Emerging Tongan fashion designer, Mele Tamanilo (32) has transformed the traditional kiekie, normally made of plant fibres, into a sparkling warrior-princess-inspired accessory that Tongans worldwide are embracing with pride.
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Thursday 15 June 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
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Wednesday 14 June 2017
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Utah, USA
Tributes are flowing in for 22-year-old Siaosi Brown of Utah, USA, who drowned last week during a hiking accident in Utah. Siaosi had worked as an LDS missionary in Kansas.
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Tuesday 13 June 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
The body of Tevita Kava (29) was recovered yesterday morning in Auckland, Waitemata Harbour. The Tongan-born man went missing 10 days ago after he accidently fell-off of a boat during a friend's birthday party.
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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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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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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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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
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Hayward-California, USA
Californian teenager, Petelo Finau (18) of Hayward, is being commended for saving his autistic 13-year-old brother from a house fire that erupted at their home last Friday night.
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Tuesday 30 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga is gearing up for the 2017 Heilala Festival - two weeks of events from 26 June until 9 July, the highlight being the Miss Heilala Pageant. The first contestant to register for the pageant is Miss Tourism Tonga, 'Ana Havea.
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Monday 29 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A post mortem report stated that Oscar Taione (31), the fireman recruit who died after collapsing during training over a week ago, died of natural causes.
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Friday 26 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The grieving family of Oscar Taione (31,) a fireman recruit who collapsed during a training run at Pelehake and died a week ago on May 19, said today they still don't fully understand what happened to him and they have not set a funeral date, because his body has not been released to them.
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Wednesday 24 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's important star-shaped Sia Complex at Popua, the area of Tonga's creation myth, is being destroyed by an ad hoc development, driven by the same government that pledged to protect the heritage site close to Nuku'alofa on Tongatapu.
Wednesday 24 May 2017
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga's Queen Nanasipau'u will travel to Hawaii in early August with a group of Kanokupolu dancers who have been invited to perform at the Asia Pacific Dance Festival in Honolulu.
Tuesday 23 May 2017
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Auckland, New Zealand
Tongan youth suicide prevention must be inclusive of the family, according to new research that shows that Tongan youth in New Zealand have to navigate their way between two or more ethnic identities. This tension contributes to feelings of alienation and disconnect.
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Friday 19 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
A "Let Girls be Girls!" campaign aimed to stop a growing trend of child marriage in Tonga, was launched on Friday, May 19. The campaign seeks to repeal Tonga's law on marriage and lift the legal age to 18-years and over. Currently the law allows children from the ages of 15-17 to marry with parental consent.
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Thursday 18 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Siotame Drew Havea of Kolomotu’a has recently received the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award from the United States Peace Corps.
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Thursday 18 May 2017
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Oakland, California
A Tongan resident of Oakland City in California and mother of 13 children, Malia Lusia Latu Saulala, has been announced “Mother of the Year” by the local government’s Oakland Parks & Recreation Office.
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Monday 15 May 2017
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Nuku'alofa, Tonga
The International Family Day 2017 was marked on Monday, May 15 in Nuku’alofa with a display of colourful hand painted table mats, with the slogan "No Violence = Happy healthy families".
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Thursday 11 May 2017
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Florida, USA
Steve Tu’ikolovatu, defensive lineman for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has revealed that he and his wife once lived out of a SUV, a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban, near a beach in California for two months.
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Tuesday 9 May 2017
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California, USA
California State University Northridge (CSUN) has awarded a rare scholarly recognition (Wolfson Scholar) to a 21-year-old Tongan student, Angelina Finau from Los Angeles. To be a Wolfson Scholar, a CSUN student must not only have an exceptional academic record, but also must have made a significant contribution to the University and community.
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