On a first visit to Tonga by a US cabinet member, today, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, took a few quiet minutes to lay a wreath at the seafront Cenotaph in Nuku'alofa, before he met with the Tongan Prime Minister and other officials at St George Government Building across the road. The War Memorial honours the Tongan fallen in two World Wars. In WWII there were more American troops stationed in Tongatapu than Tongans. During the morning, Secretary Blinken spoke about US perceptions of today's superpower rivalry in Tonga and the Pacific region, when he was answering questions at a media briefing.
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Results for Pacific Islands
Wednesday 26 July 2023
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Monday 24 July 2023
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Monitoring of land use through Earth observations and satellite imagery data, will help governments in the Pacific Islands better manage their limited resources. Tonga is hosting the first technical workshop on “Digital Earth Pacific Land Cover Assessment Skills Transfer” (DEP LCAST), organised by the SPC, commencing today, 24 July 2023 at the Tanoa Dateline Hotel in Nuku'alofa.
Friday 21 July 2023
Washington D.C., U.S.A
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia, July 24-29, the State Department announced last night. Secretary Blinken is the first Secretary of State to visit Tonga, and this is his third trip to a Pacific Island country, and his 12th trip to the Indo-Pacific region. In Tonga he will dedicate the new U.S. Embassy “and advance key discussions with our Tongan partners.”
Thursday 20 July 2023
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NSW, Australia
A delegation from Kolomotu'a in Tonga, led by Princess Angelika Latūfuipeka, visited its sister city, Gunnedah in Australia last week one-year since the start of their sister relationship.
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Wednesday 19 July 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Registration for the 2023 Pacific Access Category ballot, which opens on 1 August ,will enable people from Pacific Islands, including Tonga the chance to obtain resident visas in New Zealand.
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Tuesday 18 July 2023
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Seventeen hundred years before the dawn of the Viking Age in Europe, the first Polynesians crossed the western flank of the Polynesian triangle to settle in Tonga. Thus began the final chapter in the human settlement of the globe. A newly released book, ‘The Birth of Polynesia: An Archaeological Journey Through the Kingdom of Tonga’, documents this story. The author David V. Burley, is currently visiting Tonga.
Saturday 15 July 2023
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
An El Niño alert for Tonga was issued by the Meteorology Department, on 14 July, as forecasts show there is a 70% chance of El Niño forming this year. The likely impacts on Tonga will include cooler nights, less rainfall over the next 6-12 months, and more tropical cyclones in the next cyclone season from 1 November 2023 to 30 April 2024.
Friday 14 July 2023
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Washington D.C., U.S.A
As critical talks on deeply-contested deep-sea mining continue in Jamaica this week, scientists fear the impacts of mining the seabed on the marine environment and wider climate, says the National Geographic Society Pristine Seas programme in a statement today.
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Wednesday 12 July 2023
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Chinese diplomats in the Pacific are critical of a decision by the Japanese government to dispose of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant accident by discharging it into the sea. They rejected the conclusions of a report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 4 July.
Wednesday 12 July 2023
Suva, Fiji
Civil society groups in the Pacific Islands have collectively expressed concern that Japan is proceeding with its plan to discharge over a million tonnes of ALPS treated radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean, starting this year.
Tuesday 11 July 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A program that aims to improve digital governance and empower citizens in the Pacific region, was launched by the United Nations Development Programme in Nuku’alofa, Tonga on 6 July.
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Tuesday 11 July 2023
Majuro, Marshall Islands
The annual Forum Fisheries Committee Ministerial 20 (FFCMIN20) and the Regional Fisheries Ministers Meeting 4 (RFMM4) was held in Majuro, Marshall Islands, from 3-6 July. It focused on areas to improve the management and development of the tuna fisheries resources and the fisheries waters of its members.
Wednesday 28 June 2023
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Wellington, New Zealand
A group of Pacific states known as 6-PAC, is leading the call for the shipping industry to align itself with the 1.5 degrees climate target, 28 June.
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Wednesday 28 June 2023
Manila, Philippines
An $8 million grant to the Government of Kiribati was disbursed by the Asian Development Bank to help fund drought relief efforts.
Saturday 24 June 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Governor General of Australia, Hon. David Hurley reaffirmed Australia's ties with Tonga, after visiting for the first time on Friday, 23 June.
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Wednesday 21 June 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A fifth P-SIDS Regional and Capacity Development workshop and a high level panel for sustainable management of seabed minerals of the Blue Pacific Continent is being held this week in Nuku'alofa.
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Monday 19 June 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority Mr. Michael Lodge is in Nuku’alofa.
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Friday 16 June 2023
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Law enforcement officials across four Pacific Islands from Tonga, Palau, Papua New Guinea to Samoa participated in a multi-agency tabletop exercise to strengthen national and regional cooperation.
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Tuesday 13 June 2023
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Wellington, New Zealand
A barrister of Tongan-Irish descent, Tania Margaret Sharkey, has been appointed a District Court Judge in New Zealand.
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Friday 9 June 2023
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Suva, Fiji
Pacific journalists were acknowledged in a 'Pasifika Environews Awards' for their exemplary reporting on environment, ocean and climate change, during a World Ocean Day celebration on 8 June.
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