[JURIST] Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora [BBC backgrounder] formally asked UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official website; JURIST news archive] Saturday to extend the inquiry into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri [UN materials; JURIST news archive] for six more months after its December 15 deadline, and be open for further extensions. Lebanon’s government agreed Thursday [JURIST report] to ask the UN to continue the Hariri assassination probe of the February 14 truck bombing. The chief investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, plans to leave his job immediately following his final scheduled report on the investigation on December 12, but Annan assured Siniora that he would try to persuade Mehlis to stay and complete the investigation. In an October interim report [text], Mehlis suggested the assassination was planned by top Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies. Reuters has more.