Hezbollah pullout topples Lebanon's government

From UPI: 

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Lebanon's national unity government collapsed Wednesday when 11 ministers from Hezbollah and its allies said they were pulling out.

Energy Minister Gibran Bassil told the BBC the decision was prompted by a dispute over the U.N. tribunal investigating former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's 2005 murder.

The crisis came as Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the former prime minister's son, was meeting U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.

Hezbollah and its allies have pressed Hariri for months, without success, to reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as part of a U.S.-Israeli plot.

In recent weeks, there have been mounting rumors that the tribunal, which is set to publish its findings on the assassination, plans to indict members of Hezbollah.

Saudi Arabia, which supports the Hariri bloc, and Syria, which backs Hezbollah, have tried to broker a deal, but Tuesday night, Michel Aoun, a former general and Hezbollah's Christian ally, announced the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.