UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major-General Michael Beary said on Monday that the security situation in Lebanon is much better, as he assured that he follows up on “Hizbullah's fears through media outlets.”

“The situation is much better. Efforts must carry on to preserve peace and stability in south Lebanon in collaboration with concerned parties,” Beary told As Safir daily in an interview.

Syrian rebels in the outskirts of Western al-Qalamoun in the Damascus province held a Hizbullah official and his wife while they were driving through the Lebanese town of Ham, the Saudi Okaz daily reported on Monday.

“Rebel factions in the outskirts of Western al-Qalamoun carried out a quality operation and were able to arrest Hizbullah official responsible for the party's armament named Hassan Murad, nicknamed Abou Abdullah, and his wife Karma Mahdi,” unnamed sources told the daily.

Hizbullah's deputy Executive Council leader, Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said that marginalizing a major faction in Lebanon is the “perfect recipe for the country's destruction,” the state-run National News Agency said on Saturday.

“When a major (political) component in Lebanon has a feeling that it is being excluded, marginalized and targeted, it would be considered a perfect recipe for the destruction of the country,” said Qaouq during a commemoration ceremony held in south Lebanon.

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.