Tonga

Mr Niu will be sworn in this week and is expected to start his four-year term in July.

Vuna Fa'otusia said Mr Niu was ideal for the job as he is one of the most experienced lawyers in the country a former President of the Tonga Law Society and former MP.

Mr Niu will join two New Zealanders on the bench.

Mr Fa'otusia is hoping to have an all-Tongan Supreme Court bench by 2020 and hopes that court proceedings will one day be conducted in Tongan instead of English.

The New Zealand High Commissioner, Tiffany Babington and the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr Pohiva Tu’i’onetoa signed three agreements for NZ$8 million to support these priorities Tuesday.

Under the NZ$3 million 2-year Tonga Education Support activity, New Zealand will partner with the Tonga Ministry of Education and Training to raise the professional capability of teachers and principals.

The Prime Minister's spokesperson, Lopeti Senituli, said the King had notified his office that Ms Ma'asi's appointment had been approved.

She comes into Cabinet after Mrs Lavulavu was arrested and charged with knowlingly dealing with forged documents and obtaining credit under false pretenses.

Mr Senituli said Ms Ma'asi was an experienced civil servant, having been a former CEO of the Ministry of Agrcitulure, Forestry and Fisheries.

After avoiding a 3-0 series whitewash at the hands of hosts South Africa thanks to a 25-10 win over the Springboks in the third and final test at Newlands, England have moved up to fourth place in the World Rugby Rankings.

Owen Farrell’s first win in charge of the team was worth one and a third points to lift them above Australia and  South Africa. Another three points from the boot of Farrell, who kicked six penalties and a conversion for a 20-point haul, would have taken Eddie Jones’ men back up to third – their position at the start of the summer.

In a statement Tonga police said two local men, aged 26 and 28, had been arrested and were in police custody following the drug seizure.

Police Commissioner Stephen Caldwell said police would protect the country's borders and its people with everything that it takes.

Mr Caldwell said the fight against drugs was a challenge for the whole country - not just police.

He said Tonga's youth need to be protected from these criminals who are destroying their futures by addicting them to drugs.

The video was filmed in Nuku'alofa on Saturday night, soon after the country's rugby league side's victory over Samoa.

In the grainy 45 second video that's been viewed thousands of times, a police pick up truck is parked in the middle of an intersection with its blue lights flashing.

In the back, a burly officer is seen lifting the flailing body of a man to about waist height, before slamming him into the floor.

After Tonga's 38-22 victory over Toa Samoa in Saturday's Pacific Test in Sydney, Woolf also reiterated his call for a Test this year against Australia.

"The game that we really need to have on a regular basis is us versus New Zealand. It's a grudge match. We've obviously got plenty of blokes who played for New Zealand and play for us now and that adds to the grudge match," Woolf said.

Fifita helped kickstart a revolution of the global game last year when he walked away from Australia to play for Tonga, creating unprecedented interest in the Pacific nations with the help of Jason Taumalolo.

Tonga are desperate for a maiden Test against the Kangaroos at the end of this year and did their chances no harm in Saturday night's 38-22 defeat of Samoa in front of almost 18,000 people at Sydney's Campbelltown Stadium.

The contest between Fiji and Tonga on the pitch at Churchill Park in Lautoka had been fierce in high temperatures – not only were players’ shirts sopping from the heat but so were there shorts – yet once the final whistle blew there was a show of togetherness. The islanders may be huge rugby rivals, but they also share a common bond in faith.

Fiji were crowned Pacific Nations Cup champions the previous week, but it was Tonga who came out on top in this one-off Test, securing their first win over the Fijians since 2011.

The Minister of Finance tabled the Budget on May 31 but debate got off a sluggish start, not only because the Budget was incomplete when it was tabled, but there was also a petition for the House to defer its debate, while seven Cabinet Ministers and the accounts of their ministries were audited.

Matangi Tonga reported Pohiva Tu'ionetoa introduced his budget under the theme, "Rehabilitating to a more secure situation".

It is financed from various sources, including a $US131m Government Fund, $US81m in donations and $US19.3m in budget support from aid donors.