Results for Tonga

Three waste management vehicles gifted from the Government of Japan will be used by Waste Authority Ltd. to extend its services in Ha'apai, to collect garbage more efficiently in all villages from Lifuka to Foa.

Tonga's Ministry of Health today urged those aged 18 – 29 years to get their COVID-19 vaccinations, after it was revealed the age group had the lowest inoculation rate at 38% compared to older people. The Minister said they needed to speed up the vaccinations in order to resume the repatriations to Tonga. “The return of these people depends on how good our vaccination rate is. And if we take it slow just because no one here has the virus, they will continue to suffer.”

Tonga’s Director of Meteorology, ‘Ofa Fa’anunu has been re-elected for another four-years as President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Region V, at their virtual session held from September 1-3. "Our challenges are quite unique in the sense that we are in charge of monitoring the atmosphere and the ocean in a very large area of mostly ocean," he said.

A man who stole over $20,000 worth of goods from his employer in Nuku'alofa, was sentenced to three-years six-months imprisonment for serious housebreaking and theft. However, because he was a young first offender and had pleaded guilty, the judge showed leniency and suspended the sentence for three years.

More than 20 Tongan nationals stranded in Fiji since March after Tonga closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, claim they have been neglected by their government. The Fiji Times reported a claim by the Tongans that their government had turned a blind eye to their pleas to return home after it allowed 14 Chinese into the Kingdom from Vanuatu late last month.

A couple were found guilty on joint counts of possessing 3.82 grams of methamphetamine and 22.6 grams of cannabis, seized in a police raid at a residence selling illicit drugs in Sopu, Nuku'alofa.

Kepilini Pole’o was found guilty of possessing 0.13 grams of methamphetamine seized at a residence in Vaini, after Tonga Police raided a house, after receiving information that drugs were being sold from there. Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC found the accused guilty on the possession offence on September 1, at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court

The inaugural Tourism Leaders’ Summit was held on Monday 23 August, at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre, with a theme “Leadership Refocus for Tourism's Survival” to discuss the best ways forward for securing the tourism sector’s survival in Tonga. The summit will continue on a quarterly basis, leading up to the National Tourism Forum in early 2022.

‘Ana Lenilisi Tauvaka was found guilty of receiving more than $10,000 pa'anga worth of stolen goods from her husband, after he had stolen truckloads of goods from the warehouse of his employer, Adiloa’s Store in Nuku'alofa.