Tonga

The quake, which struck at 7.16pm local time, was at a depth of 7.1km.

It was followed at 8.26pm by a magnitude 5.4 quake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not issue any warnings for the quakes.

The team was defeated by Vanuatu 5-0 in its opening game at the competition.

Oceania Football Confederation reported that Vanuatu got off to the perfect start to their championship with a convincing victory over Tonga.

Meanwhile, 10 nations from across the region will compete across three groups (one of four teams, two of three) to be crowned champions. 

A statement confirmed that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy jointly with the Tonga Department of Energy – Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC) conducted a three days’ stakeholder meeting, from the 12 – 14 June at Davina House, Nuku’alofa, discussing and to support the development of electric mobility in Tonga.

The Orchestra is on its first international tour of the Pacific.

During the week-long tour of Tonga, 14 musicians, led by Principle Trombonist David Bremner, will perform alongside the Kingdom's Royal Corps of Musicians and the Royal Tongan Police Band.

The tour is being funded by New Zealand's Cultural Diplomacy International Programme, administered by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Bremner said he wants his orchestra to immerse itself in Tonga's brass culture.

This was part of the NZ Medical Treatment Scheme.

Liaison Chair and Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) member, Dr Michael Burling, said their visit to Tonga was to assess the current level of care provided to women with gynaecological cancers in the region.

He said they would be working closely with the national health staff in Tonga to identify areas where they can provide support through education and surgical training .

The US Geological Survey reported a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning, 280km south-west of Houma, and around 170km deep.

Kaniva Tonga said no casualties or damage were reported.

On Saturday, a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck in the Tonga region, but no tsunami alerts arose from it.

On Sunday morning a trio of aftershocks came, around 275 to 290km from 'Ohonua.

The shakes continued in the early hours of Monday, all ranging between magnitude 4.6 and 5.8.

They were between 10 and 28.5 kilometres deep, and 274 to 299km south-west of 'Ohonua.

The earthquake, which struck at 7:06 a.m. local time on Friday, was centered in the ocean about 281 kilometers (175 miles) southwest of Tonga, or about 735 kilometers (455 miles) southeast of Fiji.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.2. It struck about 167 kilometers (103 miles) below the seabed, making it a fairly deep quake.

“Based on the depth of the earthquake, a tsunami is not expected,” the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement. No tsunami warnings have been issued.

A by-election is coming up, triggered by the death of the previous MP.

In the past two years, four MPs have died and they all had gone overseas for medical help, funded by taxpayer money.

This means that three by-elections have already taken place in Tonga, with a fourth one due on July 13.

RNZ Pacific's Tonga correspondent, Kalafi Moala, said: " there is a real concerrn in Tonga for healthy members of parliament, to allow them to spend more of their time in parliament and not in hospital."

Tonga’s Minister for Trade and Economic Development, Dr.Viliami Uasike Latu attended the session, which was held from 5^th to 16^th June 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The conference is held annually over two weeks and brings together governments’, workers’, and employers’ delegates of the ILO‘s 187 member states.

Sharkey is a barrister of Tongan-Irish descent.

She established herself as a barrister at Friendship Chambers in Manukau practicing mainly in the family law area. 

Sharkey was appointed Lead Counsel Assisting of the Pacific Peoples’ investigation in the Royal Commission of Inquiry intro Historical Abuse in Care, in early 2020.

She has been a Parole Board member since 2020, and has held various legal positions, including President of the Pacific Lawyers Association (2018-2021) and several years as Family Law Section Regional Representative (South Auckland).