Riots rage in Kashmir

Protesters continue to riot on the streets of Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir for the eighth day, burning tyres and vehicles and marching against what they called a government plan to build Hindu settlements in the country's only Muslim-majority state.

Thousands of police patrolling the region have been unsuccessful in quelling the riots, and businesses, shops and schools in the provincial capital remain closed.

A declaration from the state's top elected official on Sunday that his cabinet would formally revoke the plan also failed to subdue the protests.

Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, a prominent separatist leader, said the riots would continue "until we see the revocation in writing".

Controversial allotment

The protests were sparked after the state government transferred 99 acres of land to a board that governs a local Hindu shrine. The land was meant to be used to build facilities for the thousands of pilgrims that flock to the shrine each year.

But Kashmir's Muslims say the move was a ploy to encourage Hindu migration to the state, which is held in part by India and Pakistan, but claimed by both in full.

The Indian government dismissed the accusation, saying India has never encouraged Hindus to settle in the region.