A mother and her child reportedly sustained injuries in a car crash that occurred at Niutao this morning at around 3.45am.
Reports said the victims had been rushed to the hospital.
There have been no reports regarding the condition of the driver.
The Lapaha District Officer, Siosifa Lamipeti, reported the incident on Facebook.
He alleged that high speed was likely the cause of the crash.
He said the incident marked the first road accident reported in the district since the beginning of the new year.
Officer Lamipeti emphasized the significance of this occurrence, highlighting the ongoing concerns surrounding road safety and the need for increased vigilance among drivers in the community.
He asked the residents to drive to the limit and avoid driving while under the influence of alcohol.
The United States government is offering financial rewards in its efforts to apprehend Chinese state-sponsored hackers who infiltrated the systems of the U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month.
Guan Tianfeng, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)
Guan Tianfeng, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is being sought for his involvement in a conspiracy to hack indiscriminately into firewall devices worldwide in 2020, the US Officials said.
It said Guan and his co-conspirators worked at the offices of Sichuan Silence Information Technology Co. Ltd. to discover and exploit a previously unknown vulnerability in certain firewalls sold by U.K.-based Sophos Ltd.
Sophos is an information technology company that develops and markets cybersecurity products.
The malware that exploited the vulnerability discovered by Guan was designed to steal information from infected computers and to encrypt files on them if a victim attempted to remediate the infection.
Guan and his co-conspirators infected approximately 81,000 firewall devices worldwide, including a firewall device used by an agency in the United States.
The FBI is offering US$10 million for information about the 30-year-old, his company, or their alleged hacking activities.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington rejected any responsibility for the hack in a response to Reuters, saying that Beijing “firmly opposes the US’s smear attacks against China without any factual basis”.
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A leaked document has surfaced, revealing what appeared to be the preliminary list of the new Cabinet Ministers, the new Speaker of Parliament, and some of the new government’s to-do list.
Crown Prince Tupouto’a (L) and Prime Minister Elect Dr ‘Aisake Eke
Kaniva News has obtained a copy of the paper, which shows that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Tupouto’a, who was not a Member of Parliament, would be approached to become the Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces and Foreign Affairs.
If the Prince declined the offer of the ministerial positions, Lord Fakafanua would be nominated for the posts, the paper claimed.
All Ministries must be reviewed and reported within the new administration’s first month.
The unofficial paper said that all government boards of directors must be disbanded before the appointment of new members.
It said the two governors and the Whole House Committee Chair would be considered later.
There are three nobles in the Cabinet, Lord Tu’ivakanō, the new Minister for Police, Agriculture, Food and Forests, Lord Tu’ilakepa, the Minister for Fisheries and Lord Nuku, the Minister for Lands, Survey and Natural Resources.
The list did not include the Ministry for Internal Affairs.
Kaniva News has contacted the Prime Minister Designate and some of his MPs to verify the accuracy of the list and the additional clarifications provided. We also requested that they amend any inaccuracies in the leaked document’s content.
In response, MP Mateni Tapueluelu asked if Kaniva News could reveal who leaked the information.
At the same time, MP Dr Taniela Fusimālohi had asked us to delay publishing the list until it was released through an official press conference.
Neither Tapueluelu nor Fusimālohi refuted any of the information provided in the paper.
The preliminary list of the new Cabinet Ministers:
Dr ‘Aisake Valu Eke
Prime Minister;
Minister for Finance
Dr Taniela Fusimālohi
Deputy Prime Minister;
Minister for Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Communications and Climate Change (MEIDECC); and
Minister for Infrastructure (MOI).
Paula Piveni Piukala
Minister for Justice and Prisons.
Minister for Public Enterprises (MPEs).
Mateni Tapueluelu
Minister for Revenue and Customs (MRC).
Lord Nuku
Minister for Lands, Survey and Natural Resources (MLNR).
Prince Tupouto’a
Minister for His Majesty’s Armed Forces and Foreign Affairs.
Dr ‘Uhilamoelangi Fasi
Minister for Education (MOE)
Minister for Health (MOH).
Kāpeli Lanumata
Minister for Trade and Economic Development.
Lord Tu’ivakanō
Minister for Police
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forests (MAFF).
Two police officers were critically injured after incident at Nelson event early on Wednesday morning.
File photo. Photo: 123RF
Another person was also seriously injured.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said a vehicle driven by a member of the public hit a police vehicle at a gathering in the Buxton Square Carpark at 2.10am.
“Two police officers were critically injured and one member of the public was seriously injured as a result,” he said.
They were taken to Nelson Hospital.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested and will face charges, police said.
Chambers said Buxton Square was cordoned off while a scene examination was conducted.
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Tonga’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is setting a strong precedent in transparency by openly publishing a comprehensive list of all gifts and benefits it receives.
The list had been recently released the same day Commissioner Chris LaHatte presented his four-year strategic plan to the public, which Kaniva News reported.
That news received favourable discussions among community members on Facebook.
Many expressed gratitude and excitement to see the long-awaited service finally in action, marking a new chapter in Tonga’s history of ongoing battle against the pervasive corruption that has plagued the nation for years.
The move is similar to that of organisations in New Zealand that provide the same services as ACC.
It aimed to expose how a board handles gifts and hospitality offered to its members, considering that it has profound implications for the trust placed in the governance of the entity concerned.
It also sets a precaution for commissioners and their staff that they should not accept gifts, benefits, or hospitality that would or might reasonably be seen to compromise their integrity by placing them under any obligation to a third party.
The list means the public can easily see which people or organizations have contributed to the ACC, fostering a greater sense of accountability and trust within the community concerning the Commission’s duties.
Publishing the list, the ACC said on its Facebook:
“Declaration
In the course of our duties as the Anti-Corruption Commissioner, we have received the following gifts, benefits or both, the value of which is recorded. The table below shows the bi-annual ACC gift and other benefit declarations”.
Authorities in French Polynesia have seized a record 524kg of cocaine on board a Spanish-flagged vessel.
Over 500 Kg of cocaine seized in French Polynesia Photo: OFAST
The operation on Christmas Eve was conducted by the French Navy Overseas support and assistance vessel Bougainville, in co-ordination with French Gendarmerie and the OFAST (anti-narcotics office), the French High commission said in a release.
The Australian Federal Police was also involved in what is described as an international intelligence co-operation.
The fishing vessel, identified as Raymi, was intercepted and boarded south of French Polynesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 700 nautical miles south of Papeete, with 14 crew members from Columbia and Ecuador aboard.
They have been remanded in custody pending a planned appearance before a local court, deputy public prosecutor Yann Hausner said.
A total of 524kg of cocaine was immediately found inside 11 packs.
It has not been established as yet where the vessel was heading.
The estimated street value of the seized shipment was around US$122 million (NZ$215m).
The Raymi was then escorted back to French Polynesia’s capital Papeete, where it was subjected to further searches.
“It’s the kind of operation for which we are also trained”, Bougainville Commander Mathieu Leman told local public broadcaster Polynésie La Première.
Pacific “drugs highway”
French Polynesia, as well as other Pacific countries and territories (such as Samoa, Fiji, Tonga), has been identified as a major transit point of the so-called “drugs highway” from North and South America (the United States, Mexico, Columbia, Ecuador, Panama) to major markets such as Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
In March 2019, another French Navy vessel, Prairial, in collaboration with the US Joint Interagency Task Force – South intercepted a fishing vessel off the coast of Nicaragua with 766kg of cocaine on board.
In the other direction, labs in South-east Asia are also using Pacific islands such as Palau or Papua New Guinea as transit points to ship opium-based and methamphetamines to the US market.
The outgoing Prime Minister, Hon Hu’akavameiliku, denied that his government had received more than “a billion-dollar loan” from China and the ADB.
Hon Hu’akavameiliku (L) and Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou
He was responding after Lawyer Nalesoni Tupou blasted his terms in government labelling Hu‘akavameiliku’s leadership as performing poorly.
Mr Tupou claimed the Hu’akavameiliku administration owed US$380 to China and US$120 million to the ADB.
He converted the total US$500 into Tongan pa’anga as over TOP$1 billion.
Mr Tupou used the term “mo’ua”, meaning debts or money owed to lenders, to describe the debts in Tongan.
It was unclear whether he was referring to the previous government’s existing debts, for which the outgoing government was responsible for payment, or if he was specifically indicating that these were new loans taken on by the Hu’akavameiliku government.
He advocated appointing a new Prime Minister with financial and governmental affairs expertise.
He alleged that Hon Hu’akavameiliku had stepped down because he knew he was no longer fit for the job.
Mr Tupou said Hu‘akavameiliku’s resignation was justified because of all these.
However, Hon Hu‘akavameiliku said in Tongan that he wanted to enlighten the lawyer.
He said: “Ne teeki no e Puleanga neu kau ai mei adb pe Siaina he tau 3 mau Puleanga ai”, saying his government did not secure loans from China and the ADB while he was the leader in the last three years.
He said Mr Tupou was referring to loans made by previous governments, and his government was only paying them back.
The Chnina loan balance was TOP$197.2 million, and the payments so far have brought it down to TOP$157 million or US$75 million, while the balance of the ADB loan was TOP$49 million or US$23, the Prime Minister said.
Hon Hu’akavameiliku blasted Mr Tupou and told him to stop what he had described as misleading the public.
A family in Touliki whose verandah was burgled while they were sleeping in the living room said the crime shows how “brazen and opportunistic” some thieves are.
Man retrieving their laundry after being discarded by the thieves.
The burglar, or burglars, took a washing machine with laundry inside and a bicycle.
The woman, who streamed the incident and shared it on Facebook, said that they had to follow the apparent trail of the burglars through nearby bushes.
They managed to retrieve some of the discarded laundry the thieves left behind.
There were no signs of the washing machine or the bicycle.
She said the laundry was their children’s clothing.
The video showed the woman and a man walking on what had been described as the burglars’ apparent trail.
It led them to a nearby public road, where they believed a waiting vehicle was parked.
“People are that brazen and opportunistic, that they steal the stuff while we were sleeping close by,” she said.
The new government had been urged to hold the previous administration responsible by conducting an audit of its services.
Dr Taniela Fusimālohi. Photo/Fale Alea o Tonga
MP Dr Taniela Fusimālohi, a staunch supporter of the Prime Minister Designate, Dr ‘Aisake Eke, recently said in the House that the audit will ensure transparency and accountability in managing public funds.
He mentioned the former government’s annual budgets as an area of focus for the auditor.
The former Hu’akavameiliku government’s involvement in the national airlines was accused of “secrecy” surrounding its decision-making.
This criticism persisted despite the former Prime Minister providing responses and clarifications to most allegations against him in Parliament, the media, and during his two Motions of Confidence Vote.
However, one of the issues he appeared to have failed to provide a satisfactory response pertains to the Australian $2 million grant his government had allocated to buy the Lulutai’s Twin Otter aircraft last year.
The Prime Minister Elect, Dr Eke and MP Dr Fusimālohi believed the money should not have been used to buy the aircraft.
They previously quizzed the Prime Minister in Parliament about the grant.
At one stage, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Seventeen Toumo’ua intervened and claimed that the fund was specifically granted to assist in purchasing the Lulutai’s Twin Otter aircraft.
According to Hansard number 29 of 2023 the Minister said in Tongan:
“ko e 2 miliona ko eni na’e ‘omai ‘e ‘Asitelēlia ko e ‘omai hangatonu ia ki he vakapuna”.
In English, he said: “The 2 million fund was directly granted by Australia for the aircraft”.
However, the information later provided by the former Australian High Commissioner to Tonga, Rachel Moore, about the grant didn’t seem to be the case.
Kaniva News recently obtained a copy of a letter purported to provide Moore’s responses to MP Fusimālohi after he sought clarification on the grant.
Ms Moore said:
“In 2023 Australia provided elevated levels of direct budget support to the Government of Tonga to support economic recovery following the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami and COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Tonga allocates Australian general budget support at its discretion”.
Ms Moore’s response did not mention that the grant of $2 million was specifically intended to support the purchase of the Twin Otter.
She also clarified other assistance the Australian government had provided to Tonga.
She said: “We appreciate the Government of Tonga’s assessment of the importance of reliable domestic aviation connectivity to economic recovery as well as service delivery. Australia has provided support to Tonga’s aviation sector since mid-2022, including through the wet- lease arrangement between Lulutai Airlines and Fiji Airways to operate regular domestic flights from January to May 2023. Australia has also funded training for Lulutai pilots and engineers and for air traffic controllers from Tonga Airports Limited. Australia continues to work with Lulutai to develop a long-term sustainable business plan and to improve corporate functions and the airline’s reservations and sales systems.”
The question remains: will Dr Eke’s government review Lulutai Airlines and the use of the Australian grant?
The opposition had brought up the grant issue in Parliament in the 2023 Motion of No Confidence against Hu’akavameiliku. They had been concerned at the government’s apparent misleading the House that it was intended for the Lulutai’s Twin Otter purchase. The former Prime Minister had no response.
