The COVID-19 vaccine program will start rolling out in the Niuas on 28 September, the Ministry of Health confirmed yesterday. Meanwhile, the Health CEO Dr Siale ‘Akau'ola urged young people (18-29 years) throughout Tonga to hurry up and get their vaccinations because COVID-19 can reach Tonga. “If you get the vaccine while there is a COVID outbreak, it’s too late. There will be hundreds of lives lost,” he warned.
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Thursday 23 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Thursday 23 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The second session of Tonga's Court of Appeal for this year concluded today, September 23. Judgements on 11 cases including land, criminal and civil appeals, will be delivered in due course.

Thursday 23 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Lisiate Lakalaka (21) was sentenced to 16-months imprisonment for serious housebreaking and theft of electronics goods valued at $10,900 pa’anga, at 'Anana. The offender had previous convictions.

Thursday 23 September 2021
Dubai, UAE
The Tongan Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020, a multi-million dollar facility built with assistance from the government of UAE, was officially handed over to Tonga's Ambassador, ahead of the official opening of the world expo next week. The theme of the pavilion ‘One Planet for All’ aims to shed light on the dangers of plastic waste to the ocean, its inhabitants and the subsequent challenges faced by the Pacific people.
Wednesday 22 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Latu Mata’u (43) was sentenced to 34-months imprisonment for serious causing bodily harm to a 21-year-old, whom he injured with a metal pipe while drinking at Veitongo. The sentence was fully suspended due to factors considered by the Supreme Court Judge that resulted in this exception.

Wednesday 22 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Vainikolo Maile (39) who was convicted of serious indecent assault of a woman received a suspended sentence on condition, that he voluntarily be admitted to the Psychiatric Ward at Vaiola Hospital for three-months. The judge said Maile is someone who has struggled with intellectual impairment from birth and there was no system of support that was offered in his formative years.

Wednesday 22 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A masked man who robbed a Tongatapu petrol station on September 7 has been arrested by Tonga Police.

Wednesday 22 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s Foreign Reserve held by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga rose significantly in August 2021 by $46.9 million to $751.7 million, which is equivalent to 13.1 months of imports.

Tuesday 21 September 2021
Hamilton, New Zealand
New research into the effect of drinking kava on driving has revealed it has a significant impact on temporal order judgement - or how well the brain is able to keep track of the order of events. Dr Apo Aporosa says the research findings will assist with kava drink-driving cases in court, but there is more work to be done.
Tuesday 21 September 2021
Sydney, Australia
A new declaration by Pacific leaders on maritime zone
preservation helps, but must also allow for cultural dialogue. With only 35 out of 48 overlapping boundaries mutually delineated between countries in the Pacific Island region, the Declaration’s call for urgent and collective action to secure maritime zones of Forum member states will require significant diplomatic, legal and cultural dialogue. The latter point could present the greatest challenge if indigenous knowledge is not afforded the same level of recognition by both bilateral partners in a boundary negotiation. -By Anna Naupa.
Tuesday 21 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
HM King Tupou VI will open a two-day National Symposium on Illicit Drugs on October 6, aimed to develop a way forward in Tonga's fight against illicit drugs.

Tuesday 21 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Nomani Kama Manulevu (45) from Nukuhetulu is the man charged with the exportation of 30 kilograms of methamphetamine from Tonga. He is remanded in police custody, after appearing at the Fasi Magistrate's Court on September 20.

Tuesday 21 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Ta‘ufo‘ou Fale‘ofa (45) was sentenced today to 20-months imprisonment for using a firearm without a license, specifically a .45 pistol, which he fired at a vehicle in Kolonga in January this year, after entering a home with a loaded firearm. The judge noted the accused had a significant criminal history both here and in the United States for violence involving firearms.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Y-12 aircraft of the Lulutai Airlines blew out a tyre when it landed at the Kaufana Airport, ‘Eua on Friday morning, 17 September, with 12 passengers, including a cabinet minister.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Petrol, kerosene, and diesel prices have decreased for September - October starting today, September 20, as approved by the Tonga Competent Authority, while the LPG price has increased for September - December.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
‘Isileli and Sofia Tu’ifua (both 27) were sentenced to six-months imprisonment each, after being convicted on joint counts of possessing methamphetamine and cannabis. Their sentences were fully suspended.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Samuela Fiefia (26) was sentenced to eight months imprisonment for possession of 1.19 grams methamphetamine and possession 4.27 grams of cannabis seized at his home in Ma'ufanga.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Christchurch, New Zealand
Sisi’uhila Kiu, from Lapaha, Tonga, made a final commitment as Carmelite Sister Anne Mary of the Assumption in a ceremony held at the Carmelite Monastery in Christchurch, New Zealand, on August 15.

Monday 20 September 2021
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Pago Pago, American Samoa
American Samoa recorded its first COVID-19 case this month, after a resident who returned from Honolulu on September 13 tested positive for the virus. Only 7 countries in the world remain COVID-19 free to date. They include Tonga, Kiribati, Micronesia, Tuvalu, Nauru, North Korea and Turkmenistan. Four other dependencies or territories in the Pacific - Tokelau, Niue, Pitcairn Island, and Cook Islands - also remain COVID-19 free.

Saturday 18 September 2021
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Another 897 Tongans received their first shots and 51 received their second doses of COVID-19 vaccine, for the week September 10-16, after the Ministry of Health urged the 16,352 unvaccinated people in the targeted age groups to hurry up and get their shots this month before the vaccines expire. Unfortunately, at this rate it would take another 55 weeks to reach the target.
