Tonga

Drug Taskforce officers arrested ten men from a residence in Hofoa and seized 30 packs of methamphetamine, 9 packs of cannabis, drugs paraphernalia, 4 live .22 bullets and cash late Good Friday night.

Nine men have been charged with unlawful possession of illicit drugs while the tenth person has been charged with unlawful possession of ammunition.

The Easter Egg Hunt activity was carried out during the Easter holiday and with intention to entertain Digicel’s  Facebook Fans.

This is the second year that Digicel Tonga has created a fun activity for its customers and to win various prizes.

To participate in this Egg Hunt, clues were posted on Digicel Tonga Facebook page for customers to solve the clue and start looking for the egg.

 Taufatofua represented his country in taekwondo at Rio 2016 and also featured in cross-country skiing at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games. 

He went viral as Tonga's flag bearer in Rio, having completed the task shirtless and oiled, and now appears keen to compete in Tokyo in an aquatics event.

"I will, hopefully, be the first male in history to do three completely different Olympic sports in three different arenas," he told Radio New Zealand, as reported by NZ Herald.

A 28 year-old-man was arrested with the drugs at his residence in Fahefa.

The police commissioner, Stephen Caldwell, thanked the public for its support in helping rid the community of drug peddlers.

Two other men were also arrested for possession of cannabis, drug paraphenalia and live ammunition.

 The World Bank on Thursday approved the funds, which are part of a sustainability project improving compliance and governance of commercial fishing.

Tonga's fisheries minister, Semisi Fakahau, said improving the sustainability of the country's fish stocks is vital to its economic prosperity.

The World Bank project will also improve fisheries monitoring and outcomes for women working in the pearl industry, he said.

Tonga is heavily dependent on its fisheries, with around 82 percent of Tongan families involved in reef fishing, according to government figures.

US Army Nevada National Guard reports the Tongan Marines competed alongside eight Nevada Army National Guard Soldiers for the title of "Best Warrior" in a variety of events at the Hawthorne Army Depot, which is also the world’s largest ammunition depot.

The other Tongans who competed were Pvt. Saevii Tonga, Pvt. Sione Atoa and Pvt. Dimitirous Polisima.

This is the first time Tonga’s armed forces have participated in the Nevada Guard annual Best Warrior contest although both established a partnership in 2014.

The women’s congress invites delegates from across 10 countries including officials in the Pacific including, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Nauru, American Samoa, Niue, Tuvalu and the hosting country, Tonga.

The congress is expected to run for 5 days until the final day on the 22nd April.

Digicel proudly support the Seventh-Days Adventist church Women’s Congress from all across the Pacific with free visitor sims equipped with free bundles for delegates to use during their time of visit in the Kingdom.

The company had been running the Scenic Hotel Tonga near the country's only international airport, Fu'amotu.

Attempts by RNZ Pacific to get the company to explain its exit have been unsuccessful.

In Tonga, there has been speculation that a new law affecting foreign owned businesses may have been a factor in the withdrawal, and that a refurbished Dateline International hotel in the heart of the capital may also have had an effect.

Scenic, which manages a number of hotels in New Zealand, also runs the Matavai Resort in Niue.

The National Reserve Bank of Tonga said WorldVenture was clearly a multi-level marketing company that encouraged people to recruit more members.

The bank said it had become aware that the company had received support in the Tongan community.

Pyramid schemes are unsustainable business models and are illegal under the country's Financial Institutions Act, the bank said.

Satellite operator Kacific Broadband Satellites said it had signed a 15-year agreement with the state-owned Tonga Satellite.

It would connect communities in nearly 90 remote outer islands with high speed internet, Kacific said.

Kacific chief executive Christian Patouraux said until now, rural areas depended on urban centres to distribute bandwidth to them.

"With Kacific's solution for Tonga, urban centres need rural and remote areas in reciprocal cooperation to complete the urban infrastructure build up," he said.