Results for Pacific Islands

A 6’8 tall Tongan-born American Football player, Giovanni Manu (23) was drafted by the Detroit Lions, from the University of British Columbia (UBC) on Saturday, 27 April 2024. He grew up in Pahu, Nuku'alofa, before emigrating to Canada.

Australia has allocated to Tonga a total of 150 new Pacific Engagement Visas for 2024, through an online ballot process set to open on 3 June. The Pacific Engagement Visa is a new permanent resident visa for participating countries across the Pacific and Timor-Leste, with up to 3,000 visas opportunity to be given every year.

An ash cloud was observed being emitted from the Tofua Volcano rising to a height of 4km - 6km on Sunday 29 April 2024 at 10:00pm, and recorded by the Japanese weather satellite HIMAWARI-9. Tonga Geological services reported that the volcanic activity, which commenced on Friday, 26 April, has exhibited an unusual pattern, with continuous monitoring revealing fluctuation in event frequency. A Marine Hazard Alert was issued today advising all Mariners to sail beyond 1.08 nautical miles from Tofua Volcano until further notice.

The Legislative Assembly of Tonga will hold a soft closing of its 2023-24 session on Thursday next week, 2 May, without much fanfare. Parliament will then take a break until the State Opening of the 2024-2025 Session on Thursday 16 May.

A total of 57 athletics records were entered in the Record Book at the national secondary schools athletic sports in Nuku'alofa this month. The large number of records for 2024 reflected a reset in over 90 years of sporting records in Tonga, after the setting of a new age limit, along with new events/categories introduced at the 97th Secondary Schools Athletic Sports, held at Teufaiva Stadium, over the week 2-5 April, and this year sponsored by TongaHealth.

Tapaita Fonokalafi (10) was crowned Little Miss Aotearoa New Zealand 2024, on April 21, at Papa Hou Theatre, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tapaita was also chosen to represent New Zealand to the Little Miss Universe 2024 pageant, that will be held in Turkey next month.

Tonga’s U-16 team defeated Papua New Guinea (7-0) in their last match in OFC Championship qualifying stage, at Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku’alofa today. Meanwhile, the undefeated Solomon Islands secured their ticket to Tahiti to participate in the OFC Men’s U-16 Championship, with a 4-0 win against American Samoa earlier in the day.

Tonga has made significant progress in its digital journey by partnering with UNESCO to host a multi-stakeholder workshop for the Internet Universality Indicators (IUI) National Assessment Project for Tonga using the ROAM – X Framework. Held at the Tanoa Hotel, 17 April, this workshop represents a crucial moment in Tonga’s commitment to creating an inclusive and rights-respecting Internet environment.

Written Speech delivered by H.E. Ambassador Liu Weimin upon arrival in Tonga: It is a great pleasure for me to serve as the ninth Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to the Kingdom of Tonga, which is known as the "Island of Friendship and Love". I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to friends from all walks of life who have long been caring about and supporting the development of China-Tonga relationship. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1998, China-Tonga relations have maintained steadfast momentum.