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Mubarak in surprise landmark visit to Beirut

BEIRUT: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to make a surprise visit to Lebanon later Saturday, the first ever by an Egyptian head of state, a Lebanese Presidential spokesman told AFP.

Officials said Mubarak would arrive at Beirut International Airport at 10:40 a.m. (0840 GMT).

His visit comes amid strong Egyptian support for Lebanon following a February 8 Israeli air blitz on its power grid which wounded 22 civilians and left large swathes of the country without light or heating.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa said Thursday that Mubarak had talked over the telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to warn him that Israeli attacks on Lebanon "will harm the peace process a lot".

"The attacks against Lebanon put in doubt Barak's stated determination for peace," Mussa said.

Egypt, which was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979, has frequently played a mediating role between the Jewish state and its other Arab neighbours. AFP