We live on a parched planet. Subterranean aquifers, which amount to the world’s reserve water tank, are also running dry. If this continues, the consequences could be dire. Depleted aquifers near coastlines are prone to contamination from saltwater, rendering land barren...Subterranean aquifers should be the reservoir of last resort. If we don’t protect them today, future generations will pay a steep – or even an existential – price. By Yasmin Siddiqi, Principal Water Resources Specialist at the Asian Development Bank.
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Wednesday 7 June 2017
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Berkeley-California, USA
A distinguished academic, Patrick V. Kirch, Chancellor's Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in the ancient Pacific, urged Tonga's Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pohiva to protect the Va'epopua Sia Heu Lupe mound complex from desecration two years ago. "These archaeological sites are a priceless legacy of the ancient Tongan past and deserve to be protected for future generations to appreciate," he says.
Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
With one woman in the House, the Tongan Parliament suffered something of an identity crisis this morning as members tried to find an appropriate term to identify themselves in their letter responding to HM King Tupou VI’s opening speech of the 2017-2018 Parliamentary Session. They argued over an appropriate word to identify a woman member.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
King Tupou VI unveiled a monument to his father, King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV, the founder of Tonga High School, on Monday June 5, concluding a five-day celebration of the government high school’s 70th Anniversary in Nuku’alofa.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Apia, Samoa
“As we commemorate World Environment Day, connecting with nature, we focus our periscope on our Ocean. We must remember that our actions affect the ocean, even if we don’t live by the beach or eat fish. Reducing our carbon dioxide emissions will support ocean health – and the alternative is grim," said Mr Kosi Latu, Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), this World Environment Day.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's King Tupou VI will celebrate his 58th birthday in Vava’u in July this year, with various festivities.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a new community multi-purpose hall for the village of Haveluliku in eastern Tongatapu was officiated by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva on 31 May.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
‘Amoni Fifita was re-captured by Tonga Police on Monday, June 5 after escaping from custody at the Magistrate’s Court in Nuku’alofa last month, 8 May.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Important questions over massive environmental damage caused by site works for the Va'epopua 18-holes golf course and its associated commercial developments remain unanswered, in spite of fears that the project is killing the reef and endangering the health and fishing livelihoods of its coastal communities.
Sunday 4 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Representatives of Oceania Rugby looked at how to assist unions to do things better, when they gathered in Nuku’alofa last week, 30-31 May for the 2017 Annual General Meeting.
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Saturday 3 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A second police officer was arrested on Friday June 2 in relation to the armed robbery of a shopkeeper at Ma’ufanga on May 20, Tonga's Police Commissioner Stephen Caldwell said today.
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Friday 2 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga High School is celebrating its 70th Anniversary in Nuku’alofa with a range of events, from June 1-5. Ex-students paraded through the CBD today, Friday June 2.
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Friday 2 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A 27-year-old man was arrested early this morning, 2 June in relation to the seizure of methamphetamine and cannabis at a home in Kolomotu’a.
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Friday 2 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Tonga government has the ultimate power to withdraw Tonga from hosting the 2019 Pacific Game, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva, Tonga’s PM told a Press Conference on Tuesday, 30 May at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre. “The Act is still there, but we don’t recognize that Act,” he said.
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Friday 2 June 2017
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Suva, Fiji
Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement is a “grave moral injustice” say Pacific civil society groups, asserting that “His decision is a clear sign of his continued support of the fossil fuel industry which directly threatens the lives of communities living in the Pacific islands.”
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Friday 2 June 2017
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Suva, Fiji
"Deeply disappointing," is how the incoming President of COP23, Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, this morning responded to the decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. Bainimarama said the impacts of climate change "are obvious, and humankind ignores these facts at its peril."
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Thursday 1 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Hundreds of Tongatapu secondary and tertiary school students led by lively and colourful brass bands marched through central Nuku'alofa today, Thursday, June 1 to mark the opening of the Tonga Legislative Assembly's 2017-18 session.
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Thursday 1 June 2017
New York, USA
President Donald Trump’s ravings against the 2015 Paris climate agreement are partly a product of his ignorance and narcissism. Yet they represent something more. They are a reflection of the deep corruption of the US political system, which, according to one recent assessment, is no longer a “full democracy.” American politics has become a game of powerful corporate interests: tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for mega-polluters, and war and global warming for the rest of the world. By Jeffrey D. Sachs.
Thursday 1 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Healthy living, better education and how to advance our economy are the challenges that we are facing today, Tonga's King Tupou VI said when he opened the 2017-18 session of the Tonga Legislative Assembly in Nuku'alofa this morning, 1 June 2017. The King was certain that Tongans are capable of confronting these challenges.
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Thursday 1 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
As Tonga pushes for higher exports in agriculture produce, with the PACER Plus Agreement ready to be signed this month, the forecast for drier weather and the chance of another El Nino raises fresh concerns about water.
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