Results for Tonga

A 21-year-old Tongan woman who returned from Sydney on Monday, March 2 is Tonga’s first suspected case of coronavirus (COVID-19). Samples are being sent to New Zealand for confirmation, and that may take three days.

Lord Tu’ivakano has denied offences made against him relating to the issuance of Tongan passports to Chinese nationals, when he gave evidence as the first witness for defense, on March 3.

Independent think tank, the Royal Oceania Institute (ROI), announced 10 new board members on 3 March.

When Dr Duke Mataka became Tonga’s Ophthalmologist in 2018, he filled a post that had been vacant for a decade following the departure of Dr Afu Taumoepeau. Last year alone they carried out 500 operations, mainly cataract treatments.

While no cases of coronavirus have been identified in Tonga, the country has raised its alert level from high to very high, in a fourth travel advisory issued today, aimed at preventing the virus from entering the country.

Dr Opeti Pulotu from Vava'u was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer for the Tonga National Qualifications and Accreditation Board (TNQAB) effective from 21 February 2020.

Tonga’s famous Olympic flag bearer, Pita Taufatofua, has made history again for the Kingdom, after qualifying in Taekwondo for his third Olympics in a row on 29 February, on the Gold Coast, Australia. Malia Paseka also secured an Olympic spot, for the first time in Taekwondo.

A girl (12) whose body was recovered at the swimming pool at Touliki on Saturday, after swimming with her school sports team, was missing for over two hours before police search and rescue were called by her mother when she failed to return home.

Soane Patita Toutai’olepo (19) was sentenced to two-years imprisonment for grievous bodily harm, when he threw a rock injuring another student in a school rivalry between Tupou College and Tonga College, in 2019. The Chief Justice said it was a deterrent for future rival school violence. "It is a very great shame that the defendant must start his adult years by spending a year in prison.”