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2020
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Thursday 31 December 2020 4:37pm
Suva, Fiji : An estimated 161 babies will be born in the Pacific islands* on New Year’s Day, according to UNICEF. As the calendar turns to 2021, UNICEF is again celebrating the new lives being brought into the world on January 1. Samoa, in the Pacific, will welcome 2021’s first baby. Niue, its last. Regionally, the highest number of births are estimated to take place in three countries: Solomon Islands (53), Fiji (45), and Vanuatu (22). Statistically, Tonga expects six New Year babies, who may expect to live to the age of 80 years. -
Thursday 31 December 2020 2:51pm
Suva, Fiji : Vodafone will consider buying Digicel’s operations in Nauru and Tonga if it brings value for their shareholders, said the Regional Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Fiji, Pradeep Lal. -
Thursday 31 December 2020 1:55pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : HM King Tupou VI will ring in 2021 by attending the annual New Year Service of the Free Wesleyan Church at the Centennial Church [Saione], tonight December 31. -
Thursday 31 December 2020 1:03pm
Washington DC, USA : Corruption exists in all sectors and its impacts are universally negative, but corruption in public infrastructure is particularly nefarious for low-income countries. Estimates of losses to bribery in construction, which lies downstream from procurement, are as high as 45 percent of construction costs. In some situations, misconduct may not even be considered particularly harmful or wrong by the participants – as illustrated by the oft used term for corruption: the price of doing business. This doesn’t happen in a vacuum; corruption is enabled by the conventions and approaches that have been allowed to develop over time. By Ian Hawkesworth -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 8:25pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tonga’s aim to reach 50% renewable energy by the end of 2021 may be delayed further as border restrictions due to CoViD-19 continues to hinder projects.
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Wednesday 30 December 2020 8:22pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Eight people have been arrested and charged in the seizure of cannabis and methamphetamine at different locations in Tongatapu, during Tonga Police holiday operation, which began on December 21.The police holiday operation, which ends on January 4 next year has 278 Tonga police officers working around the clock to ensure people's safety and public order. Premium content -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 8:18pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The death of a 19-year-old boy whose body was found at a home in Folaha, Tongatapu on Christmas Day, has been ruled a suicide. Premium content -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 4:37pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Ata Inia, a rising soccer star in Cambodia, South East Asia is Tonga’s first professional soccer player, according to the Khmer Times, a Phnom Penh media outlet. Premium content -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 1:28pm
London, United Kingdom : In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to divide countries and their responses according to their political systems, with many attributing China’s success in controlling the virus to its authoritarianism. As of late 2020, however, it is clear that the real dividing line is not political but geographical. Regardless of whether a country is democratic or authoritarian, an island or continental, Confucian or Buddhist, communitarian or individualistic, if it is East Asian, Southeast Asian, or Australasian, it has managed COVID-19 better than any European or North American country. The fact remains that you were much likelier to die of COVID-19 in 2020 if you were European or American than if you were Asian. - By Bill Emmott -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 12:46pm
New York, USA : New York Times reporting: Worldwide, COVID-19 has killed more than 1.5 million people, sickened millions more and short-circuited economies. Of all the industries reeling from its destructive impact, the travel industry was upended like no other. It’s unclear just which changes to the travel landscape will be in place a year from now — or 10 years on — but some answers are starting to come into focus. Premium content -
Wednesday 30 December 2020 12:02pm
Suva, Fiji : A Fiji $2 million grant to help Fiji recover from the devastating impact of Cyclone Yasa was dispatched by the Asian Development Bank on 24 December. Damage assessments indicated that about 93,000 people, or 10% of the population were directly affected. -
Tuesday 29 December 2020 5:35pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tonga’s health officials are keeping their “eyes and ears open” as they closely monitor the spread of a new more contagious CoViD-19 variant in England and other countries. Ministry of Health CEO, Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola said today they would closely study how this new variant evolves and adapt quickly to any new threat as it develops. Premium content -
Tuesday 29 December 2020 5:14pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A 19-year-old boy was found dead at a home in Folaha, Tongatapu. Police alleged it was a suicide but an inquest will be held this week to confirm the cause of death. Premium content -
Tuesday 29 December 2020 5:01pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A 19-year-old youth has been charged with manslaughter in the death of another 19-year-old boy on Christmas morning at a home in Longolongo. Premium content -
Tuesday 29 December 2020 4:58pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : All 286 repatriates from Auckland and Fiji who are currently in-home quarantine for seven days will be released in time to join in celebrations welcoming in the New Year, confirmed Tonga's Chief Medical Officer (Public Health) Dr Reynold 'Ofanoa this afternoon. Premium content -
Tuesday 29 December 2020 3:18pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Electricity Commission as required by the Concession Contract, has approved a tariff adjustment amounting to a total increase of 7.58 seniti/kWh from 63.82 seniti/kWh in electricity tariff, to be effective on 1 January 2021. Meter reading shall commence on 4 January 2021. Ko e totongi ‘uhila kamata koe seniti ‘e 71.40 ki he kilouati, ko e totongi ‘uhila fo’ou ia ‘e kamata ngaue’aki ‘e he Kautaha ‘Uhila pea ‘e vakai’i fakakuata ‘o fakatefito ‘i he feliliuaki ‘i he totongi ‘o e lolo pea mo vakai’i fakata’u ‘o fakatatau ki he feliliuaki ‘i he totongi koloa.- Tonga Power Ltd. -
Monday 28 December 2020 10:47pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Prince Claus Award 2020, an international recognition, honouring outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development, was presented to the Dowager Lady Tuna Fielakepa tonight, at a special ceremony held in Nuku'alofa, hosted by the Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The award was presented by HRH Princess Pilolevu Tuita. Premium content -
Monday 28 December 2020 1:09pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A documentary film about mental health and the different approaches to the treatment of mental illness in Tonga, was awarded the best feature film award for 2020 by the American Society for Visual Anthropology in December. The Healer and the Psychiatrist” is the work of a British anthropologist Dr Mike Poltorak who used a video camera as part of his 20 years of medical anthropological research in Vava‘u and Tongatapu. -
Monday 28 December 2020 1:07pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Digicel, the largest mobile business in the Western Pacific, owned by the Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien, “is being crawled over by buyers who see an opportunity to buy the key infrastructure, which is suffering from high debt levels and weak earnings because of the pandemic”, reported the Australian Financial Review on 18 December. Premium content -
Thursday 24 December 2020 3:19pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Last minute shoppers packed the seafront open-market on Vuna Road in Ma’ufanga on Christmas Eve. Premium content
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