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2020
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Thursday 29 October 2020 1:12pm
Ann Arbor-MI, USA : Unlike the old superpower contest between the United States and the Soviet Union, the incipient cold war between China and the US does not reflect a fundamental conflict of unalterably opposed ideologies. Instead, today’s Sino-American rivalry is popularly portrayed as an epic battle between autocracy and democracy. ...The idea that we can choose only between freedom in an American-style democracy and order in a Chinese-style autocracy is false. The real aim of governance is to ensure pluralism with stability – and countries everywhere must find their own path to this goal. By Yuen Yuen Ang -
Wednesday 28 October 2020 7:02pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is still mulling over who will be appointed as its new Secretary General, as incumbent Dame Meg Taylor nears the end of her term of office on 15 January 2021. Selectors also have to contend with Micronesia's insistence that their candidate should be selected for the top job this time.
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Wednesday 28 October 2020 6:34pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Fifty solar street lights were donated to Tonga by China’s Dongguan Municipality, during a signing ceremony at Fa’onelua Convention Centre today. Premium content -
Tuesday 27 October 2020 5:05pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A total of 234 people were issued with new traffic infringement notices and penalties in Tongatapu, mainly for speeding, in a two-weeks traffic operation by Tonga Police, between October 12-25. Premium content -
Tuesday 27 October 2020 4:53pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Sitela Fungavaka (76) was the passenger who died after the vehicle she was travelling in collided with another vehicle at Talafo’ou, on October 25. Premium content -
Tuesday 27 October 2020 4:02pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tonga's declaration of a State of Emergency and the national CoViD-19 restrictions have been extended from 8:00pm 26 October to 8:00pm 23 November due to the ongoing spread of CoViD-19 worldwide. Premium content -
Tuesday 27 October 2020 3:59pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Tongan government's services will close down for their annual Christmas holiday, for two weeks from Monday December 21, 2020, to resume on January 4, 2021. Premium content -
Tuesday 27 October 2020 3:34pm
London, United Kingdom : For those who have only ever known America as a champion of democracy and the rule of law, it has been tragic to witness the country's descent into corruption and bad-faith partisanship. And nowhere is the rule of "dark money" more evident than in the rushed confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett's appointment to the Supreme Court. By Chris Patten. -
Monday 26 October 2020 5:43pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : All 141 passengers repatriated from Christchurch, New Zealand earlier this month have tested negative for CoViD-19 confirmed Ministry of Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola today. Another 230 repatriated passengers are expected to arrive later this week from Brisbane and Auckland. Premium content -
Monday 26 October 2020 5:32pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A 21-year-old man was arrested and charged with reckless driving causing the death of a 76-year-old woman, after a collision at Talafo'ou on Sunday, October 25. Premium content -
Monday 26 October 2020 5:21pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : An assault case was remitted back for trial at the Magistrate's Court, after the Lord Chief Justice quashed a decision by a Senior Magistrate to withdraw the charge. This was an appeal by the Crown in a case, Police vs Lose Hansen (respondent) who was charged with common assault. Premium content -
Monday 26 October 2020 12:38pm
United Nations, NY : In what leading campaigners are describing as “a new chapter for nuclear disarmament”, the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will now come into force on 22 January 2021, after Honduras became the 50th Member State to ratify on Saturday. (Eight countries in the South Pacific have ratified the agreement and two have accessioned, but these do not include Tonga.) Premium content -
Monday 26 October 2020 11:15am
Chicago, USA : Throughout US President Donald Trump's first term, there has been constant hand wringing over a "constitutional crisis" that never arrived. The irony is that an administration led by Joe Biden would almost certainly confront such a crisis, owing to Trump's transformation of the Supreme Court into a right-wing redoubt. A constitutional crisis, properly understood as a turning point that might lead to collapse or transformation of the system, has not occurred. But such a crisis does now appear increasingly likely. By Eric Posner. -
Sunday 25 October 2020 9:45pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Tongan Parliament passed six Urgent Bills before it closed for the week on Wednesday 21 October. The push to amend the Illicit Drug Control Act is an effort by government to counter the usage of an illicit drug methamphetamine, commonly known as “ice”. From the House by Pesi Fonua. Premium content -
Saturday 24 October 2020 1:47pm
New York, USA : New York Times reporting- More than 79,000 new cases of the virus were reported across the United States Friday, shattering an earlier single-day record and stirring new fears about the months ahead. Premium content -
Saturday 24 October 2020 10:24am
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The tragic death of a local businessman, Tausinga Taumoefolau (46), in December 2019 was caused by the drunken driving of a criminal psychiatric patient, who was released because the Vaiola Hospital Psychiatric Ward was overloaded. “This case is an extremely tragic illustration and reminder of the effects on individuals and the community at large when this aspect of public health is not adequately resourced,” Lord Chief Justice M. H. Whitten QC observed yesterday, 23 October, in sentencing the offender, Lemoto Lemeki Manu (34). -
Friday 23 October 2020 5:10pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tongamoa Kakau (32) was sentenced to two-years six-months imprisonment for serious indecent assault committed on a 21-year-old woman in the early morning hours, at her home in Tongatapu. “ I have no doubt that this offending was caused by him drinking himself into a stupor,” said the judge. Premium content -
Friday 23 October 2020 5:06pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tongans who want to learn about food safety, how to print tapa, and make jewellery, can now access free online training courses run by Tonga Skills. Premium content -
Friday 23 October 2020 3:44pm
Melbourne, Australia : With the exception of decent New Zealand and arguably Australia, the rich, European ethnicity countries of the US Alliance have been involved in intentional Gerocide (mass killing of the elderly) in which their deliberate Covid-19 pandemic policies have resulted in “Covid-19 deaths per million of population” 10-180 times greater than in New Zealand (5). Expression of a deliberate intention to cause avoidable death of large numbers of people, and specifically of elderly people, would be unacceptable in politically correct Western democracies. But, unspoken and publicly unacknowledged, Gerocide is what has been happening in North America and Western Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic. By Dr Gideon Polya. -
Friday 23 October 2020 10:18am
Kingston, Jamaica : Digicel, on October 20, launched itself as a Digital Operator, marking the occasion by delivering simply more through a suite of eight apps and a promise of powerful digital experiences.
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