in his capital' ■ Israeli foreign minister blames 'political opponents,' says his office will not be deterred from establishing ties with the Arab world

Najla Mangoush, Libya's foreign minister, has fled to Turkey after being fired for meeting with her Israeli counterpart, Eli Cohen, in Italy last week. "She has fled to Turkey," the House of Representatives source said, sharing with The National a screenshot of the flight path that Ms Mangoush took. People burn photos showing Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Libyan counterpart Najla Mangoush in Tripoli, Libya on Sunday. After news of the meeting emerged, Libya's Foreign Ministry also reaffirmed the country's support for the Palestinian issue "emphasising Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Palestine". Ms Mangoush represents the UN-recognised government based in Tripoli and is the first woman to take on the position of Foreign Minister.

TRIPOLI/JERUSALEM :Libya's prime minister sacked Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Monday in an effort to contain a growing furore over Mangoush's meeting with her Israeli counterpart last week, which prompted protests overnight in several Libyan cities. Protesters demonstrated in front of Libya's Foreign Ministry late on Sunday, causing some damage outside the building, where a large security presence was visible early on Monday. Mangoush's office tried to quell the anger late on Sunday, saying she had rejected a request for an official meeting with Cohen, but that they had met during an unplanned encounter while she was meeting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The Libya prime minister sees Israel as a possible bridge to the West and the U.S. administration," the official said. Libya's parliament based in the east, which rejects the GNU, said on Sunday it would hold hearings into the meeting with the Israeli minister.

STORY: The meeting prompted protests overnight in several Libyan cities including in front of the Libyan Foreign Ministry. The meeting is contentious because Libya does not formally recognize Israel and there is widespread public support across the Libyan political spectrum for the Palestinian cause of creating an independent state in territory Israel occupies. Libyan citizen Nouri Abdelsalam said any "normalization" of relations was unacceptable to the Libyan people.

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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." "Dbeibah's decision to suspend Mangoush suggested that he was not aware of the meeting. 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. It called for an emergency session Monday in the eastern city of Benghazi.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?

By Mostafa Salem and Michael Schwartz, CNNAbu Dhabi and Jerusalem (CNN) — Libya’s internationally recognized government dismissed Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Sunday after a meeting she held with her Israeli counterpart sparked an uproar in the country. Israel’s foreign ministry announced on Sunday night that the meeting had taken place in Rome last week. Videos circulating on social media over the weekend showed Libyan protesters burning Israeli flags and attempting to enter the gates of a government building in Tripoli. An Israeli source familiar with the situation appeared to dispute the Libyan account on Monday, saying the meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was planned, and news that it had taken place was supposed to be made public at some point. The parliament backing the eastern-based government denounced Mangoush’s meeting with Cohen and called for a “harsh punishment.”Mangoush was Libya’s first female foreign minister.

TRIPOLI: Libya's prime minister sacked the foreign minister on Monday in an effort to contain a growing furore over her meeting with her Israeli counterpart last week, which prompted protests overnight in several Libyan cities.Najla Mangoush had said her meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in Rome was unplanned and informal, but an Israeli official told Reuters it had lasted two hours and was approved "at the highest levels in Libya".The meeting is contentious because Libya does not formally recognise Israel and there is widespread public support across the Libyan political spectrum for the Palestinian cause. Palestinians seek to establish an independent state in territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war.The dispute over the meeting has fed into Libya's internal political crisis, giving ammunition to Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah 's internal critics at a moment when the future of his interim government was already in question.Protesters demonstrated in front of Libya's Foreign Ministry late on Sunday, causing some damage outside the building, where a large security presence was visible early on Monday. Protests took place in other parts of Tripoli, as well as other cities.Burning tyres blocked some major roads in Tripoli on Monday but there was no sign of violence.Mangoush's office tried to quell the anger late on Sunday, saying she had rejected a request for an official meeting with Cohen, but that they had met during an unplanned encounter while she was meeting Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.The Israeli official disputed that account. "The meeting was coordinated at the highest levels in Libya and lasted almost two hours. The Libya prime minister sees Israel as a possible bridge to the West and the U.S. administration," the official said.Since 2020 Israel has normalised relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan through the so-called "Abraham Accords" brokered by the United States, which sees further agreements as a key regional goal.Dbeibah's Government of National Unity (GNU), which was installed in early 2021 through a UN-backed process, has pushed for stronger ties with all countries involved in Libya, including the UAE and Israel's main ally the United States.Libya has had little peace or internal unity since a 2011 Nato-backed uprising, and the GNU's legitimacy is contested by major factions outside Tripoli including the eastern-based parliament.The parliament said on Sunday it would hold hearings into the meeting.

Senior Libyan politicians on Sunday called for ousting the government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh over the meeting between his Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush and Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen. Former Chair of the High Council of State Khalid Al-Mishri condemned the Libyan and Israeli officials’ meeting. There have also been reports of gunfire in the vicinity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In other cities, news reports from Libya said that protesters gathered outside government buildings and blocked roads in protest against the meeting in Rome. READ: Israel FM secretly meets with Libya counterpart

Libyan Foreign Affairs Minister Najla Mangoush speaks. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Mangoush met in Rome last week. 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. 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. Harchaoui said the Libyan prime minister’s decision to suspend his foreign minister “undoubtedly” aimed at calming public anger.

The fallout from the meeting between Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Libya's Government of National Unity Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush has been greeted in the Middle East with intense interest and scrutiny. She had met with Turkey’s powerful foreign minister Hakan Fidan in late July. She was actually suspended as foreign minister back in November 2021 by the Presidential Council for her “mismanagement” of the foreign affairs file. In November 2022 she critiqued Greece’s foreign minister for landing in Tripoli but then continuing on to Benghazi without meeting anyone. Its Libya envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, said on Tuesday that it is imperative stakeholders agree on a unified government that could then lead Libya into elections,” Al-Jazeera said.

By Mostafa Salem and Michael Schwartz, CNNAbu Dhabi and Jerusalem (CNN) — Libya’s internationally recognized government dismissed Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Sunday after a meeting she held with her Israeli counterpart sparked an uproar in the country. Israel’s foreign ministry announced on Sunday night that the meeting had taken place in Rome last week. Videos circulating on social media over the weekend showed Libyan protesters burning Israeli flags and attempting to enter the gates of a government building in Tripoli. An Israeli source familiar with the situation appeared to dispute the Libyan account on Monday, saying the meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was planned, and news that it had taken place was supposed to be made public at some point. The parliament backing the eastern-based government denounced Mangoush’s meeting with Cohen and called for a “harsh punishment.”Mangoush was Libya’s first female foreign minister.