A man holds up a banner as Indian students and supporters rallied in Melbourne on May 31, 2009, as Australia scrambled to contain outrage over a wave of attacks that has seen it labelled racist and strained diplomatic relations with New Delhi. What began as a local policing issue in Australia's second largest city has spiralled into a crisis that prompted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to call his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh last week to assure him about student safety. Harrowing accounts of Indian students being bashed and robbed have featured prominently in sub-continental newspapers, along with photographs of a recent victim, Sravan Kumar Theerthala, lying comatose in his hospital bed. Theerthala was stabbed with a screwdriver by gatecrashers at a party he was attending, leading to a 17-year-old being charged with attempted murder. AFP PHOTO/William WEST (Photo credit should read WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
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AFP WILLIAM WEST