Cable ship delayed

Work on damaged internet cables in Tonga’s Ha’apai and Vava’u islands was again delayed after a special repair vessel broke down in Fiji.

Woman lashes out at Police while an arrest took place in a property in Tongatapu. Photo/Screenshot

Tonga Cable Ltd said last week that the damage assessment on Tonga’s domestic submarine fibre-optic cable will be delayed again by at least a week while the repair ship stops in Fiji.

As we reported previously, the ship was supposed to arrive in Tonga yesterday to assess the damage to the cable after the black out on 29 June.

Nearly a third of Tonga’s population still has no internet and is unlikely to have access until mid-August.

There has been little service in the popular islands of Ha’apai and Vava’u following an earthquake on 29 June.

The government has granted a provisional temporary permit to Starlink to operate for a six month period.

Queensland Reds defeat Tonga’s Lofa 65-0

Tonga has lost the women’s rugby game 65-0 to the Queensland Reds at Teufaiva National Stadium on Friday.

Backrow duo Joe Brial and Seru Uru reigned supreme in torrential conditions at Teufaiva Sports Stadium while captain Jock Campbell impressed from fullback in the Reds’ second-half surge to victory.

Veteran flyhalf James O’Connor was substituted for a HIA before halftime in an otherwise unmarred performance against Tonga, who held Queensland 12-all in the shadows of half time before falling away late.

“Obviously a very physical game in the conditions, so I think in the second half we really wanted to play field position,” Campbell told media post-game.

“It was quite a significant wind there so we tried to play down their end and make it hard to exit.

Moana Pasifika star Lotu Inisi opened the scoring after just five minutes with a barnstorming run, carrying three Reds defenders over the chalk to send the crowd wild before Richie Asiata hit back in the 11th minute from a trusty rolling maul.

Tonga team at the Olympics in Paris

The Tonga Olympic team arrived at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, with Tongan boxer  Fe’ofa’aki ‘Epenisa bearing the flag for the world to see.

Epenisa made history by becoming the first female to represent Tonga at an Olympic Games in her Paris boxing debut. 

Her opponent won by unanimous decision. She said she believed her Olympics debut would have planted a seed for women in Tonga and is just the beginning of the sport.

The Tongan athletes include swimmer Noelani Day, and sprinter Maleselo Fukofuka. Alan and Fe’ofa’aki completed their heats during the weekend, while Noelani and Maleselo will have their competitions on 3 August.

Gun and machete threats amid police arrest

A man purportedly refused to comply with police before he was arrested in Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu.  

A brief verbal confrontation ensued after two non-uniform officers forced the man to release a baby he was carrying because he was under arrest.

During the argument, words to the effect of  “get the machete” and “get the gun” were overheard.

Videos of the incident shared on Facebook yesterday show a police van parking in front of a house. A uniform police officer is seen standing in front of the van before the arrest is made.

A woman was overheard lashing out at the police.

Kaniva News was unable to verify the authenticity of the video.