ethnic tensions

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They Cheered Against India, Now Face Sedition Charges

At least 7 arrested in India for cyberterrorism after celebrating Pakistan's cricket win

(Newser) - If you're in India, you'd better cheer for India. That's the message from authorities in Uttar Pradesh, where police have arrested at least seven people for allegedly celebrating Pakistan's victory over India in Sunday's T20 World Cup cricket match in Dubai. All seven face charges...

Attacker Aims Gun at Pol, Pulls the Trigger

Ahmed Dogan of Bulgaria escapes gas-gun attack

(Newser) - A stunning attack on a Bulgarian politician went awry today when the assailant's weapon failed to go off, the BBC reports. Ahmed Dogan, leader of Bulgaria's ethnic Turks, was giving a televised speech in Sofia when a man stormed the stage and aimed a gun at his head....

Fearful Texts Help Spread Ethnic Chaos in India

Hundreds of thousands are on the move amid threats of violence

(Newser) - India is in the midst of ethnic unrest so volatile that it's challenging the nation's very "ideals of tolerance and diversity," in the words of the New York Times . The prime minister agrees: “What is at stake is the unity and integrity of our country,...

2 Suspects Dead After Foiled China Hijacking

But Uighur rights group says it wasn't a hijacking at all

(Newser) - A pair of accused hijackers have died following a foiled attempt to take control of a plane in China's Xinjiang region, state media says. Six Uighur men were arrested Friday in the incident, in which suspects wielding explosives used a crutch to pummel the cockpit door. Four crew members...

Guinea Declares Emergency Amid Election Riots

Military forbids people to gather in the streets

(Newser) - Guinea's military declared a state of emergency today, after violence followed a tense presidential election. The decree prohibits civilians from circulating on the streets, the head of the armed forces said in a televised decree. Only military and security forces will have unrestricted movement, he said, offering no further details....

China Executes 9 Over Uighur Riots

Executed were convicted of murder during Xinjiang province unrest

(Newser) - Nine people convicted of murder and arson during July riots in China’s Xinjiang province were executed today. Chinese news services did not identify the executed, but previous statements suggest that they are Uighurs. The riots in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region, left 197 people dead as Uighurs...

Chinese Court Sentences 6 to Death for Ethnic Riots

All the condemned appear to be Uighurs

(Newser) - A court in China's far western Xinjiang region sentenced six men to death today over riots between Muslim Uighurs and members of the Han Chinese majority that killed nearly 200 people in July. The sentences—the first for any of the scores of suspects arrested in the rioting—appeared aimed...

9 Busted in China Syringe Attacks

Spate of random stabbings unsettle western Urumqi

(Newser) - Chinese authorities have arrested nine suspects in connection with the recent spate of syringe attacks in Urumqi, reports state media. Some 531 people had been stabbed with hypodermic needles in Urumqi, most but not all of whom were Han Chinese, according to police. The attacks had set off another round...

In China's West, Muslims Keep Their Own Time

(Newser) - There are two time zones in Kashgar, China, and they’re two hours apart. Which you follow depends not on geographic location, but on ethnic identity. The town’s dominant Muslim Uighur minority refuses to set its clocks by China’s single, standardized time, instead using the same wacky, sun-based...

Georgians in Moscow Face Violence
Georgians in Moscow Face Violence

Georgians in Moscow Face Violence

As conflict continues, emigrants subject to beatings, robberies

(Newser) - As Russia maintains its military presence in Georgia, ethnic Georgians living in Moscow have reported growing harassment and violence. The Russian capital is home to 54,000 Georgians, and since the conflict began, they have been subjected to robberies, beatings, and intimidation, Bloomberg reports. Police are stopping Georgians on the...

Turkish PM Tries to Quell Anger Over Fire

Deadly blaze in Germany raises ethnic tensions

(Newser) - Turkish PM Recep Erdogan today visited the site of a questionable Sunday fire in Germany that killed nine ethnic Turks and inflamed tensions between the country, Der Spiegel reports. Charges that the fire was arson, and that rescue workers were slow to respond, have captured headlines in Turkey; Erdogan mourned...

11 Stories