Two people died today in Pakistan during demonstrations against the publication of cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad ().

In Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, police fired tear gas to contain thousands of protesters who had set fire to commercial buildings, cars, and parts of the regional legislature. A private security guard shot dead two of the demonstrators who had tried to force their way into a bank.

In the Iranian capital of Tehran, protesters hurled fire bombs and stones at the British Embassy, breaking some windows. Earlier, demonstrators threw stones at the German Embassy.

Visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, meanwhile, said the dispute over the cartoons should not be allowed to divide Europe from the Muslim world. Solana was speaking today in Egypt during a trip to the Middle East to try to defuse tensions.

The cartoons were originally printed in a Danish newspaper and then later reprinted in publications around the world.

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