Court delays verdict on ex-PM Hariri's murder after Beirut blast

A UN-backed tribunal said Wednesday it had suspended a verdict on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri following the deadly blast in Beirut. The court's decision was due on Friday but the ruling has been postponed until August 18, the court said in a statement. The death toll from Tuesday's huge blast at Beirut port has risen to at least 113, Lebanon's Health Minister Hamad Hassan said earlier Wednesday. It has been blamed on an unsecured store of ammonium nitrate at the port. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) "is deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic events that shook Lebanon yesterday," the court said in a statement....