UNICEF is calling for urgent action to protect children from a host of risks and harms online around the world including the Pacific, as part of its Safer Internet Day message this week. Tonga is playing its part with cyber safety programmes being delivered in the kingdom in partnership with UNICEF, who reports that that one in three internet users worldwide is a child.
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Results for Pacific
Thursday 8 February 2018
Suva, Fiji
Thursday 1 February 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga is having its say this week on a range of current Pacific regional priorities, at consultation workshops with representatives from the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) in Nuku’alofa.

Thursday 28 December 2017
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Brussels, Belgium
Five Pacific Islands are included in the European Union’s first blacklist, which names 17 tax havens, including American Samoa, Guam, Marshall Islands, Palau and Samoa as "non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes".

Thursday 28 December 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
For the first time in 60 years, only one tropical storm has struck the Southern Hemisphere so far this year in Indonesia in late November, compared to an average of at least five storms by Christmas Day. However, at least eight to 10 tropical cyclones are expected to hit this season, while the sea temperature is warmer than usual.

Thursday 28 December 2017
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Manilla, Philippines
Tonga, Samoa and Tuvalu will be able to access $15 million to strengthen resilience to disasters after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on 18 December it would provide policy-based loans and grants under its Pacific Disaster Resilience Program.

Wednesday 13 December 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Legal action against Tonga for withdrawing from hosting the 2019 Pacific Games has been given full support by members of the Pacific Games Council (PGC) General Assembly at a meeting held last Sunday 10 December, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The PGC has instructed its legal counsel in Tonga to proceed with an action for damages, which may amount to millions.

Tuesday 12 December 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga has stepped up its efforts to curb domestic violence with a new ‘Access to Justice Project’ legal centre launched last Friday, 8 December, that will provide free legal advice and support to survivors, as complaints of domestic violence continue to rise. It is the first in the Pacific Islands.

Monday 11 December 2017
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Nadi, Fiji
Tonga will host the 2018 Miss Pacific Islands pageant, which is usually held around the first week of December.

Thursday 2 November 2017
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New York / Suva
Children as young as 12 months old around the world are experiencing violence in their homes by those entrusted to take care of them, reveals a new UNICEF report released on 1 November. Six out of every 10 one year olds in 30 countries are subjected to violent discipline on a regular basis and nearly a quarter are physically shaken as punishment. One in 10 are hit or slapped on the face, head or ears.

Wednesday 25 October 2017
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Manila, Philippines
Urging countries to conserve and protect Blue Sharks, delegates from Samoa and Sri Lanka are defending the future of the migratory species at a conference on conserving wild animals held in Manila, Philippines from October 23-28.

Tuesday 17 October 2017
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Suva, Fiji
Fiji will receive a $31 million grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and a $42 million ADB loan for climate resilience projects and improving water and sanitation services.

Wednesday 11 October 2017
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Least Developed Countries are calling on the global community to do more at the upcoming Climate Change negotiations (COP23) in Bonn, Germany, next month. Representing 47 of the world’s poorest countries, they are committing to fully support Fiji presiding over COP23.

Tuesday 10 October 2017
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Port Vila, Vanuatu
A platoon of Royal Tonga Marines from His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF) has joined the Australian Defence Forces (ADF) to evacuate around 11,000 residents from the active volcanic Ambae Island in Vanuatu on 30 September.

Friday 22 September 2017
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Suva, Fiji
A declaration outlining actions to tackle Climate Change is circling the Pacific Island countries for support before being delivered to world leaders at COP 23 in Bonn, Germany.

Thursday 21 September 2017
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Momi Bay, Fiji
A push for the development of political parties in democratic societies in the Pacific by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was the focus of a dialogue held this week in Momi Bay, Fiji where over 40 representatives from the Pacific region attended, including Tonga. UNDP's Bakhodir Burkhanov said political parties need to be “more than just a temporary vehicle for the promotion of the interests of one political leader or a small group”.

Thursday 14 September 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A brand new aviation security x-ray and radio communications equipment was handed over to Tonga Airports Limited staff today, 14 September, at Fua’amotu Airport, by New Zealand High Commissioner to Tonga, HE Sarah Walsh.

Tuesday 12 September 2017
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Apia, Samoa
An agreement to achieve universal health coverage and address non-communicable diseases in the Pacific region was signed by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Pacific Community (SPC) on 8 September in Apia, Samoa.

Wednesday 6 September 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Chief Justices from the Pacific Islands are in Nuku'alofa this week, attending a workshop to strengthen judiciaries in the Pacific. The focus on judicial leadership is part of an Initiative funded by the New Zealand Government.

Friday 1 September 2017
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Suva, Fiji
‘The Beginning of Life’ a documentary focused on giving children the best possible start to life and reinforcing the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child", screened for the first time in the Pacific region on August 30, in Suva, Fiji.

Tuesday 29 August 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Legal officers who draft legislation for governments in the Pacific region, met in Tonga last week, 23-24 August to share expertise and to reinforce knowledge of legislative procedures.
