Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi stressed on Saturday that the thorny issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon can be addressed through talks with the Syrian government.

“We can't address the problem of refugees without having talks with the Syrian government since it is directly linked to the subject,” said Qazzi to LBCI.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam traveled to New York on Saturday along with a delegation to take part in the 71th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the National News Agency reported.

Salam is expected to deliver a speech on the occasion as he will have several meetings with Arab and foreign leaders.

The Internal Security Forces arrested three people involved in smuggling narcotics in the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiyeh), an ISF statement said on Friday.

“The Anti-Drug Bureau in Beirut and Mount Lebanon obtained information about a drug dealer in the neighborhoods of al-Sfeir and Ghobeiri,” said the statement.

The dead body of a man was found inside his house in the Baalbek town of Douris in east Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

The man was identified as J.Aa and was found dead.

A bomb blast in a Syrian refugee encampment in the northeastern border town of Arsal wounded four people, the state-run National News Agency reported on Friday.

A hand grenade exploded in the al-Nour camp for Syrian refugees in Wadi Hmeid in Arsal, NNA said.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri hailed the judiciary's efforts that unveiled an assassination plot against Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat.

“The disclosure of a plot to assassinate the head of the Democratic Gathering bloc Walid Jumblat is a security and judicial achievement that deserves to pay a tribute to all those who contributed to uncovering it,” said Hariri.

First Military Investigative Judge Riad Abou Ghaida issued a death penalty indictment that was reduced to life imprisonment against former Progressive Socialist Party member Youssef Fakher, nicknamed the Cowboy, on charges of an assassination attempt against PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.

Fakher was arrested in August by the General Security on charges of involvement in preparations to assassinate Jumblat, having links with Israel and for forming armed groups.

International authorities have stressed the importance that Lebanon engages in the international summit for migrants and refugees that will convene in New York on September 20 and, in the UN General Assembly on refugees scheduled on September 19 in NY as well, An Nahar daily reported on Friday.

Diplomatic sources said that at the conferences Lebanon will receive significant financial and moral support, and that it will be an opportunity to convey a message to the world to assume responsibilities in helping Lebanon carry the burden of refugees, added the daily.

The Ambassadors of France, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon met on Thursday with Prime Minister Tammam Salam and reaffirmed their strong support for the continued stability and security of Lebanon, a joint statement said.

“The ambassadors and the Special Coordinator commended the efforts of the Prime Minister to govern under increasingly difficult circumstances and conveyed their ongoing support for his work,” said the statement.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief ex-PM Saad Hariri described the Iranian political and media war against Saudi Arabia as “an episode in a dangerous series that only aims at exacerbating discord and threatening stability in the region.”

“After the irresponsible words of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the eve of Eid al-Adha, his foreign minister came out with a text full of hatred against Saudi Arabia,” said Hariri on Twitter.