“We have the money let's get on with the games!” Lord Feleti Sevele told Tongan media on Friday, 19 May. He is challenging "what was the basis of government's withdrawal to host the games", when government had not yet prepared a budget for the games?
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Results for Pacific Islands
Sunday 21 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Tuesday 16 May 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
The Pacific Games Council CEO Laurent Cassier, told Matangi Tonga this evening that “as far as we are concerned the projects are still ongoing”. The Pacific Games Council has not received any confirmation from the Tongan Government regarding the cancellation of their hosting of the 2019 Pacific Games as stated by Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva during a radio interview in New Zealand two days ago.

Sunday 14 May 2017
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Wellington, New Zealand
Tonga faces many challenges and New Zealand may be able to help Tonga overcome some of them, said New Zealand's new Foreign Minister Brownlee after a two-day visit May 9-11. He believed Tonga has many opportunities to grow its economy.

Thursday 11 May 2017
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Bonn, Germany
As climate change negotiators meet in Bonn, Germany, between 8 – 18 May, to discuss rules and processes to implement the Paris Agreement, the Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group, Gebru Jember Endalew is concerned little is being done to support poor and small countries vulnerable to climate change. Underdeveloped Pacific Island nations such as Tonga also lack the capacity to adequately protect their population from natural disasters, increased drought and sea level rises.

Thursday 11 May 2017
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Nadi, Fiji
Youth and students from around 13 Pacific Island countries had the opportunity to put forward their ideas on addressing corruption in a three-day Pacific Youth Anti-Corruption Innovation Lab meeting in Nadi, Fiji last week.

Thursday 27 April 2017
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Suva, Fiji
Ms Marga Morrisey, a travel expert with Flight Centre in New Zealand has won an 8-day trip to Tonga after entering a draw specifically for travel agents who completed an online South Pacific Specialist Program that provides essential knowledge of the Pacific region as a tourist destination.

Thursday 27 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The opening of the first Pacific Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (PCREEE) office was marked in Nuku’alofa on 26 April, during an event held at the Tanoa International Dateline Hotel, by the Pacific Community (SPC).

Tuesday 25 April 2017
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Portland, Maine, USA
A new study has found that 96 percent of women of childbearing age living in four Pacific Island countries who were sampled have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies.

Friday 21 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Trade Ministers from fourteen Pacific Islands Forum Countries yesterday concluded their negotiation of over 7 years on the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus, PACER Plus, and plan to sign the agreement at a ceremony in Tonga on 16 June 2017.

Thursday 20 April 2017
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Apia, Samoa
Samoa is leading the Asia Pacific region in statistical data transparency becoming the first country in the area to launch a new National Summary Data Page (NSDP), a one-stop statistics shop for publishing essential macroeconomic data, critical for monitoring economic conditions and policies.

Tuesday 11 April 2017
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Suva, Fiji
A seminar to enhance the work of parliamentary committees in the parliaments of Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Fiji is being held in Suva, Fiji to explore common challenges that parliamentary committees face.

Friday 7 April 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
Nine Pacific Islander students in New Zealand were among 13 recipients of the Woolf Fisher First-in-Family AUT Scholarship to study at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). All of the recipients are the first in their immediate families to attend university and this year five are Tongans.

Thursday 6 April 2017
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Suva, Fiji
Accessing and using global climate financing from sources such as the Green Climate Fund and other multilateral and bilateral funds, provides an opportunity for Pacific governments to scale up National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation activities, including Tonga.

Thursday 6 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
HE Andrew Jacobs, the European Union Ambassador for the Pacific is in Tonga with a delegation on an Enhanced High Level Dialogue with the Tongan government over a new agreement to replace the Cotonou Agreement which expires in 2020.

Wednesday 5 April 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Cook Islands ban placed on commercial fishing last month within 50 nautical miles of the nation was highlighted at the Whales in a Changing Ocean conference opening yesterday in Nuku’alofa. Cook Islands Minister of Environment, Hon Kiriau Turepu stressed that the ban is to reduce the interaction between commercial fishing and whales in their waters.

Friday 31 March 2017
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand’s Ministry of Justice, has released the details of five deportation appeal hearings concerning Tongan citizens that were conducted in September last year. Appellants varied from a 16-month-old girl to a 78-year-old woman. Their appeals were heard before New Zealand’s Immigration and Protection Tribunal. Humanitarian grounds were considered with some reprieves allowedHuman.
Wednesday 29 March 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
Two young Pacific Islander high school students in New Zealand have received hugs of comfort after holding signs in public stating “I am a Pacific Islander – People say I will grow up to be nothing – Hug me if you disagree” and "I go to Manurewa High School. Media says I am a violent thug. Hug me if you disagree".

Friday 24 March 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
Five Tongan small businesses will look for opportunities in international trade as part of a trade and invest program over the next four days which includes showing off their products at the Pasifika Festival this weekend, 25 – 26 March in Auckland, New Zealand.

Thursday 23 March 2017
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Suva, Fiji
Anne Christine Dunn, the reigning Miss Pacific Islands launched a sustainable tourism campaign on social media on 22 March, for the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO).

Wednesday 15 March 2017
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Lautoka, Fiji
Opening the newly-renovated Churchill Park sports stadium at Lautoka, this week, Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced that construction of a modern Olympics size swimming complex in Lautoka would begin at the end of April. He hoped the new facilities would also attract more regional competitions to be held in Lautoka.
