Apparantly there were serious riots in Urumqi, China, yesterday, a city in the western province of Xianjiang. They say the death toll is at least 120 people, with hundreds more injured. I spent some time in Urumqi last summer during my travels, and am not terribly suprised, since the local Uighur Muslim population chafes under the domination of the Han Chinese, who make up a majority in this regional capital. Word has it that the riots may be spreading to Kashgar as well, the site of an attack during last year's Olympics that killed 16 security personel.

It's probably for the best that I've decided to avoid Western China and Central Asia this summer, going south instead.