Results for Pacific Islands

Most of the Revenue and Customs administrations around the Pacific, including Tonga, have agreed to work together to ‘ride out the CoViD-19 pandemic’ after they reported a drop in revenue this year, at the Oceania Customs Organization Secretariat (OCO) Heads Annual Conference held virtually on October 20.

A new $2.3 million ‘Api Tonga multipurpose hall was opened by Fiji’s Speaker of Parliament, Hon Ratu Epeli Nailatikau in Suva on 2 November, as a home away from home for Tongans living in Fiji.

Team Tonga is showcased in the grand final tonight in Season 2 of the Pacific Island Food Revolution, a regional televised series promoting healthy Pacific cuisine. The team of two Tongan cooks, Tuituiohu Mafi and 'Amelia Asi, competed hard to get to the final with Team Fiji vying for the coveted title.

The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is still mulling over who will be appointed as its new Secretary General, as incumbent Dame Meg Taylor nears the end of her term of office on 15 January 2021. Selectors also have to contend with Micronesia's insistence that their candidate should be selected for the top job this time.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s landslide victory two days ago was consolidated by the successful election of many members of her parliament, including Tongan-born MP Jenny Salesa. By Finau Fonua.

New York Times: New Zealand’s popular prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is expected to return to power in this week’s general election, with polls giving her Labour Party a comfortable double-digit lead over the more conservative National Party. Here’s how the campaign has played out, and what to watch for as the results come in Saturday. By Damien Cave.

La Niña is officially underway in the Pacific, according to the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). Tonga is among the countries in the South-West Pacific that will usually experience higher than normal rainfall, under these conditions that are likely to continue into the first quarter of 2021. The last La Niña conditions in the 2017-2018 season saw three cyclones in the Pacific- Gita, Hola and Fehi.

The Auckland Institute of Studies (AIS) awarded various bachelor degrees to 17 Tongan overseas students at a graduation ceremony on Monday, 21 September. Unfortunately, the parents of the students could not attend the ceremony because of the Covid-19 border restrictions in Tonga.

With increasing State powers declared in most Pacific Island countries under national states of emergencies and public health emergencies, it is crucial that the processes of enforcement of these emergency measures always adhere to key democratic principles, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Tonga and other Pacific states said yesterday, on the International Day of Democracy. “Responsive, transparent and accountable COVID-19 responses are critical to democracy,” Mr Sanaka Samarasinha said.