Tonga

The Ministry of Fisheries is selling fresh in Nuku'alofa for as low as two and a half pa'anga, or $US1.12 per kilogramme.

CEO Tu'ikolongahau Halafihi said the initiative aimed to ensure affordable and healthy food was available.

Dr Halafihi said the six tonnes of fish were part of a 45 tonne catch from a Taiwanese operator and came under an agreement to provide part of their catch to be sold locally.

Rev. Mele Suipi Latu, who is president of the college’s alumni association in New Zealand, told Kaniva News the decision for the college’s brass band to continue fundraising in New Zealand was no disrespect at all to those who died as a result of the Christmas Eve crash.

Rev. Latu said head tutor Leotisia Malakai told her she wanted the tour to continue before she died. Malakai died of injuries received in the crash on January 1.

Police say they are working closely with their counterparts to search for the accused.

Radio Tonga receive information that the Tongan woman residing in Australia visited Nuku’alofa and hired rental cars from local businesses.

She later sold these vehicles to the public and vanished with the money.

It is understood the incident occurred last year.

Police were not able to give more detail due to ongoing investigations.

The fire broke out in the wooden house opposite the Seventh Day Adventist Church compound at Railway Road yesterday morning.

The owner of the house Kimami Sitauti is residing in Australia with his family.

The 14.8m long and 8.5m wide house was unoccupied at the time of the blaze.

Radio and Television Tonga witnessed the firemen trying to control the blaze, and a van which was parked outside the house which was also caught on fire.

Kaniva News reports Samiuela was three when he was hit by a car in Church Street, Otahuhu.

His parents believe it was their dedication to the Wesleyan Church that saved him.

His father, Sinipata Ulufonua is the secretary of the church.

After the accident his parents paid for a fence at the church to make sure children were safe.

His parents said they held a 21st birthday party to show how much they loved a son who could have been killed.

Director of the Women and Children Crisis Center – WCCC – ‘Ofa Likiliki told Radio Tonga News, they were optimistic that during the festive season families live peacefully, but it did not happen.

Radio Tonga reports 71 percent of the registered crimes are charges related to traffic violation.

Acting Superintendent of the Nuku’alofa Police Station – Tevita Vailea says most the people arrested are men although some women were also arrested.

During the Operation Vi, Police seized close to 2800 cans and bottles of different liquors being stocked and sold without a license in Lapaha.

Homebrew, drugs and firearms were seized in Niutoua.

The Operation Vi started on December 23 and will end today.

The bus was carrying 53 members and supporters on a fund-raising trip from Mailefihi Siu'ilikutapu College on Vava'u, Tonga, when it crashed.

The group had been heading to Gisborne's Wesleyan Methodist Church for a performance.

RNZ reports a Tairawhiti District Health Board spokesperson said it understood a 55-year-old woman, who was transferred from Gisborne Hospital the day after the crash, had died.

Kaniva News reprots the Tongan teenager went missing after he and his cousin got into trouble while swimming at a popular Sydney beach on Tuesday.

He was found on Friday morning after a large scale Police search aided by helicopters and jetskis had been scouring the waters for days.

Gallaher and his family, from Guildford in the city’s west, were on a day trip to Maroubra Beach.

Tui and his cousin, also 14, went for a swim at the southern end of the beach about 8.30pm, when they got into trouble.

Kaniva News has been reliably informed Kelekolio Fahiua, the head boy of Kelana college has died.

The details about the cause of his death were not immediately available.

The news shocked friends and hundreds of Tongans from overseas who had attended the college’s 50th anniversary celebration this week.

The head boy’s death came after two members of the Mailefihi Siuʻilikutapu College brass band group from Vavaʻu died in a crash in New Zealand last week.