Explosions rock Myanmar's capital, two other towns (Reuters)

YANGON (Reuters) – Four explosions rocked Myanmar's capital, Naypyitaw, and two other towns on Friday, residents said, adding several people were wounded but no one had been killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility or response from the authorities. Myanmar's government usually blames bombings on ethnic minority rebels.

The first three blasts went off within minutes of each other in three different places.

The first suspected bomb exploded in a jeep in Mandalay, the country's second-biggest city after the former capital, Yangon, at about 12:10 p.m. (0540 GMT).

The incident happened near Zaygyo Market, a major shopping center in the central city, about 400 miles north of Yangon.

"We heard the car was badly damaged and four people were wounded," a shopkeeper told Reuters by telephone from the town, adding the market was closed, otherwise the number of casualties would have been higher.

A bomb was also blamed for an explosion in an unoccupied house opposite a market in Naypyitaw, the new capital about 205 miles north of Yangon, at about 12:20 p.m. (0550 GMT).

"It was very powerful. We all heard a very loud explosion," said a government official who had been in a bookshop near the market at the time.

"So far as I heard, there were no casualties. Security officials are now combing the area," said the official, who asked not to be named.

The third explosion hit Pyin Oo Lwin, a town about 45 miles north of Mandalay, at about 12:30 p.m. (0600 GMT), the Mandalay shopkeeper told Reuters after speaking with relatives living there.

Also known as May Myo, Pyin Oo Lwin is a garrison town as well as a hill resort, home to four military institutes including the elite Defense Services Academy.

The fourth explosion went off at about 3 p.m. (0830 GMT) in the same part of Mandalay as the earlier blast, near a rubbish dump. No casualties were reported, the shopkeeper said.

There have been about half a dozen bomb blasts in Myanmar cities, including Naypyitaw and the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, in the past few weeks.

On May 18, two passengers were killed and nine were wounded when a bomb exploded on a train near Naypyitaw.

The government normally blames rebels who have been fighting successive central governments for greater autonomy since the country won independence in 1948.

Serious fighting broke out in the north of the country this month in Kachin state near the border with China, disrupting the operations of two Chinese-built hydropower plants.

Government troops fought with ethnic minority Kachin rebels, who state media said had destroyed 25 bridges in the area.

(Editing by Alan Raybould and Robert Birsel)

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Several explosions rock Libyan capital

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Several explosions rattled Tripoli Thursday morning as Libyan state television reported bombardments in Sirte, east of Tripoli, and other areas.

A Russian envoy due to arrive in Libya Thursday raised the possibility of leader Moammar Gadhafi giving up power but remaining in the country.

"There is a possible option where Gadhafi continues living in Libya as a private individualwith his people and his tribe but relinquishes power and his family stays away from taking economic decisions," Mikhail Margelov said, according to the country's Itar-Tass news agency.

Margelov said last week that the rebel Transitional National Council did not need "Gadhafi's head, and no one is going to scalp him and nail it to the wall in his office," the agency reported.

Margelov is due to meet top Libyan officials, he said before leaving Moscow, but it is not clear that Gadhafi will be among them.

He has already talked to the opposition in Benghazi, the de facto rebel capital, and consulted with Ahmed Gaddafi al-Dam, a cousin of Gadhafi's, in Cairo, he said.

His mission to Tripoli comes as critics have questioned NATO's involvement in the civil war.

U.S. lawmakers filed a suit Wednesday that challenges the nation's participation in the Libya mission.

The lawmakers have accused President Barack Obama of failing to consult with Congress over the military effort in the North African country.

The White House denied that accusation, saying Obama has not violated the War Powers Resolution by intervening militarily for more than 60 days without seeking approval from Congress.

South African President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday slammed the international coalition's operation in the battle.

NATO started airstrikes in Libya in March to enforce a U.N. resolution to protect civilians from forces loyal to ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

But Zuma said actions by the international coalition have exceeded the authority that the resolution granted.

"We strongly believe that the resolution is being abused for regime change, political assassinations and foreign military occupation," Zuma said at a budget vote debate before the National Assembly in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, rebel forces said they have made progress in recent days in the fight against Ghadafi forces.

Rebels have taken control of the mountainous Jebel Nafusa region, which is southwest of Tripoli, said Ahmed Bani, an officer with the rebel forces.

Rebels have also made gains in the western city of Zlitan, Bani said.

CNN's David McKenzie and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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