Stabbings, riots and misinformation in Sydney prompt concerns about social cohesion

Police talk to locals across the street from the Assyrian Christ The Good Shepherd Church on April 16. PHOTO: REUTERS
People leave floral tributes for victims of the attack at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre on April 16. PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – A riot in a Sydney suburb sparked by a live-streamed stabbing of a Christian bishop – just two days after an attack at a shopping centre on April 13 – has raised concerns about whether the city’s social cohesion is fraying.

The riot occurred in Wakeley, a quiet, culturally diverse suburb that would typically pride itself as a beacon of Australia’s multicultural success.

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