Online News Paper

China's president has gone home from Italy’s G8 summit to try to sort out ethnic tensions in Xinjiang province. A Foreign Ministry statement said President Hu Jintao had cut short his trip to Italy to immediately go back to Beijing. It is not known if he will also travel to Urumqi, which about four hours by air from Beijing. Hundreds of Muslim Uighurs wielding makeshift weapons have once again engaged with police in Urumqi. The Uighurs, armed with sticks and meat cleavers, have been protesting in an area that stood between them and a Han Chinese populated area. On Sunday, running battles took place in the streets involving Han Chinese and minority Muslim Uighurs. The massive riot saw the deaths of 156 people. A heavy police and paramilitary presence has since been present with helicopters flying overhead. While authorities have blamed Uighurs for Sunday's unrest, many Han Chinese have also taken to the streets with shovels, meat cleavers and other makeshift weapons.