Four Tongan nationals, including two former civil servants, will be sentenced on 11 November after changing their plea to guilty to charges in a Tongan passport forgery trial that began at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on 13 September. The case involves a passport application using a forged Tongan birth certificate of a person who does not exist.
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Wednesday 14 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Wednesday 14 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s second Court of Appeal sitting today dismissed an appeal filed by a letter writer to the Kele’a newspaper, the Kele'a, and two others in a defamation case that awarded judgment against them when they were ordered to pay more than $200,000 in damages and costs after they were found guilty of defamation in 2013.

Wednesday 14 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Senior Police Constable (39) was suspended on Monday, 12 September after a complaint was made by an 18-year-old schoolgirl in Nuku’alofa.

Monday 12 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 24-year-old man died on impact when the truck he was driving crashed into a tree in front of the Hu’atolitoli Prison compound early Saturday morning, 10 September.

Monday 12 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Tonga Navy team won the Inaugural Services Swimming Championship, held at the Masefield Naval Base, Touliki on Friday, 9 September.

Monday 12 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The MV Maggie Cat's new inter-island ferry which can carry 260 passengers to Vava’u and Ha’apai has made three trips so far since it began on 31 August, but none has been full due to low demand.

Monday 12 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 17-year-old boy from Kahoua is in stable condition at Vaiola Hospital his car crashed into a fence of the Vaitohi Enterprises on Taufa’ahau Road early on Friday 9 September.

Saturday 10 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Chief Justice O. G. Paulsen has reserved his ruling on an application for an Injunction and a Judicial Review of a decision by the Minister for Infrastructure and Tourism, Hon Semisi Sika in June 2016, to remove the Chairman and a Director of the Tonga Tourism Authority Board.

Friday 9 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Twenty-five participants joined an Emergency Shelter Kits Training from September 7-9 in Nuku'alofa aimed to build capacity on the use of emergency shelter during emergencies, disasters and recovery period.

Friday 9 September 2016
Facebook
David Tilton on Facebook said: Why not start now? I'm tired of bags of filthy nappies being dropped off on our road. Why can't those bags be picked up in the weekly trash? Why do people feel compelled to drop off their filth in someone else's neighborhood?
Wednesday 7 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A second Tonga Court of Appeal Session for this year began in Nuku'alofa on Monday, 5 September and will hear 10 cases, including appeals made by the Crown against American fugitive Antone Thomas Pedras and another by Kele’a newspaper.

Wednesday 7 September 2016
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Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand is celebrating Tonga Language Week from September 4-10 focusing on observing how Tongan culture has shaped the country. The theme this year is ‘Fakakoloa ‘a Aotearoa ‘aki ‘a e Loto’i Tonga’ – Enriching Aotearoa with the Tongan Spirit.

Wednesday 7 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Hemaloto Makafilia (23) and Sailosi Lau’i (21) who were arrested and charged for the brutal attack of a 56-year-old American woman, the United States Peace Corps Director in Nuku’alofa in July, were denied bail by the Nuku'alofa Magistrate's Court on Monday, 5 September.

Wednesday 7 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Vendémiaire, a surveillance frigate of the French Navy from Noumea was in Nuku’alofa this week on a goodwill visit that included conducting joint training exercises with the Tonga Navy and donated french reading books to the French Learning Centre.

Wednesday 7 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Forty-two people were arrested and charged for alleged drunk driving and disorderly conduct mainly in central Nuku’alofa last weekend, the sixth week of Operation Safe Streets that aimed to prevent alcohol-related crimes in Tongatapu.

Monday 5 September 2016
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Tonga’s first female Olympic swimmer, Irene Prescott, counts her experience in Rio as invaluable saying “it was an extreme challenge and nerve racking to race with the best swimmers in the world”. The experience has inspired her to continue on her journey of improving her swimming technique and to compete in future world competitions.

Monday 5 September 2016
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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Para-athletes Sione Manu and ‘Ana Talakai will represent Tonga at the Rio Paralympic Games, set to begin this Wednesday September 7. Both athletes are competing in the Javelin throw. Tonga has participated in every Paralympic Games since the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, but this time Tonga is sending more than one athlete to compete.

Monday 5 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s first mini skateboarding park, purpose built for Tongan youth at Puke on Tongatapu, is proving very popular with the local neighbourhood kids who skateboard daily. The park helps to deter kids from drifting into unlawful activities and to develop skills, that might lead them to compete in future skateboarding competitions overseas. Photos by Linny Folau.

Monday 5 September 2016
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A Non-Profit Organisation, Tonga Youth Employment and Enterpreneurship today launched a new recruitment website and donated computers that will assist their work in supporting youths access to information, trainings and job opportunities.

Sunday 4 September 2016
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Manilla, Philippines
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to spend up to $2.5 billion in loans and grants to strengthen economic development in 14 Pacific Island countries after it unveiled a new five-year strategy on 1 September.
