Matangi Tonga - Tonga's leading news website
Breaking news
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Thursday 4 March 2021 7:31pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tonga will rely on advice from WHO on the COVID-19 passport matter, said Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola this week. Other countries are exploring the issue of COVID-19 passports as well.
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Thursday 4 March 2021 6:31pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : ‘Asaeli Teulilo (32) is serving eight months imprisonment for possessing 1.3 grams of cocaine and 0.1 gram of cannabis. The Lord Chief Justice warned that harsher penalties are expected on any offences committed after November 26, 2020, involving more than 0.25 grams of a Class A drug, because they are deemed as supply. Free to view -
Thursday 4 March 2021 6:09pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Tonga has a new handbook to guide parliamentary reporters. The 88 pages bilingual Tongan/English, “Tonga Parliamentary Reporters’ Handbook” was launched by the Speaker Lord Fakafanua, at Parliament House, Nuku'alofa, this morning, 4 March 2021. But significantly, the new handbook makes no mention of the role of political parties in Tonga’s parliament. Free to view -
Wednesday 3 March 2021 6:16pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Repatriation flights from Australia and Fiji arrived this afternoon with 167 passengers, confirmed Deputy Police Commissioner ‘Atunaisa Taumoepeau. Free to view -
Wednesday 3 March 2021 6:09pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The 107 passengers repatriated from Brisbane, Australia on 11 February, have tested negative to CoViD-19 in their last round of testing, confirmed Chief Medical Officer (Public Health) Dr Reynold 'Ofanoa today. Free to view -
Wednesday 3 March 2021 6:08pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Suspended jail sentences were imposed on Kuliti Tongamoa for supplying cocaine to ‘Epeli Taione, who was found guilty of possession. Both maintained their innocence, which was disappointing particularly in Taione's case, said the Acting Supreme Court Judge, “as this sort of behaviour is a sure recipe for re-offending.” Free to view -
Wednesday 3 March 2021 5:34pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : ‘Amusia Mateni was found guilty at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court of possessing 8.08 grams of methamphetamine during a confrontation with a police officer on a road in Ngele'ia. He tried to destroy the illicit drug by tearing the packets in his mouth and throwing it into a puddle. Free to view -
Tuesday 2 March 2021 6:40pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Dates for repatriation flights to Tonga have been scheduled for the remainder of 2021, confirmed MEIDECC CEO Paula Ma’u today. Free to view -
Tuesday 2 March 2021 5:45pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : A 37-year-old mother of seven who broke into a house in Nukunuku and stole Tongan koloa (mats and ta'ovala) worth $14,100, received a suspended jail sentence, at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court. She is a repeat offender, but the Judge considered that her children would be in trouble if she was imprisoned. Free to view -
Tuesday 2 March 2021 4:14pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The repatriation flight from Auckland that was planned for 3 March has been rescheduled to arrive next Wednesday 10 March, confirmed MEIDECC CEO Paula Ma’u this morning. Free to view
World
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Thursday 4 March 2021 5:53pm
Shepparton, Australia : New York Times reporting: With the Australian borders closed to the backpackers who do much of the country’s farm labour, the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the shaky labour foundation of the country’s agriculture industry, spurring calls for an immigration overhaul. Right now, farmers are contending with national borders that were closed in March 2020 and are unlikely to reopen until 2022. -
Tuesday 23 February 2021 10:54am
Christchurch, New Zealand : New York Times reporting: First the houses and cars vanished. Fences, driveways and the other remaining markers of suburban life followed. Now, only stretches of green remain — an eerie memorial to two earthquakes that leveled Christchurch, New Zealand’s second-largest city, 10 years ago. The undulating expanse, which begins 2 miles from downtown Christchurch, was deemed uninhabitable after the quakes, the second of which killed 185 people on Feb. 22, 2011. The 8,000 properties it encompassed were bought by the government and razed, the remnants swept away.
Opinion
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Monday 1 March 2021 7:09pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The debate over whether or not to turn to the deep sea to secure the resources we need for a low-carbon future has generated much public interest, but it is critical that this debate is founded upon sound science and the best data currently available. As such, I would like to correct a number of misrepresentations in the letter of Feb. 25 from the Civil Society Forum of Tonga. - Christina Pome'e, Tonga Offshore Mining Ltd. Free to view -
Thursday 25 February 2021 3:05pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : Deep Sea Mining (DSM) of polymetallic nodules in the Pacific Ocean is not essential for a renewables revolution. There would be massive amounts of waste produced and discharged to the ocean. The discharge plumes may also be quite toxic, with metals and processing agents. As Pacific Islanders already know - what happens in the deep doesn't stay in the deep. - Pelenatita Kara, Civil Society Forum of Tonga.1 comment Free to view
Pacific Islands
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Thursday 18 February 2021 5:50pm
Canberra, Australia : Australia plans to start the roll out of the Pfizer/BioNTech CoViD-19 vaccine next week to the first and most vulnerable Australians from 22 February.
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Friday 29 January 2021 6:30pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : In the field of ancient DNA remarkable new insights for Oceanic settlement are being revealed. The Lapita migration across Oceania was rapid, and undertaken by a homogeneous group both culturally and genetically. Arriving in Tonga almost three millennia ago, it marks the birth of Polynesia. By David V. Burley and Geoffrey R. Clark. Free to view
Sponsored Posts
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Tuesday 23 February 2021 4:48pm
Nuku'alofa, Tonga : The Ports Authority Tonga held its 2020 Annual General Meeting on 22 February, and paid its sole shareholder, the Government of Tonga, a dividend of $1,541,445, for the financial year ended 30 June 2020. Free to view
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.
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rkstoll says:
Absolutely right! Richard Stoll, Environmental scientist/Engineer
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