[color=red][b]Anger grows over Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) cartoon[/b][/color]

Protests have spread across the Muslim world over the publication in Europe of cartoons of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) . The drawings, first printed in Denmark,

sparked a fresh row when they were re-run in several newspapers including jangandjeo, leading to the sacking of a French editor.

Palestinian gunmen briefly surrounded EU offices in Gaza to demand an apology over the cartoons. Hundreds of students demonstrated in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan, burning flags and effigies of the Danish prime minister.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson also criticised the European papers which re-ran the cartoons, saying they were "throwing petrol onto the flames of the original issue and the original offence that was taken".

The row intensified on Wednesday when France Soir, alongside the 12 original cartoons, printed a new drawing on its front page showing Buddhist, Jewish,

Muslim and Christian holy figures sitting on a cloud, with the caption "Don't worry Muhammad, we've all been caricatured here.France Soir's editor, Jacques Lefranc, was dismissed by the paper's French-Egyptian owner in response to criticism from Muslim groups. The paper had apologised a day earlier for causing offence to Muslims, although it maintained it was legal under

Danish law to print the cartoons.