An anti-Syrian Lebanese MP was assassinated today and nine others killed when a car bomb exploded in Beirut.

In one of the deadliest such attacks since the murder of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri,more than two years ago, the MP, Walid Eido was killed as a car bomb detonated as his vehicle drove by, near the seafront in the Lebanese capital.

His eldest son, two bodyguards and six bystanders were also killed in the explosion, which tore open shop fronts and sent debris raining down on the surrounding area. At least 11 other people were wounded, security sources said.

The bomb was more powerful than other devices that have exploded in and around Beirut in recent weeks, attacks that many Lebanese people have blamed on Syrian efforts to destabilise a UN-backed tribunal to investigate the assassination of Mr Hariri.

Mr Aido had been an ally of Mr Hariri and a vocal critic of the Assad regime in Damascus, routinely demanding an end to Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs.

He is the seventh anti-Syrian politician to have been killed in the last two years, and was a leading figure in the anti-Syrian bloc that controls the government.

The anti-Syrian minister, Marwan Hamade, was quick to point the finger at Damascus and threatened fierce retribution. “The serial killer, the Syrian regime is continuing to assassinate members of parliament in order to abolish our parliamentary majority, but we will not let this happen,” he said.

“After the funeral tomorrow we are going to accuse Syria directly at the Arab league and bring an end to this campaign of murder.”

The parliamentary majority leader, Saad Hariri, son of the assassinated prime minister, read out a statement on television declaring that Mr Eido’s killers were the same people who had killed his father.

Internal security force (ISF) troops trawled through the surrounding debris, while nervous troops pushed and shoved to keep journalists away from the wreckage.

The ISF’s Lieutenant Colonel Elie Baradai confirmed to the Guardian the explosives had been rigged in a car bomb and bore some resemblance to Mr Hariri’s killing.

The explosion was the latest in a series to hit Lebanon in the last three weeks, as Lebanese troops battled Islamic militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in the northern part of the country.

It was the sixth blast to hit Beirut and the surrounding areas in less than four weeks. Two people have been killed in five previous bomb blasts.

One eyewitness described seeing bodies lying in the street. “I was having a coffee with my friend, then we heard the blast. We saw things flying through the air and then I don’t what happened, I think I fainted,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum, () a metal processor and distributor, has approved the repurchase of up to 12 mil common shares. It has bought 645,204 shares at an average cost of $44.69. Shares rose 5.5% to 48.90.

Infosys Technologies, () an India-based high-tech outsourcing firm, opened a center in Monterrey, Mexico, to service Latin America. It expects to employ 1,000 in 3 years. Shares fell 4.5% to 44.50.

Genpact, () an India-based IT service provider, said Q2 net income rose slightly to $7.1 mil. Revenue jumped 42% to $200.5 mil, on growth in Europe and China. The company, which recently went public, rose 0.7% to 14.62.

FRANCE’S Socialist party yesterday accused Nicolas Sarkozy of suffering from “small man syndrome”, saying this explained why the shorter-than-average president had proclaimed his reforms the biggest in decades.

The Socialists, who suffered a double defeat in presidential and parliamentary elections have sharply criticised pension, social and civil service reforms announced this week.

Referring to Mr Sarkozy’s comments on Thursday that he was preparing “the biggest reform of the social model since the Liberation [of France]”, Socialist spokesman Benoit Hamon said: “In psychoanalysis, this is the syndrome of the small man, who considers that everything he does is bigger than anything that has ever happened,” he told reporters.

“In reality, we have never witnessed such a step backwards since the Liberation. On the social issue, as well as on immigration,” he said.

French media calculate Mr Sarkozy is about 5ft 5in - more than 7in shorter than his predecessor, Jacques Chirac.

He wears shoes with particularly high heels, and is lampooned on TV for trying to seem taller.

On Thursday, Mr Sarkozy defended his reform plans, saying he would not let union protests deter him from ending pension privileges to state workers. He sparked union anger earlier this week by announcing that he would phase out the so-called “special regimes”, which allow rail, electricity and gas workers, among others, to retire earlier than their peers in other industries.

Socialists say proposed reforms only helped employers and would hurt workers.

Some analysts say the president’s honeymoon might be over with divisions emerging inside his government.