Word: rini
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After an uneventful national election in long-restive Solomon Islands, many expected the Parliament's choice of a Prime Minister to go smoothly. But when the 50 M.P.s chose Snyder Rini as the country's new leader on April 17, the capital, Honiara, exploded into violence. Looting and arson almost destroyed the small commercial district, setting the country's already fragile economy back years...
...first rock from a crowd of protestors outside Parliament House. "After that it just erupted," says Royal Solomon Islands Police spokesman Mick Spinks. "The whole crowd just started picking up rocks and stoning the police and the police cars." Tear gas was used as a last resort to allow Rini to escape to safety, Spinks says. When the officers retreated into the building, half the 1,000-strong mob stayed around Parliament and the other half headed for Chinatown, starting an arson and looting spree that continued for two days...
...rioters' outrage stems from reports that Rini had bought M.P.s' votes with money from Asian business backers. Rini has denied the allegations, but claims of bribery and corruption - which were also leveled at his predecessor, Sir Allan Kemakeza - swirl constantly on the Solomons' "coconut wireless." Police investigating the riots on Sunday arrested Central Honiara M.P. Nelson Ne'e for intimidation and issued a warrant for the arrest of East Honiara M.P. Charles Dausabea on similar charges...
...threat from the mercury has spread beyond the villages around the mining site. The processing units are highly mobile, with some located as far as 50 km away, says Rini Sulaiman, an environmental toxicologist with the U.S.-funded National Resources Management Program. And that, says Daniel Limbong, means the mercury contamination will eventually threaten the 400,000 people living in Manado. It could be happening already. According to Limbong, samples taken from sediment in the estuary of the Talawaan river where it empties in Manado Bay are almost at the levels seen in samples taken where the river passes...
...felt like I was flying blind," says Ayirini M. "Rini" Fonseca-Sabune '04. "Nobody told me what I should be looking...