BEIRUT – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reassured the Lebanese people Sunday that Washington supports "voices of moderation" and will never make a deal with Syria that undermines the country’s interests. Clinton spoke on a surprise visit to Beirut ahead of a critical June 7 election that could see the pro-U.S. Lebanese government ousted by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies, possibly paving the way for renewed Syrian influence over the country.

"The people of Lebanon must be able to choose their own representatives in open and fair elections without the specter of violence or intimidation and free of outside interference," Clinton told a news conference in Beirut after meeting with President Michel Suleiman.

"Beyond the elections, we will continue to support the voices of moderation in Lebanon and the responsible institutions of the Lebanese state they are working hard to build. Our ongoing support for the Lebanese armed forces remains a pillar of our bilateral cooperation," she added.

daily star, BEIRUT: The head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, will arrive in Beirut on Saturday for talks in the wake of an Egyptian security operation that has prompted Cairo to accuse Lebanese authorities of "conspiring" with a Hizbullah cell captured in Egypt. The arrest of 49 men accused of belonging to Hizbullah reignited a bitter war of words between authorities in Cairo and the group’s chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Now Cairo appears to be trying to draw Lebanese officials into the spat.

Egyptian security authorities have claimed that the Hizbullah member accused of running the group, known as Sami Shehab, was traveling on a false passport issued by the Lebanese Interior Ministry.

Cairo is demanding that Lebanon launch an investigation into what is being described in Egypt as a "conspiracy" aimed at helping the cell to carry out attacks in the country.

Egyptian sources say that the use of official Lebanese government stamps by the group are indicative of "grave breaches" and "serious deviations" that should be investigated, the Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar pledged to investigate the matter but warned against jumping to conclusions. "This is very dangerous and it rarely happens," Najjar said. "Probably the passport was issued as a result of a fake ID." He added that it was "premature" to take an official position on the matter.

By ROBERT F. WORTH, It is election season in Lebanon, and Hussein H., a jobless 24-year-old from south Beirut, is looking forward to selling his vote to the highest bidder. “Whoever pays the most will get my vote,” he said. “I won’t accept less than $800.”

He may get more. The parliamentary elections here in June are shaping up to be among the most expensive ever held anywhere, with hundreds of millions of dollars streaming into this small country from around the globe.

Lebanon has long been seen as a battleground for regional influence, and now, with no more foreign armies on the ground, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region are arming their allies here with campaign money in place of weapons. The result is a race that is widely seen as the freest and most competitive to be held here in decades, with a record number of candidates taking part. But it may also be the most corrupt.

Votes are being bought with cash or in-kind services. Candidates pay their competitors huge sums to withdraw. The price of favorable TV news coverage is rising, and thousands of expatriate Lebanese are being flown home, free, to vote in contested districts. The payments, according to voters, election monitors and various past and current candidates interviewed for this article, nurture a deep popular cynicism about politics in Lebanon, which is nominally perhaps the most democratic Arab state but in practice is largely governed through patronage and sectarian and clan loyalty.