New needle attacks in China cities
Officials say mystery needle attacks have appeared to spread outside China's far western region as authorities arrested nine new suspects in three cities.
The Xinjiang government press centre in the provincial capital Urumqi said the attacks were in Hotan, Altay and Kashgar - cities in China's south, north, and west, respectively.
Since last week, more than 500 people in Urumqi have reported attacks, though only about 100 showed evidence of being pricked.
The bizarre stabbings led to mass demonstrations by tens of thousands of Han Chinese earlier this month.
Two noted bloggers published accounts of at least two Uighurs being beaten, one of them fatally, by Han Chinese.
Tibetan writer and blogger Woeser wrote an account of the beating to death of Uighur singer Mirzat Alim on September 2.