Solomon Islands police find 3 bodies after violent protests
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Solomon Islands police have found three bodies in a burned-out building and arrested more than 100 people in this week’s violence sparked by concerns about the Pacific nation’s increasing links with China. Australian media reported the bodies were recovered late Friday after riots and protests subsided. Authorities imposed a curfew in the capital Honiara, after a 36-hour lockdown ordered by the embattled Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare ended Friday. Sogavare blamed outside interference for stirring up the protests calling for his resignation, with a thinly veiled reference to Taiwan and the United States. Sogavare has been criticized by leaders of the most populous island of Malaita for a 2019 decision to drop diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favor of mainland China.