Tonga

Radio Tonga reports the toxic chemical is contained within roofing materials of the Prince Wellington Ngu hospital.

Chief Medical Superintendent John Lee Taione said there is evidence that several children are being affected, because of exposure to asbestos from the leaking roof after heavy rain.

Dr Taione said asbestos can cause lung cancer.

Government spokesman Paula Ma'u said a New Zealand company will be in Tonga next month to remove all asbestos from the hospital.

He was born and raised in South Auckland and said one of his biggest achievements was winning a bronze medal for Tonga in the super heavyweight division at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

He's best known for being the man who stopped Parker from going to the 2012 London Olympics and of their four amateur encounters, the pair have won two each.

But instead of following the same path as Parker, Fa decided to get a job and start a family.

The workshop was officially opened by the CEO for the Ministry of Health Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola yesterday.

Technical Officer on Mental Health from the WHO Representative Office in Suva who is facilitating the workshop Dr. Yutaro Setoya said the Ministry of Health invited him to assist Tonga in drafting of its first National Policy on Mental Health.

Speaking to Radio Tonga News – Chief Superintendent of the Nuku’alofa Police Station Tevita Fifita said, this is the result of the operation safe street which began in July.

Majority of the arrests were young men between the ages of 18-30 from the Nuku’alofa area only.

Tevita added, the numbers are dropping because the public are paying more attention to the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol with only 23 arrests last week compared to more than a hundred during the first week of this month.

The youngest age arrested was a 15-year-old boy.

The solar plant is funded by the Australian and New Zealand Governments under Tonga Police Development Program.

Sovaleni stated that the Tonga Police solar project was crucial to mitigating the existential threat posed by Climate Change and will reduce our dependency on diesel.

“This will not only reduce our carbon emissions, but will also reduce our dependency on diesel fuel, reduce our imports and making electricity more affordable,” he said.

Atelaite Matoto from the Department of Environment and Poasi Ngaluafe from the Ministry of Fisheries, are representing Tonga at the CITES Conference of Parties in Johannesburg.

Both government agencies are the Managing Authorities to CITES, and just two of the Scientific Authorities for this Convention in Tonga.

One of the proposals submitted for consideration during this meeting was on Sharks and Rays.

Ms. Matoto says, “Tonga has joined CITES at a critical point when there has been a lot of great work implemented not only globally but also within the Pacific”. 

A win against Papua New Guinea this afternoon would put them into the playoff for the third and final World Cup berth.

Samoa coach Lee Edwards is glad the team finally came away with a win after two losses.

“It’s a huge step-up from yesterday – obviously it’s about the belief in themselves. All these girls are new caps so it’s a bit of pressure they’re not used to.”

Edwards also expects a tough game when they meet PNG tomorrow afternoon.

Spending an entire season together, with the field as their classroom, participants exchanged knowledge and expertise while being provided with the tools they needed to analyse and identify ways to improve their farming techniques. Each graduate earned a certificate in horticulture, recognized by the Tonga Qualification and Accreditation Board.

The product ended up in the bad condition after the containers were not connected to the power at the wharf for days.

The dispute last week was over who should pay the costs surrounding the products and how they were kept at the wharf.

Local reports said an Asian company – Billion Star imported about 4,000 cartons of chicken from the United States in April this year.

Radio and Television Tonga said the dispute was between the Ports Authority and the shipping agency.

The Ports Authority was reported as denying any responsibility for the incident.

Matangi Tonga reports that Vava'u has been suffering a petrol shortage since early September.

The last time a Pacific Energy tanker called into Vava'u was on August 18.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Revenue and Customs in Vava'u said the MV Leiloa of the Matson Shipping arrived with its shipment of six tanktainers carrying 23,000 litres of fuel each.

The Governor's Office said the fuel was being sold for a little higher price than normal but it is better than nothing.

The two companies that import fuel to Tonga are Pacific Energy and Total Fiji.