A man who admitted purchasing and smoking meth, after pleading guilty to possession of illicit drugs, was discharged without conviction after a judge found he had 0.52 grams of methamphetamine left in a small bag, when police searched his trousers pocket. In acquitting Maika Maile (38) Justice Niu considered the amount of meth was “so infinitesimal”.
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Monday 10 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Sunday 9 December 2018
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Katowice, Poland
Fiji will be launching its Low Emission Development Strategy in Katowice, Poland on December 13 during the 24th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Fiji’s Prime Minister, Hon Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama stated while their Presidency may have come to an end, Fiji is determined to be at the cutting edge of the fight against climate change.

Sunday 9 December 2018
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Apia, Samoa
Tonga’s Under-20’s rugby team won the 2018 Oceania Rugby U20 Trophy Saturday, 8 December after narrowly defeating Samoa 27 – 20 in their hometown Apia.

Saturday 8 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A container load of wheelchairs and walking aids has been gifted to Vaiola Hospital in time for Christmas. Elder ‘Aisake Tukuafu of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, handed over the equipment to Reynold ‘Ofanoa, the Deputy CEO Ministry of Health on 30 November.

Saturday 8 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Thirty drivers from various companies in Nuku’alofa were awarded certificates after completing forklift training, recently, aimed to prevent accidents in workplaces.

Saturday 8 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Thirty-seven Tongan citizens received scholarships to take up university studies starting next year in Australia and the Pacific region.

Friday 7 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A two-day Holiday Market Festival Thursday and Friday, at the Tonga Development Bank in Nuku'alofa showcased products of the bank's customers in a Microfinance Scheme and attracted Christmas shoppers. The scheme aims help improve the incomes of the 22.1% of Tonga’s population who live below the National Poverty Line.

Friday 7 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Sami Likiliki Fisilau (52) was sentenced to two and a half-years imprisonment after pleading guilty to serious bodily harm and domestic violence committed on his 44-year-old wife in Vaini last year. “Domestic issues are no justification or excuse for violence and domestic abuse will be met with firm penalties," Mr Justice Cato told him.

Friday 7 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A bid by the Fiji, Tonga and Samoa Rugby Unions to set up a Pacific Islands Super Rugby team has failed after competition organisers decided it was not commercially viable, the Fiji Rugby Union said on Thursday.

Thursday 6 December 2018
Geneva, Switzerland
Each year, some 700,000 people die from drug-resistant infections worldwide. But superbugs also pose a threat to the effectiveness of modern medicine; if left unaddressed, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could make more infections untreatable, cancer therapies ineffective, routine surgeries impossible, and even childbirth unsafe. By Seth Berkley and Jeremy Farrar
Thursday 6 December 2018
Sydney, Australia
The establishment of renminbi-based oil trading at a time when China and many other economies confront aggressive US tariffs, and possible further development of renminbi-based trade in other commodity markets, suggests that the US dollar could face an unprecedented challenge to its hegemony. It may in the near future no longer be seen as the anchor of the international monetary system, bringing to an end to what Valéry Giscard d’Estaing famously called the “exorbitant privilege” enjoyed by the US as a result of the dollar’s centrality in international trade. By John A. Mathews and Mark Selden.
Thursday 6 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Building their capacity for generating incomes, nine Tongan women were awarded certificates after completed training under a Women’s Economic Empowerment Pilot Project on December 5.

Thursday 6 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Dr Geoff Neal, lead veterinarian for South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW) is currently in Tongatapu with his team of volunteers offering much needed vet treatment for the island's animals. They say Tonga has the greatest need in the Pacific because vet care is not easily accessible here.

Wednesday 5 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A seven-country project called “Promoting Nutritious Food Systems in the Pacific Islands” is undertaking a series of regional meetings in Nuku'alofa, Tonga, this week at the Tanoa Int'l Hotel. Yesterday, the first of the meetings aimed to find ways to increase poor rural people’s access to healthy food.

Wednesday 5 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga’s repayment of its $119 million pa'anga loan from the EXIM Bank of China for the reconstruction of the Nuku‘alofa Central Business District has been deferred for another five years.
Wednesday 5 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A new program under the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls was launched in Tonga by Australia’s third Ambassador for Women and Girls, Hon Dr Sharman Stone on December 5.

Wednesday 5 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 16-year-old boy who assaulted and robbed a Chinese shopkeeper in February this year was discharged without conviction by a Supreme Court judge on November 26 in Nuku'alofa who considered that: “a conviction for such a serious offence as robbery will be far more detrimental than the injury and theft he committed to the complainant."

Wednesday 5 December 2018
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Two men who were arrested for allegedly selling illicit drugs at the Tonga High School rugby field on November 29 in Nuku'alofa have been charged.

Tuesday 4 December 2018
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
This month 100 years ago, the Kingdom of Tonga was in a state of distress and alarm after a deadly influenza virus reached its shores, infecting most of the population and killing between 1,000 to 2,000 people (an estimated 4 – 8% of the population at the time) between November 1918 and January 1919. The mahaki faka‘auha - the disease that kills, brought Tonga to a standstill. By Eleanor Gee and Finau Fonua.
Tuesday 4 December 2018
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Katowice, Poland
Stating that we “are extremely concerned about the climate crisis” Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama issued a joint statement, together with three other former COP Presidents, last night calling on countries to send an unequivocal message from COP24 in Katowice, Poland, that they are serious about strengthening their commitments to reduce emissions and help build resilience.
