Syria said Saturday it aimed for a "free and transparent" presidential election, responding to opposition and Western criticism that the June 3 poll will be a parody of democracy.

So far, a businessman who studied in the United States and an independent MP and former communist are the only two hopefuls to register their candidacy.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim revealed on Saturday that closing the illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria and the control imposed in the area had a positive impact on the local security situation.

Media reports quoted him as saying that “90 percent of the illegal crossings were closed.”

Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved a controversial law expanding the powers of the spy agency, a move critics say will tighten the graft-tainted government's control over state institutions.

The new legislation, adopted last week by parliament after heated debates, provides expanded scope for the MIT agency to tap private phone conversations and collect intelligence related to terrorism and international crimes.

At least 88 rebel and regime forces have been killed in two days of clashes for control of strategic sites in Syria's southern Daraa province, an monitoring group said Saturday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights based in Britain said 45 opposition fighters and 43 regime forces had been killed in the fighting that began on Thursday.

Syrian National Coalition chief Ahmed Jarba voiced hope on Saturday that Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea would be elected as the new head of state.

According to a statement issued by the LF press office, Jarba told Geagea in a telephone conversation that “the Syrian people support him for presidency and would be glad if he reached the Baabda Palace.”

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Lebanese arch-foes to stage the presidential elections on time within the constitutional deadline and according to the norms, calling on Hizbullah to become a political party.

“Carrying out the presidential polls according to a free and fair process in line with the (U.N. Security Council) resolution 1559 is a main element to maintain democratic institutions,” Ban said.

Syria's Aleppo has been hit by a power cut for seven consecutive days, a monitoring group said Friday, the day after some 50 civilians were killed in air raids there.

Regime-controlled areas of the city and countryside "have been deprived of electricity for seven days, after the (rebel) Islamic court ordered high-tension power lines be cut off as a way to put pressure on the regime," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Russia on Friday said it had proof the Syrian government was not behind a new spate of alleged chemical attacks in the country, amid fresh international calls for a probe.

"Accusations against government forces continue to be fabricated about alleged cases of them using chemical substances," said a Russian foreign ministry statement.

The U.N. secretary-general is warning that the 3-year-old conflict in Syria poses a serious threat to the stability of Lebanon, as thousands of refugees stream into the small country and weapons and fighters are transferred out.

Ban Ki-moon's latest report to the U.N. Security Council, circulated Thursday, says the involvement of Lebanese groups in the Syrian fighting "has had a devastating impact on security," including several terrorist attacks in Lebanon "by groups claiming that they are acting in response to Hizbullah's fighting in Syria."

A hacker who became an informant for the FBI directed hundreds of cyber attacks against the websites of foreign governments, including Brazil, Iran, Pakistan, Syria and Turkey, the New York Times reported Thursday.

It was unclear whether the FBI explicitly ordered the digital attacks, but court documents and interviews suggest "that the government may have used hackers to gather intelligence overseas," the Times wrote.