BBC
Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts
The explosions took place in the early hours of Saturday
At least 45 people have been killed and more than 130 wounded in a string of explosions in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, police said.
The first explosion took place in the Old Market area, popular with tourists.
Other blasts followed in the nearby area of Naama Bay, which is packed with hotels. Witnesses said a four-star hotel was heavily damaged.
Britons, Dutch, Qataris, Kuwaitis and Egyptians were among the casualties, police sources said.
Police sources said initial reports suggested there had been at least four and possibly seven car bombs.
The first blast, which took place shortly after 0100 local time (2200 GMT), shook windows some distance away, and smoke was seen rising over the area, residents said.
'Eerie calm'
The Naama Bay explosions followed about 15 minutes later, close to the Ghazala Gardens and Moevenpick hotels.
One witness, Fabio Besone, who was at the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, said there were scenes of panic, with people running to get away.
"There was shrapnel everywhere, the front of the hotel had been completely blown away, a couple of bodies lying down on the front of the road - I have no idea if they were alive or severely injured," he told the BBC.
Samantha Hardcastle, a British tourist, was having a drink on the terrace of the Naama Bay Hotel with her husband when they heard a loud explosion, followed by a second one a few minutes later.
"There's just an eerie sense of calm at the moment," she said.
"Just horrific, I've never been so scared in the whole of my life."
The Sharm el-Sheikh area is popular with tourists from Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Europe.
Last October, 34 people died in car and truck bombs at Red Sea resorts on the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
CNN
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- An investigation has begun into a powerful explosion that rocked a Christian area of Beirut Friday night, hours after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice paid a surprise visit.
It was the second major blast in the Lebanese capital in less than two weeks.
No deaths were reported, but there were injuries, mostly from flying glass and debris.
The explosion occurred about 10 p.m. in a parking lot next to Monot Street, a popular entertainment district.
Video of the scene taken by Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation showed chaos, emergency workers moving through the crowd and security forces guarding the site.
During Rice's visit, she stopped at the grave of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the opposition leader assassinated on February 14, and laid a wreath. (Rice trip)
She also met with his son, Sa'ad Hariri, a member of parliament and head of one of the largest blocs in the new government.
Rice's visit was seen as a U.S. endorsement of the new government.
Political assassinations
On July 12 Lebanon's outgoing deputy prime minister Elias Murr was among 12 people wounded by a blast that tore through a Christian neighborhood in northern Beirut. At least two people were killed. (Full story)
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned it as a "terrorist act."
Murr is considered strongly pro-Syrian. He is the son-in-law of President Emile Lahoud, Syria's staunchest ally in Lebanon.
"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken
