A man was found to have passed away on the side of the road on the waterfront at Sopu, Nuku'alofa, this morning, December 21. Police understood the man was out walking on the road before collapsing.
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Tuesday 21 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Tuesday 21 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Air New Zealand cancelled its flight from Auckland to Tonga late this morning due to concern over volcanic ash clouds close to Tongatapu, following a high level ash eruption at Hunga Tonga- Hunga Ha'apai detected over the last two days. Tonga's head geologist Taaniela Kula, confirmed this afternoon that an ash eruption started at about 9:35am yesterday, Monday, 20 Dec. and continued to 2:00am today, from Hunga Ha'apai, located about 65km from Nuku'alofa. A gaseous eruption is continuing intermittently.

Monday 20 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
It was busy at the Nuku'alofa waterfront today as hundreds of travellers left on the domestic ferries for the outer islands of Ha’apai and Vava’u for the holidays. By Eleanor Gee.

Monday 20 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene decreased slightly, starting today Monday, December 20.

Monday 20 December 2021
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The Hague, Netherlands
H.E. Hon. Titilupe Fanetupouvava'u Tu'ivakano joined other ambassadors to present her credentials to HM King Willem Alexander at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, Netherlands on December 16, in the first physical audience granted by the King of the Netherlands, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monday 20 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's 21-month long night time curfew will be eased slightly for New Year's Eve, 31 December, when the curfew will commence from 2:00am to 5:00am instead of starting at midnight. During the National Prayer Week 2022 it will commence from midnight to 3:00am, under Tonga’s Health State of Emergency that has been renewed for another month from today to 17 January 2022.

Saturday 18 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
The funeral cortege of Tonga's Deputy Prime Minister, the late Hon. Lord Ma'afu, will arrive in Tonga on Tuesday 21 December from Auckland. A military funeral with honours will be held the following week on Monday 27 December at Tokomololo, the Prime Minister's Office announced this afternoon. A vigil and prayer service will be held tonight in Auckland. The programme for the funeral activities was released.

Saturday 18 December 2021
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Corruption is a problem across both the Public and Private Sectors in 10 Pacific Island Countries, according to Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer – Pacific 2021, released in November. Two thirds of respondents (66 per cent) in Tonga think that levels of corruption in their government had increased. While 55 per cent of respondents in Tonga think that corruption in the business sector increased over the 12 months prior to the survey.
Friday 17 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga will receive more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Australia in the New Year for booster shots, the Minister for Health, Hon Dr ‘Amelia Tu’ipulotu said today. “We need to speed up the third dose to protect our country from the new Omicron variant,” she said.

Friday 17 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Poni ‘Ahohako (26) was found guilty of serious housebreaking and causing serious bodily harm, when he hit Ramsay Dalgety on the head with a teapot, when he broke into his home on February 8 this year, at Ha'ateiho.

Friday 17 December 2021
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Auckland, New Zealand
Tributes are flowing for former ‘Ikale Tahi halfback, Taniela Moa, aged 36, who died suddenly in New Zealand on Thursday.

Thursday 16 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Eighty-two marriages have been registered this month by the Nuku'alofa Registry, as December remained the most popular month for couples to tie the knot, before government closes for the Christmas holidays on 20 December.

Thursday 16 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Youth from the communities of Nuku’alofa, Hahake, and Hihifo took part in a competition event highlighting climate resilience and social change, under the Agents for Change Project, at the Nuku'alofa waterfront today.

Thursday 16 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A man was sentenced to 18-months imprisonment for two counts of serious indecent assault of a young girl in Tongatapu. Being the breadwinner for his family did not entitle the accused to a full suspension of an imprisonment sentence because of the seriousness of the sexual offence that he had committed, said the judge.

Thursday 16 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A prisoner at Hu'atolitoli Prison was charged with possession of cannabis last week, and another charged with cultivation, while in a separate incident, a man from Matangiake was arrested after Tonga Customs seized a hand gun and ammunition that was imported to Tonga.

Wednesday 15 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga has many urgent needs and three major concerns for our new Prime Minister Designate, Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni, are health, illegal drugs and school dropouts. “There's a lot [of concerns] and that is why it's important to have a good team to work with,” he said following his election today. By Pesi Fonua.

Wednesday 15 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
An emotional Siaosi ‘Ofakivahakifolau Sovaleni (51) was elected as Tonga's new Prime Minister Designate just before 3:00pm this afternoon, winning 16 votes in the Legislative Assembly at Nuku'alofa.

Wednesday 15 December 2021
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Christchurch, New Zealand
Manu Hausia (28) has pleaded guilty to four charges, including attempted murder at the High Court in Christchurch. He is remanded in custody to be sentenced in February 2022. Hausia, in New Zealand on an interim visitor visa, admitted his brutal assault on a solo mum, committed on September 2.

Wednesday 15 December 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Two nominees for Prime Minister Designate, named as Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni and ‘Aisake Valu Eke, have addressed the newly elected Members of the Tonga Legislative Assembly this morning in an ongoing meeting, which started at 10:00am at Parliament House in Nuku'alofa. Other members are now speaking before they take a break to prepare for a secret ballot. By Linny Folau.

Wednesday 15 December 2021
Johannesburg, South Africa
New York Times reporting: An early study of coronavirus test results in South Africa suggests that, so far, patients infected with the omicron variant may be hospitalized less often than patients infected with earlier versions of the virus. The study — which was released Tuesday and is based on only three weeks of data — also shows that vaccines are not as effective against the variant, which poses a higher risk of breakthrough infections. Booster shots increased the Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy against infection.