Thousands of protesters gathered in Auckland CBD yesterday 1 June, to show their solidarity with protests in the United States against police brutality. Among the protests were Samoan and Tongan flag wavers. The protesters attempted to reach the United States Consulate which was closed off by New Zealand police.
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Results for Pacific Islands
Tuesday 2 June 2020
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Auckland, New Zealand
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Tuesday 2 June 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Around eighty Tongan students studying in Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Australia under the Australia Awards Scholarships have had to adjust their normal study routine to cope with CoViD-19 restrictions.
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Friday 29 May 2020
Auckland, New Zealand
Samoan citizens stuck in New Zealand can now return to Samoa as the first of a series of repatriation flights departed Auckland to Apia today, 29 May.
Friday 29 May 2020
Honiara, Solomon Islands
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) is calling for collective action to focus on people, not just technology, in efforts to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. FA Director General, Dr Manu Tupou-Roosen an international forum last week, said it is people who commit fisheries offences, not vessels.
Thursday 28 May 2020
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Washington D.C., U.S.A
Already among the most remote countries on earth, Pacific island states saw their vital economic links weakened in recent months with the evaporation of tourism, severe disruptions to international trade, and a reduction in remittances. For these countries, the COVID-19 pandemic may cut deeper than even some of the worst cyclones from years past. Emergency assistance for Pacific island countries will be considered by the IMF’s Executive Board in the coming weeks, says a new report.
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Thursday 21 May 2020
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Geneva, Switzerland
Dressed in a Tongan designed shirt, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus dedicated his closing speech of the 73rd World Health Assembly in Switzerland on 19 May, to a Tongan nurses choir, who were supposed to perform at the conference but were unable to travel due to coronavirus restrictions.
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Saturday 16 May 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
On November 2, 1866, the Reverend Shirley Waldemar Baker, missionary and eventual Prime Minister of Tonga, gave a lecture in which he describes the last traditional God House in Ha'apai....“I have stood in the old Fale Mee at Haano, which is the last fale otua (temple of their god) still standing in Haapai. At the foot of the principal post there is buried a man, who was said to be the best singer in all Tonga. He was offered a living sacrifice to the god at the building of the temple, as an act of dedication.” By David V. Burley.
Friday 15 May 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
No-fishing areas established around Tonga are showing they are helping coral reef ecosystems to recover, says the Special Management Area Report 2020, compiled by the Ministry of Fisheries in partnership with Australia's James Cook University recently. Damaged reefs might take 20 years for full recovery.
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Wednesday 13 May 2020
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Apia, Samoa
A former Prime Minister and Head of State of the Republic of Samoa, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi has challenged Samoa’s current Prime Minister Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi over his move to amend Samoa’s 1962 Constitution, and the meaning of land rights.
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Friday 8 May 2020
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Suva, Fiji
CoViD-19 information for people throughout the Pacific is being compiled by a new FSPI website that provides links to relevant articles on the virus.
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Thursday 16 April 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Australia has provided immediate financial assistance to Tonga after severe Tropical Cyclone Harold and supoort in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Thursday 16 April 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
‘Ata, Tonga’s southernmost island, is a long way away, separated from Tongatapu by 160 km of open ocean. ‘Ata’s place in the history books is well established. It was here, in June 1863, that the whaling ship Grecian under Captain Thomas McGrath anchored off the northeastern shore and only village, Kolomaile. The details of the events that followed are sketchily recorded, but the consequence is notorious. A large number of ‘Ata’s residents were lured on to the ship, captured, and then sold to a Peruvian slaver for transport to Lima. None were to return. In the aftermath of the raid, and under the orders of Tupou I, the remaining ‘Atans were resettled on ‘Eua, in a village they again named Kolomaile. By David V. Burley.
Friday 3 April 2020
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Canberra, Australia
The Australian Government is assisting Pacific Island countries, including Tonga, to prepare and prevent the spread of CoViD-19, and manage health and economic impacts.
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Tuesday 31 March 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Pasifika populations are particularly at risk for CoViD-19, where the risk of hospitalisation is seven times higher than for NZ European and Other ethnic groups, warns a New Zealand report on worse case scenario modelling.
Thursday 26 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Australian Volunteers were flown out of Tonga on a charter flight organised by the Australian Volunteers International (AVI) on 25 March, confirmed the Australian High Commission (AHC) in Tonga today.
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Saturday 21 March 2020
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The South Pacific Tourism Exchange that was set for May 25-26 in Christchurch has been cancelled due to COVID-19. “We will now realign our resources and efforts to support the post COVID-19 Recovery efforts of our members,” said CEO Christopher Cocker.
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Thursday 19 March 2020
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's stunning ngatu provide testimony to the considerable antiquity of Tongan artistic designs. Variation of the ngatu patterns, and the way these are organized, had been inscribed on the surfaces of Lapita pottery in Tonga almost 3,000 years ago. By David V. Burley.
Monday 16 March 2020
Auckland, New Zealand
Air New Zealand halted trading today as it announced capacity cuts across its global network due to the impact of COVID-19 on travel demand.
Saturday 14 March 2020
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Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand's strict new COVID-19 health measures to be put in place at the border for people departing to the Pacific include: • No travel for people who have travelled outside of New Zealand in the past 14 days, • No travel for close or casual contacts of a confirmed case. • No travel for anyone who is symptomatic. • Health assessment including temperature check.
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Friday 13 March 2020
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London, UK
Sagufta Salma, from Fiji, has won a regional Commonwealth Youth Award and a £3,000 grant for her enterprise in turning waste material into sustainable furniture and home accessories. The awards were presented in London this week.
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Tonga weather forecast from yr.no, delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the NRK. See also Fua'amotu Weather Forecasting Center, Tonga, for latest local weather bulletin.