Riots Spread Outside Tibet

Following violent protests against Chinese rule that left 80 dead in Lhasa, according to the exiled Tibetan government, rioting flared today in a province bordering Tibet. Ethnic Tibetans in Sichuan besieged the main government building and set fire to a police station and marketplace. "They've gone crazy," one police officer told Reuters. Police have shot at least seven protesters to death, Tibetan sources say; Beijing disputes the figure.

The spreading violence came as the Dalai Lama met with reporters today, calling for an investigation of what he called China's "cultural genocide" in the region. But a Chinese security crackdown in Lhasa over the weekend has restored a strained calm there as the country preps for the Olympics kick-off next week, and protests are expected to remain localized. (More Tibet stories.)