In Syria, the government says it will put former Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam on trial for corruption, just days after Khaddam linked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri. In an interview with Al-Arabayia television on Friday, Khaddam said al-Assad had threatened Hariri just months before his death. Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a Beirut car bombing last February. Khaddam, who was a key planner of Syria’s dominant role in neighboring Lebanon, said al-Assad told Hariri: “I will destroy anyone who tries to hinder our decisions.”