U.S. ambassador to Lebanon David Hale stated on Friday that his country is doubling the baseline amount of U.S. military assistance to the Lebanese Armed Forces this year compared to last.

“America believes that the army is the sole institution with the legitimacy and mandate to defend the country and its people. To fulfill its mission, it must have the necessary equipment and training,” said Hale after meeting PM Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Pope Francis I had reportedly discussed the developments in Lebanon during their meeting during the pontiff's visit to the United States, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Friday.

Informed sources from the Vatican told the daily that pledges were made by “influential international forces” to exert serious efforts to end the presidential vacuum in Lebanon “before the end of the year.”

The Syndicate Coordination Committee vowed on Thursday to resume holding strikes and demonstrations to demand the adoption of the new wage scale, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

It said that it will return to street action to “revive its chronic demand to adopt the wage hike.”

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas stressed the importance of a functioning cabinet that would be able to tackle the international aid presented to Lebanon in its efforts to support Syrian refugees, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday.

He told the daily: “The international backing that Lebanon received from the International Support Group in New York should be translated into tangible aid.”

Prime Minister Tammam Salam returned on Thursday to Lebanon following his trip to the United States where he attended the United Nations General Assembly.

Government sources told al-Mustaqbal daily on Friday that the premier is unlikely to call cabinet to session.

A delegation from several Akkar municipalities on Thursday held talks with Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and announced its approval of government plans to turn an existing garbage dump in the Srar area into a so-called “sanitary landfill.”

“The municipalities announce their immediate approval of setting up a sanitary landfill in Akkar, because that means 33 random dumps would be shut down,” said the delegation in a statement after meeting Mashnouq in Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged Thursday that Israel will continue to act to prevent transfers of arms to Hizbullah from and through Syria.

In his speech before the U.N. General Assembly, Netanyahu also claimed that Iran had delivered to Hizbullah SA-22 anti-aircraft missiles and Yakhont anti-ship missiles.

Tehran announced on Thursday that four of its diplomats, including its former Lebanese ambassador, were killed in the hajj stampede in Saudi Arabia, reported the Iranian Students News Agency (Isna).

The news agency ended days of speculation over the fate of former envoy Ghazanfar Roknabadi, 49, who was attending the annual Muslim gathering.

The General Security Department said on Thursday that it has arrested a Lebanese man for providing arms to terrorists and for sheltering them.

Sh. H. was arrested on charges of supplying terrorist groups with arms and ammunition, for storing them on their behalf and transporting them to Syrian territories, the General-Directorate of General Security said in a communique.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil has told the U.N. Security Council that the international community should launch war on terrorism to stop its spread in the Middle East and the entire world.

“Lebanon considers that the war on terror should be worldwide because terrorism represents a world threat,” Bassil told a Council meeting on terrorism.