Pacific nations

Solomon Islands riot sets Chinatown ablaze in capital Honiara as protests turn violent

Rioters in the Solomon Islands torched buildings in the country’s capital of Honiara, setting the city’s Chinatown ablaze on November 25, 2021. It comes a day after anti-government protests broke out to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. The unrest is reportedly fuelled by discontent over the central government’s perceived neglect of the less-developed island of Malaita, and a decision to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019. 

November 25, 2021