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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 6:49pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Tonga’s precious supply of covid vaccine can now be extended to thousands more people thanks to the skills of the Tongan nurses, who have not wasted a drop of the first batch received this month. People aged 35 years and over can now be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. By Eleanor Gee
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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 6:14pm


    Geneva, Switzerland
    : Globally, new COVID-19 cases increased again with nearly 5.7 million new cases reported last week, surpassing previous peaks, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) weekly COVID-19 update on April 25. For the third consecutive week, the South-East Asia region reported the highest relative increases in both case and death incidences.
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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 5:05pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : A 46-year-old man was found guilty at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on two counts of serious indecent assaulting a teenager in 2020.
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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 4:58pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : The new British High Commissioner Designate to Tonga, HE Lucy Joyce, congratulated Tonga on its covid-free status this week. The vaccine had arrived before the virus and “not many countries are in such a privileged position,” she said on Tuesday. The High Commission is officially reopening in May after closing for 15 years.
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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 12:53pm


    Sydney, Australia
    : The funeral of the late Peter Warner in Ballina, NSW, Australia, yesterday had a special Tongan presence, including two of the original ‘Ata boys – Mano Totau and Tevita Siolala, reports Tonga's Honorary Consul General.
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  • Thursday 29 April 2021 10:55am


    London, United Kingdom
    : People who have been vaccinated with a single dose of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were 65% less likely to get a new Covid infection, a UK study has found. The chances of becoming infected by COVID (SARS-CoV-2) fell sharply after a first dose. However, some people can still get Covid after being vaccinated but the ongoing transmission is reduced.
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 5:59pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Tonga has postponed the repatriation flight from Fiji, which was due to arrive in Tonga next week, confirmed MEIDECC CEO Paula Ma'u today, as Fiji has closed its major towns, due to the local transmission in Fiji of the COVID-19 Indian variant.
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 5:23pm


    Suva, Fiji
    : COVID-19 cases in Fiji continue to increase with six new cases confirmed yesterday, 27 April, bringing the total to 42 active cases, according to health officials. Recent cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed to be the B1617 variant that was first detected in India. Dr James Fong has warned Fijians to stay at home because “any person-to-person contact outside your home could get you infected.”
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 4:52pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : A 62-year-old repeat sexual offender was sentenced to eight-years and nine-months imprisonment for rape and other counts of carnal knowledge of a young person. He is a dangerous offender, revealed a pre-sentence sentence at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 4:47pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Tangata 'o Pangai (a.k.a. Pinomi Lavemai) was sentenced to 14-months imprisonment for possession of 1.63 grams of methamphetamine. The Chief Justice said, the nature and surrounding circumstances of this offending pointed to a case of possession for the purpose of supply.
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 1:50pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Eighteen technicians will be flown to Tonga on a chartered flight to install the new telecommunications system in the Tonga Broadcasting Commission’s new building in Nuku'alofa, and to construct an antenna at Niuafo‘ou, in order to to complete a Nationwide Early Warning System (NEWS) and Strengthening Disaster Communications project, supported by the Government of Japan.
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  • Wednesday 28 April 2021 12:43pm


    New Delhi, India
    : New York Times reporting: Crematories are so full of bodies, it’s as if a war just happened. Fires burn around the clock. Many places are holding mass cremations, dozens at a time, and at night, in certain areas of New Delhi, the sky glows. Sickness and death are everywhere. India is recording more infections per day — as many as 350,000 — than any other country has since the pandemic began. What we had been fearing during last year’s first wave, and which never really materialized, is now happening in front of our eyes: a breakdown, a collapse, a realization that so many people will die. By Jeffrey Gettleman.
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  • Tuesday 27 April 2021 8:32pm


    Suva, Fiji
    : Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor has welcomed the new climate targets announced by the USA, Japan, UK and Canada, as well as South Korea’s commitment to end financing of coal-fired power plants overseas at President Biden’s Leaders Summit on Climate.
 

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  • Tuesday 27 April 2021 8:17pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Setitaia Chen, who has been Tonga Power Ltd's Chief Executive Officer since August 2018, resigned last Friday, 23 April, due to family reasons. Nikolasi Fonua is now Acting CEO.
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  • Tuesday 27 April 2021 8:16pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Viliami Paletu’a (41) was sentenced to two-years and two-months imprisonment for possession of 3.16 grams of methamphetamine, at 'Umusi in 2020. He admitted to being a substance abuser. The court noted that at the time of the offending, the statutory maximum penalty for possession of methamphetamine was a fine of $1 million or 30-years' imprisonment or both.
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  • Monday 26 April 2021 10:30pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Tonga's Sevens team for the Olympic Qualification in Monaco on June 19-20, will be selected from players in Europe, the Tonga Rugby Union CEO, Peter Harding announced tonight. This decision was taken because of the public health challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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  • Monday 26 April 2021 7:34pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Tonga will receive USD$5.5 million to help roll out its vaccination program, after the Asian Development Bank today, approved USD$18.9 million in grants to help four developing member countries in the Pacific roll out safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus disease COVID-19.
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  • Monday 26 April 2021 7:25pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Repeat offender, Creed (Kuliti) Tongamoa has been sentenced to 15-months imprisonment for possession of 0.17 grams of methamphetamine and possession of an unlicensed high powered assault rifle and ammunition.
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  • Monday 26 April 2021 7:02pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : Around 5,367 people have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to date, confirmed the Ministry of Health this morning, after the vaccination program was rolled out on 15-17 April to frontliners and then in the communities last week.
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  • Monday 26 April 2021 6:55pm


    Nuku'alofa, Tonga
    : In last week's Inter-Collegiate Sports Competition, ‘Api Fo‘ou College, Tupou College, Tonga High School were among schools that won the most gold medals. The official results of medal tally have yet to be announced by the organisers, who named the best athletes.
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