Rice makes surprise visit to Beirut

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive in Beirut today for a surprise visit, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.

The stop will be the first by an American secretary of state to Lebanon since Syria withdrew its troop from the country in April under US-led international pressure, ending three decades of political domination over its smaller neighbour.

Presidential spokesman Rafik Shalala confirmed a high-level delegation was arriving in Lebanon and was expected to visit Lebanese President Emile Lahoud.

The visit by Rice, who was in Jerusalem earlier, comes a few days after Lebanon formed a 24-member Cabinet dominated by anti-Syrians. The line-up included for the first time a member of the militant Hezbollah group, which Washington brands a terrorist organisation.