New Zealand to send military, police to Solomon Islands

By NICK PERRY
Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand will send up to 65 military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands in the coming days after rioting and looting broke out there last week over several issues, including concerns about the country’s increasing links with China. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday she was “deeply concerned” by the civil unrest that had unfolded in the capital, Honiara, and wanted to help restore peace and stability. Solomon Islands police found three bodies in a burned-out building and arrested more than 100 people amid the violence. The New Zealand move follows similar deployments from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji after  the Solomon Islands government requests for international help from.