Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) chair and Tongan Prime Minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni is still waiting for Paris to approve a Pacific mission to New Caledonia. Last month, the French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, said President Emmanuel Macron was yet to sign a letter authorising a high-level PIF delegation to visit the French territory. The PIF wants to send a Forum Ministerial Committee made up of leaders from the troika – Cook Islands, Fiji and Tonga – and Solomon Islands for the mission. “I’ve have yet to receive any notification about any dates from Paris about us visiting New…
Author: Newsdesk
In what seems to be a move to improve community safety and animal welfare ahead of the Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting, the government kicks off a week-long dog population control dubbed ”Inaugural Humane Dog Population Management (HDPM) program” starting today, according to a statement from the Tonga Animal Welfare Society (TAWS) . Supported by DFAT, MAFFF, Tonga Tourism, Tanoa Hotel, and Tonga Police, a team of veterinarians from Animals Fiji has arrived in Tonga to do a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. This initiative is focused on managing the stray dog population around hotel accommodations and conference areas for the upcoming…
Residents of Tungua island in Ha’apai are celebrating the handover of 17 new houses, a significant milestone under the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Recovery Project. The Ministry of Infrastructure (MOI) announced the completion and distribution of these homes last Friday, marking a crucial step in rebuilding the community following the devastating tsunami on January 15, 2022. The project manager, Poasi Misi, represented the MOI at the event, with Lord Tu’iha’ateiho and Lady Tu’iha’ateiho as guests of honour. Lord Tu’iha’ateiho personally handed over the keys to the new homeowners, bringing joy and relief to the island’s roughly 200 residents. The catastrophic eruption…
Tonga has been selected to host the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a groundbreaking initiative aimed at enhancing climate and disaster preparedness across the Pacific Islands. The decision was one of the key outcomes from the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting (FEMM), which concluded on Friday. The PRF is a Pacific-led, member-owned financing facility designed to generate investment income for community resilience projects. Forum Secretary General, Baron Waqa confirmed Tonga’s selection. “The PRF is very important for us. It’s our design, our own facility. “We have put forward the outcomes decided by Ministers to be considered at the Leaders Meeting. Tonga will…
The Government has requested funding from the World Bank’s International Development Association 20 (IDA20) grant for the Health Enhancement and Resiliency in Tonga (HEART) Project. This initiative aims to strengthen healthcare access and service delivery in Tonga’s Northern Islands, specifically Vava’u and the two Niuas, and to improve the management of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) across the nation. Key elements of the HEART Project include innovations in service delivery, leveraging investments in the redevelopment of the Prince Wellington Ngu Hospital in Vava’u, and enhancing the prevention and control of NCDs. The project also aims to ensure a rapid and effective response…
Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, several countries have advised their nationals to leave Lebanon as fears mount of an expanding conflict. Iran has vowed severe retaliation against Israel following the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The assassination occurred shortly after Israel targeted and killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, heightening concerns about potential retaliatory strikes from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. The US embassy in Beirut has urged Americans to prepare contingency plans, while the Pentagon has increased its military presence in the region, deploying additional warships and fighter jets to…
The Fijian government has started laying the groundwork to amend the country’s constitution, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has reportedly confirmed. The 2013 Constitution has been criticised by political commentators and opponents of the previous FijiFirst administration, including Rabuka, as being “imposed on the people”. It was a notion strongly brushed off by the former leader Frank Bainimarama – currently serving a one-year jail term for abuse of office – who maintained that the document all Fijians to share “the same rights, the same votes of equal value, and the same national identity”. However, Rabuka’s People’s Alliance Party (PAP) stated in…
Recent advances in satellite imagery and Artificial Intelligence analysis may be key to preserving Tonga’s forests according to a recent workshop at Tonga’s Forestry Division. The workshop, facilitated by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) focused on improving Tonga’s National Forest Inventory (NFI) approach. The workshop included the handover of the National Forest Inventory Document to the government and training on satellite imagery. The NFI aims to support the sustainable management of Tonga’s forests and tree resources. Workshop participants highlighted the importance of documenting forest data collection methods and practices following previous training sessions. Mr. Tu’usolo Tonga, Acting Head of…
Hamilton’s mezzo-soprano singer Katie Trigg has won the prestigious 2024 Lexus Song Quest, with New Zealand-born Tongan Manase Latu named as the runner-up. The awards were announced live on stage at Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre last Saturday, August 3rd. Katie Trigg received a $50,000 cash prize for professional development, while Manase Latu earned $20,000. Grammy Award-winning lyric coloratura soprano Sumi Jo, the international head judge, praised the high standard of all five finalists. “The talent displayed by these young singers was outstanding,” she said. Third place went to Austin Haynes, who won $15,000. Tayla Alexander and Andrew Morgan-King, the other…
Tongan flyhalf Pat Pellegrini has signed with Super Rugby Pacific franchise Moana Pasifika, leaving Coventry after being bought out of his contract. Pellegrini, who impressed at the World Cup with a try against South Africa, will join Moana Pasifika’s Auckland-based squad for the 2025 season. The 25-year-old Sydney-born no.10 played 39 times for Coventry, finishing the 2023/24 season as the leading points scorer in England’s second tier. He was also named in the Championship team-of-the-season and received Coventry Rugby Supporters’ Club player-of-the-year award. Coventry head coach Alex Rae expressed mixed emotions, saying, “We’re sorry to see Pat move on but…