Samoa defeated Tonga 34-9 in their final match of the Pacific Nations Cup. Samoa scored four tries in the match, while Tonga only managed three penalties. Samoa’s victory continues their preparations for the upcoming World Cup. In their final match of the Pacific Nations Cup in Apia on Saturday, Samoa secured a convincing 34-9 victory … Read more
The move comes as the US is doing a lot of shuttle diplomacy in the Pacific to strengthen alliances against China. Washington has become more vocal and visible, announcing more diplomatic operations across the region. The Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will visit the Solomon Islands on Saturday. A senior American official said Saturday … Read more
Penny Wong, Australia’s newly sworn-in foreign minister, will return to the Pacific Islands on Wednesday, visiting Samoa and Tonga only days after her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi. Wong stated she was boarding an aircraft to “renew and strengthen Australia’s deep ties of friendship and family” as Australia and China compete for influence in the vast … Read more
SUVA – Tonga will enforce a week-long hard lockdown on Sunday as the island nation reported 258 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours. According to Tonga’s news website Matangi Tonga Online, Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni announced the lockdown, which will be enforced at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday until 5:00 a.m. local time on … Read more
SUVA – Tonga on Thursday recorded two more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to four, reported Tonga’s news website Matangi Tonga Online citing official data. It reported that Siale ‘Akau’ola, chief executive of the Ministry of Health, confirmed the two more deaths while saying an investigation was going on to see whether they … Read more
SUVA – Tonga reported 55 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total number of active cases in the South Pacific island nation to 133. According to Tonga’s news website Matangi Tonga Online, Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said that from Feb. 1 to date there had been a total of 287 positive cases in … Read more
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga – Internet connection was restored in Tonga on Tuesday, five weeks after a massive volcanic eruption shredded the undersea cable that connects the Pacific nation with the rest of the world. Telecom providers Digicel and TCC said data connectivity had been restored to two main islands, after breaks in an 80-kilometre (50-mile) stretch … Read more
Super Rugby kicks off a new era this week with the long-awaited addition of two Pacific islander teams to compete alongside the best from Australia and New Zealand. Some fans may scoff at yet another revamp for the southern hemisphere tournament after constant tinkering in recent years. But organisers believe the injection of Pacific talent … Read more
SUVA – Tonga reported 31 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total number of active cases in the South Pacific island nation to 139. According to Tonga’s news web Matangi Tonga Online, Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said at a press conference on Monday that the new cases tested positive over the weekend. Of … Read more
SUVA – Tonga confirmed on Thursday the spread of Omicron variant in the South Pacific island nation as 31 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Thursday, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 64. According to Tonga’s news website Matangi Tonga Online, Tonga’s Minister of Health Saia Piukala said at a … Read more
SUVA – Tonga reported three new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total COVID-19 infections to five in the South Pacific island nation, while a nationwide lockdown will start at 6 p.m. local time (0500 GMT) on the same day. According to Tonga’s news website Matangi Tonga Online, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni confirmed the … Read more
GENEVA – World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is all but guaranteed a second term after a procedural vote on January 25 made him the sole nominee for a leadership election in May. The first African leader of the UN health agency said he was “very grateful for the renewed support”, after the WHO’s … Read more
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga : A coronavirus-hit Australian warship docked in Tonga on Wednesday, delivering desperately needed aid to the volcano-and-tsunami-struck nation under strict “no-contact” protocols. Tongan Health Minister Saia Piukala said the crew of the HMAS Adelaide would follow drastic health protocols to ensure the remote Pacific kingdom remains one of the few places in the world still free of … Read more
SYDNEY – The first humanitarian flights arrived in volcano and tsunami-stricken Tonga Thursday, five days after the dual disaster cut the Pacific nation off from the rest of the world. Tonga has been inaccessible since Saturday, when one of the largest volcanic explosions in decades cloaked the kingdom in a layer of ash, triggered a … Read more
WELLINGTON – Tonga finished removing a thick coat of ash from an international runway on Wednesday after days of painstaking effort, clearing the way for desperately needed emergency aid to arrive in the isolated and disaster-stricken nation. UN crisis coordinator Jonathan Veitch told AFP the runway on the Pacific kingdom’s main island, once buried in … Read more
SUVA – Two people have died in Tonga after the violent eruptions of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, about 65 km north of the country’s capital city Nuku’alofa. According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ) on Tuesday, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the two deaths. One of the deaths was British national … Read more
SYDNEY – Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) canceled all tsunami warnings for Australia on Sunday evening, which were previously issued due to a volcano eruption in Tonga. The warnings, issued for several states along eastern coastal lines of Australia and some offshore islands after the underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai erupted on Saturday, were downgraded to marine … Read more
In March 2020, Zoe Stephens went to Tonga for a weekend but has been stuck there ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. Zoe Stephens visited the South Pacific island in March 2020 but was left stranded as the world was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, and Tonga went into lockdown, closing its doors … Read more
