In this file photo taken on February 16, 2005, mourners gather on the grave of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in downtown Beirut. (RAMZI HAIDAR / AFP)
Judges at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon are set to rule in the case of four men charged
with the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and 21 others in a 2005 bombing.
Hariri's assassination plunged Lebanon into what was then its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war, leading to the withdrawal of Syrian forces and setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival political forces.
The Hezbollah terror group has denied any involvement in the 2005 bombing.
The case has been overshadowed by the even bigger Beirut blast this month - the largest in Lebanon's history - that killed 178 people and drew outraged demands for accountability.
The judgment had initially been expected earlier this month, but was delayed after the port explosion.
The investigation and trial in absentia of the four Hezbollah members has taken 15 years and cost roughly $1 billion. It could result in a guilty verdict and later sentencing of up to life imprisonment, or acquittal.
The hybrid court, with Lebanese criminal law and a mix of international and Lebanese judges, could serve as a model if Beirut decides to prosecute this month's explosion.
Iran denied on Monday that it had engaged in negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Iran's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has stated that Israel should extend its border with Lebanon up to the Litani River deep inside the country's south, as Israeli troops bombed bridges and destroyed homes in an escalating military assault.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.
Japan plans to start releasing oil from joint stockpiles held by producing nations in the country by the end of March, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a post on social media website X on Tuesday.
A Colombian military plane crashed in a takeoff disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four who were still missing, according to a top official.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy has announced late on Monday that seven overhead power lines in several areas of the country were taken out of service due to damage sustained from falling debris following air defence interceptions.
Airstrikes targeting a site belonging to Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces in the western province of Anbar killed at least 10 fighters, including the PMF's Anbar operations commander, and wounded 30 others, security and health sources told Reuters early on Tuesday.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian intelligence believed Russian forces were preparing a new, imminent mass attack on the country.
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Iran denies talks with US after Trump postpones strikes on power grid
Israeli minister calls for annexation of southern Lebanon
Kim Jong Un says North Korea’s nuclear status is irreversible, threatens South
Japan to start releasing oil from joint stockpiles by end-March, PM says
Death toll nearly doubles to 66 in Colombian military plane crash
Seven overhead power lines out of service due to falling debris in Kuwait
Airstrikes on Iraqi site kill 10 fighters including commander
Ukraine's Zelenskyy says Russia preparing new massive attack
