BEIRUT: Government and other business will grind to a halt on Feb. 14 in observation of the seventh anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
In a statement, Prime Minister Najib Mikati decreed that government institutions and municipalities as well as public and private schools must close Tuesday on the anniversary of Hariri’s assassination.
Five-time Prime Minister Hariri was killed on Feb. 14, 2005, when a massive car bomb struck his convoy as it passed the St. George Hotel near downtown Beirut.
The blast also killed 22 other people, including Economy Minister Bassel Fleihan and several of Hariri’s bodyguards.