The assassination of Lebanon's Hariri and its aftermath

Later today, a court just outside The Hague in the Netherlands will hand down its judgment on the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. Four men have been tried in absentia accused of the murder of 22 people, including Mr Hariri, who led Lebanon on five occasions in the years after the 1975-1990 civil war. It is a decision that had been eagerly anticipated earlier this month, when it was initially supposed to be delivered. But then came two blasts in the centre of Beirut on 4 August, which turned the attention of that city, country, and the world, to the immediate issue of helping those affected by the explosion. The Special Tribunal on Lebanon deferred...