An election in Kiribati provokes Western alarm about Beijing’s sway in Pacific atoll nation

Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — People in Kiribati are going to the polls for the first round of voting in a national election expected to serve as a referendum on rising living costs and the government’s stronger ties with China. A second round of voting is scheduled on Aug. 19 for all parliamentary seats that are not won by a majority vote on Wednesday. Results from the first vote are expected Thursday. The nation of low-lying atolls with 120,000 people is one of the most threatened in the world by rising sea levels. Its strategic importance has provoked a foreign influence skirmish between Western powers and Beijing,