Gadhafi Gives Oil Profits To Citizens

Libya has started handing out $5,000 in cash to needy Libyans as part of a promise by Col. Moammar Gadhafi to share the country’s hefty oil revenues with its citizens.

The Central Bank of Libya deposited the money in 50,000 accounts that will help Libyans with “basic salaries, pensions or large families,” Libyan state television said Thursday.

Gadhafi announced the handouts earlier this month, saying the government would monitor recipients to make sure the money was not wasted. “Buying toys for children,” he said, was an example of how it should not be used.