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MMA fighter’s mom slaps son and yells at him for losing

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Kyle Schnitzer, New York Post

Growing up under the Kichigin roof must have been tough.

The three Kichigin brothers — Georgiy, Grigoriy and Viktor — all fight in MMA, and their mom, Anna Azovskaya, trained all of them.

Unfortunately for the youngest, Viktor, his mom was in his corner for his regrettable fight on Thursday’s Fight Nights Global 67 card in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

That was just the beginning for what must be Kichigin’s most embarrassing night.

His opponent, Ruslan Yamanbae, eventually won by TKO in the second round by mounting Kichigin and flooding him with a steady diet of elbows and jabs.

That’s when Kichigin’s mom entered the cage.

It initially appeared to be a loving parent tending her wounded son, but that was far from the case.

Kichigin’s mom screams in his bloodied face inside the octagon before slapping him in front of everyone.

Decision to pull out of Games “very difficult” says PM’s office

By
Philip Cass
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The Prime Minister’s office said today it had considered all possible options before deciding to withdraw from hosting the 2019 Pacific Games.

A statement from the office described the decision as “very difficult.”

“Tonga will be no lesser as a nation for not hosting.

“We need to understand that a mirror was held to the sporting face of our nation and it was not a good reflection and has not been for a very long time.

“The lesson here is to own that fact and those of us who have held the wheel will need to be honest with ourselves.”

The Prime Minister’s office reiterated that the decision to withdraw was based on World Bank report which said Tonga could not afford to hold the Games.

As Kaniva News reported earlier this week, the report was completed in 2013, before the current government took power or instituted a series of fiscal measures that have given it a more promising financial standing.

The Prime Minister’s office said the report was not an official report for publication, but was intended only for the attention of the requesting Government.

Tonga was awarded the right to host the games in 2012, but after five years no major investment had been raised outside of Government.

Financing the Games could drain TP$100 million from the government budget, with major affects on services, salaries and employment with little long term gain.

“It is only conceivable to host the games if the Government can be guaranteed that all of the funding can be found from sources outside of the domestic budget, and that most of it will be from new aid sources,” the report said.

“There is no identifiable way to fund the games from domestic revenue or known aid without a totally unacceptable cuts in the extent and quality of government service delivery.”

The main points

  • The Prime Minister’s office said today it had considered all possible options before deciding to withdraw from hosting the 2019 Pacific Games.
  • A statement from the office described the decision as “very difficult.”
  • “Tonga will be no lesser as a nation for not hosting.”
  • The Prime Minister’s office reiterated that the decision to withdraw was based on World Bank report which said Tonga could not afford to hold the Games.

For more information

Financial questions hang over decision to pull out of 2019 Games

Funds already allocated for Games, claims former Minister

By
Philip Cass
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The government had already allocated funds for the 2019 Games in the coming new 2017/2018 budget, former Minister of Finance, ‘Aisake Eke claimed this week.

Hon. Eke told a meeting of the  Tonga Sports Associations and National Olympic Committee were all specifically aimed to support the preparation for the 2019 Pacific Games.

There would no need for Government to borrow  money or impose extra duties or taxes.

Chairman of 2019 Organizing Committee Lord Sevele presented figures which he said contradicted the claim that the reason to withdraw from the Games was financial.

Lord Vaea, who chaired the meeting, said Tonga should honour its commitment to the Games,

He said the Games were awarded to Tonga in the belief the kingdom would do a good job.

More than 40 delegates from 17 National Federations attended the meeting.

The meeting asked Lord Vaea and Lord Sevele to talk to the government about reversing its  decision.

An emergency meeting of the TASANOC organising committee resolved that they wanted the Games to be staged in 2019 and to seek a meeting with Hon. Pohiva and the government to discuss this issue.

The main points

  • The government had already allocated funds for the 2019 Games in the coming new 2017/2018 budget, former Minister of Finance, ‘Aisake Eke claimed this week.
  • Eke told a meeting of the Tonga Sports Associations and National Olympic Committee were all specifically aimed to support the preparation for the 2019 Pacific Games.

For more information

Decision to abandon Games was “bizarre” says Lord Vaea

Six fishermen missing during strong winds warning rescued after Tonga, NZ and US rescue effort

By
Kalino Latu
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Six Tongan fishermen who went missing during a gale wind warning for Tonga had been rescued today following a joint rescue effort between the U.S. Coast Guard, Maritime New Zealand and the Tongan navy.

The men arrived safely to Tongatapu aboard a Tongan naval patrol boat after they were initially located by a U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, a U.S. Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific statement said.

The fishermen were missing at sea since Tuesday 23 May 2017 and they were reported missing at 10:25am on Wednesday 24 May, Tongan Police said.

“The fishermen left Nuku’alofa on the Lilite 1 heading to an area near Fonoi Ha’apai for a fishing trip on Monday 15 May 2017, they were expected back on Tuesday 23 May, but by Wednesday morning there was no sign of them”.

According to U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders at Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu its Hercules crew were due to return to Hawaii from Auckland following participation in the regional search and rescue conference when they received a request Wednesday afternoon to look for the missing Tongans.

The Hercules were then diverted from their original mission to respond.

According to US Coast Guards, upon arrival to the search area Wednesday evening, about 80 miles off Tonga, the Hercules crew sighted the fishermen waving a white flag.

They released a long range deployable drop kit to the crew of the disabled vessel which included food and water, a VHF radio, and a transponder.

Watchstanders at JRCC Honolulu notified RCC New Zealand personnel of the vessel’s position. Due to fuel constraints the Hercules crew was forced to depart the scene to American Samoa for fuel and crew rest.

RCC New Zealand personnel provided the position to the Tongan naval patrol boat crew who used the transponder to successfully re-located the fishing vessel and rescue all six men. All six fishermen are reportedly on good condition.

“I’m proud of my crew and how well we represented the United States this past week,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Koehler, Hercules pilot, Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.

Pōhiva says media twisted comments about Chinese company not paying tax

By
Kalino Latu
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Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pōhiva has hit back at reports that he told a press conference that “Chinese Businesses in Tonga did not pay any tax at all,” claiming his words were “twisted” in the media.

He also said reports that he said the Chinese would take over the country in the future were taken out of context.

Pohiva told Kaniva News in an interview in ‘Atalanga, Auckland, that what he told media was that a Chinese company, Yan Jian Group Co Ltd, did not pay any tax at all.

“I did not mean all the Chinese businesses in Tonga did not pay tax,” the Prime Minister said.

“That was not true.”

The company has operated in Tonga since 2009 as the principal contractor on a major roads improvement scheme with the aid of the Chinese Government

Hon. Pōhiva said he was surprised when it was revealed in a recent court case that the former government had agreed to allow the Yan Jian Group not to pay any taxes.

The revelation was made during a Land Court hearing in which the judge ordered Lord  Nuku and the Yan Jian Group Co Ltd to pay the current Lord Luani TP$5,556,000 in compensation for a dispute over a block of land in Malapo.

Lawyer Sione Fonua, who acted for Lord Luani, told Kaniva News the Chinese company did not pay taxes and did not file any annual returns with Inland Revenue because of its agreement with the former government.

It has been estimated the company was given TP$80 million for the project.

Regarding reports that Hon. Pohiva had said the Chinese would take over the country, he said he emphasised that only those who were working hard would control the country.

He said he then referred to the hard-working Chinese as an example.

He said his comments had been wrongly portrayed as if he was having a conspiracy with the Chinese or he was supporting them to take over the country.

Hon. Pōhiva was responding to a report by Matangi Tonga Online, which reported:

“He said he had a meeting with representatives of the Chinese community and learned that during the past few years “Chinese Businesses in Tonga did not pay any tax at all”.

“This was a shocking revelation by the PM, taking into consideration that about 90% of all small shops in Tonga are run by Chinese.

The revelation by the PM that Chinese businesses in Tonga did not pay any taxes during the past few years, and that he thinks the Chinese are going to run the country during the next few years, was received with incredulity by the media present”.

Hon. Pōhiva said reports quoting him as saying the Chinese would take control of the country in the next few years was misreported.

He said he only referred to the Chinese as an example because he had seen a report that Tongan civil servants’ commitment to working the country only contained 20 percent of their efforts in comparison with Chinese workers who were committed 80 percent.

He said he reminded the press conference that he believed in one of the oldest economic policies in the world; the passage in Genesis in which God tells Adam: “By the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread.”

He said the Chinese were working hard and expanded their business activities from shops to the tax allotments and grew vegetables and sold them to make money while many Tongans did nothing.

He said if the Tongans could not stand up and work hard like the Chinese there was no way they could beat them in controlling the economy of the country.

Below is what Hon. Pōhiva said in a tape record in Tongan which is written verbatim with an English translation.

In Tongan:

“E pule’i e fonua ko ‘eni ‘e he kakai ngāué. Ko ia pe ‘oku ngāué ko ia ia ‘oku pule. He’ikai te ke mohemohe koe pea ke ha’u ko e ke ke pule. Ne ‘osi fai e savea ki ai pea ko e savea  ‘oku peheni. Ko e ‘avalisi ko e ngāue ‘a e kau ngāue fakapule’anga peseti pe ‘e 20. Pēseti pe ‘e 20 honau ‘atamai mo honau ivi mo ‘enau commitment ‘oku ‘ave ki he ngāué. Siaina pēseti ‘e 80 ‘o fai ki ‘olunga. Tala mai angé pe ko hai ‘e pule he fonua ko ‘eni? ‘E lava e pēseti ‘e 20 ʻo langa e fonua ko ʻení. No! ‘Ai ke mahino ki hotau ‘atamaí pea tau tala ki he kakaí ‘a e me’a ‘e hoko ‘i he kaha’ú. ‘Oku fai ‘emau fakataha mo e kau Siainá. Fai mau fakataha ke mau talatalanoa ki he kaha’u o e fonuá he ‘oku ‘ilo ‘emautolu ‘a e me’a te tau iku ki aí. (Fakatatau ki he foʻi tepí ne hū hake heni e tokotaha ngali ko e ʻētita ʻo e Matangi Tongá Pesi Fonua ʻo lea atu ki he Palēmiá) “Mou fa’ufa’u moutolu ke mou take over ‘emoutolu ‘eni (Hū e kata). (Ka ʻi he tali ʻa Pōhivá ne ne pehē)  ‘Ikai ko ʻemau  ‘uhinga eni ʻamautolu ke vahevahe mai he ko kinautolu te nau pulé. Heʻikai ke hoko ia. Ko e tali atu ia ʻa e tokotaha ko ení. Heiʻilo koe mo hoʻo tali ki aí ka ko e anga ʻeni ʻemau sió ʻamautolu.

Translated:

“This country will be controlled by people who work. Those who work will rule. You would not sleep and wake up to come and rule. There was a survey and the result was this. The work done by the civil servants were 20 percent in average. Their ideas their energy, they committed to work only 20 percent. The Chinese was 80 percent and over. Tell me who will control this country? Could this country be built by the 20 percent? No! Make it clear to our mind and let’s tell the people what will happen in the future of this country. We have a meeting with the Chinese. We are meeting to talk about the future of the country as we know what we would end up with”

A reporter, apparently Matangi Tonga editor Pesi Fonua interrupted while Hon. Pōhiva was talking and asked the Prime Minister: “Are you (‘Akilisi and the Chinese) plotting to take over this country?” (laughing).

But the Prime Minister said: “No. We are meeting to ask them to share with us because they will take control I tell you.”

“That won’t happen,” the reporter replied.

“It’s up do you, but I am telling you it will happen,” the Prime Minister said.

The main points

  • Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva has hit back at reports that he told a press conference that “Chinese Businesses in Tonga did not pay any tax at all,” claiming his words were “twisted” in the media.
  • He also said reports that he said the Chinese would take over the country in the future were taken out of context.
  • Pohiva told Kaniva News in an interview in ‘Atalanga, Auckland, that what he told media was that a Chinese company, Yan Jian Group Co Ltd, did not pay any tax at all.
  • The revelation was made during a Land Court hearing during which Lord Nuku and the Yan Jian Group Co Ltd were ordered to pay the current Lord Luani TP$5,556,000 in compensation for a dispute over a block of land in Malapo.

For more information

Pohiva tells Auckland meeting: Tongans should learn from Chinese example and live in harmony

Land Court finds Lord Nuku and mining company were trespassing

Police officer arrested for armed robbery faces suspension

By
Kalino Latu
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A 27-year-old Tongan Police officer who was arrested on Tuesday 23 in connection with an armed robbery will be suspended from work today, Police Commissioner Steve Caldwell has confirmed this afternoon.

The suspect will appear at the Fasi Magistrate Court on Friday 26 May, 2017, Caldwell said.

A 38-year-old Pahu male associate is also facing the same charges and will appear at the Magistrate Court on Monday 29 May, 2017.

The incident occurred at 7:00pm Saturday 20 May in Ma’ufanga when a masked man entered the store armed with a knife and threatened the shopkeeper, Caldwall said.

“No one was injured in the incident and the alleged offenders fled the scene with approximately $700 in cash”.

“The allegations are extremely concerning, however the arrest is a very clear signal that no one is above the law and I commend the investigators for conducting a thorough and impartial investigation,” the Police Commissioner said.

The officer was in custody and will be served a Suspension Notice today.

The criminal investigators continue investigating the incident.

The Pope gave Donald Trump a 192-page letter he wrote on climate change

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Mythili Sampathkumar

Donald Trump was given a gift during his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican: a papal letter detailing why the world should fight against climate change.

Pope Francis issued the encyclical in 2015, just months before nearly 200 countries signed the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.

The agreement is considered a large part of President Obama’s legacy, particularly his work on environmental issues like establishing a protected national park in Hawaii and passing legislation on clean energy.

The US is one of the largest emitters of carbon in the world and so its role is crucial to the success of the agreement along with China and India, also large carbon emitters.

The encyclical, titled Laudato Si or “Praised Be,” essentially tied protection of the planet made by God to Catholics’ faith in God.

In it he writes that climate change is a “global problem which has grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political, and for the distribution of goods.”

Mr Trump and his aides have often played up the president’s business acumen and experience running a global company. Pope Francis addresses the ties between multinational corporations and climate as well.

“[T]he pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in those countries in which they raise their capital: We note that often the businesses that operate this way are multinationals. They do here what they would never do in developed countries or the so-called first world.”

He went on to write that “by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly called climate change a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese in the past – a stance which appears to have softened a bit after his face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

China has become a leader in renewable energy investments, which topped new money pouring into the oil and gas industry for the first time in 2015 to the tune of $350 billion.

He also appointed former Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State and a known climate denier, Scott Pruitt, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In his proposed federal budget, Mr Trump also plans to cut the State Department and EPA budgets – the agencies where much of federal climate change work is done – by nearly a third.

Climate change programmes across the whole federal government, but especially in the Coast Guard, the maritime security agency of the US which also does ocean and endangered species conservation work.

The president has also caused consternation for many countries in the group of seven (G7) for not making a decision on whether to keep the US in the Paris Agreement. The G7 has issued a cohesive statement on climate change until this year, where they cited the Trump administration’s lack of clarity on their message as a problem.

Several alliances, including the 28-member military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) have declared climate change as a global security threat, especially in the Middle East where drought and famine are growing concerns.

The Vatican’s Secretary of State brought up climate change during the meeting as well and encouraged Mr Trump to stay in the Paris Agreement. The White House said a decision whether to remain in the agreement would be made after the G7 meeting later this month in Sicily, Italy.

Pacific hurricane season depends on El Nino, forecasters say

By
Kaniva Staff
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HONOLULU (AP) — Forecasters say the central Pacific region around Hawaii can expect a normal or slightly above-average hurricane season, depending largely on the presence of El Nino conditions.

Chris Brenchley, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center, said at a news conference Wednesday that the region can expect anywhere from five to eight tropical cyclones from June through November.

Brenchley said there is an equal chance of El Nino and neutral conditions in the Pacific this season.

El Nino is a natural warming of the Pacific that alters weather worldwide.

The average number of storms per year since 1970 is 4.6, but the past four seasons have had above-average activity.

The 2015 season set a record with 15 total named storms that came amid a strong El Nino.

Man dead after crash in Otahuhu

By
Kaniva Staff
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New Zealand: One person has died after a single-vehicle crash early this morning in Otahuhu, South Auckland.

Police said it happened on Great South Road, between Nixon Ave and Mangere Road, just after 1:30am.

The Police Serious Crash Unit will be investigating.

Pohiva, PSA, win latest round in Tongasat Supreme Court saga

By
Philip Cass
-

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has won the latest round in his long running fight with Tongasat over what he says were illegal payments of Chinese money.

Lord Chief Justice Paulsen ordered that Tongasat and the Kingdom of Tonga clearly state what documents they had relating to the transfer of Chinese money to Princess Pilolevu’s company.

The original case focused on a payment of US$25,450,000 made by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to the Government of Tonga in May 2011 and paid to or for the benefit of Tongasat in around June  of that year.

Pohiva argued that the payment to or for Tongasat was unlawful within the meaning of the Public Finance Management Act.

The Prime Minister, who began the case when he was in opposition, and the Public service association want Tongasat and the Kingdom of Tonga to hand over all documents relating to the transfer.

The judge ordered the company to make a full disclosure about what it holds.

He said the Prime Minister and the PSA were entitled to costs.

Tongasat argued that it had an Exclusive Agency Agreement with the Kingdom to market and manage the licensing and  frequency  assignments of orbital slots registered by the Kingdom with the International Telecommunications Union.

In its submission to the Supreme Court it claimed a dispute had arisen with China Electronic System Engineering Company (CESEC), a corporation associated with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), over its unlawful use of the orbital slot at 130°E.

Tongasat said it concluded on behalf of the Kingdom a settlement with CESEC under which CESEC would pay US$49,900,000 in two tranches of US$24,451,000 on 31 July 2008 and US$25,449,000 on 31 December 2010 and that Tongasat was to receive  50%  of  the  first  payment and, subject to further negotiations, ·50% of  the  second  payment.

Tongasat  alleged that at the  request of CESEC and the Chinese government the money was recorded as aid grant money and not as settlement of the dispute.

This was for reasons of ‘State discretion,’ but  in  the  knowledge that it  was  really a payment for the unlawful use of the  orbital slot.

The judge criticised the satellite company’s defence.

“The logic underlying Tongasat’s statement of defence is sometimes difficult to follow,” he said.

“There  are important  pieces  of  the  jigsaw  missing.”

Hon. Pohiva and the PSA did not win all their arguments in court.

They had asked the court to order that Tongasat be barred from defending the case because it had not paid the costs awarded against it during a previous hearing on the issue.

He described Tongasat’s failure to pay as unacceptable.

“It has provided no explanation for its long standing failure to pay the costs,” he said.

He said there was “some force” in the submission of Hon. Pohiva’s legal team that the failure to pay should be considered contempt of court.

However, Lord Chief Justice Paulsen said he would not rule against Tongasat in this issue but would defer the matter to June 23 so the plaintiffs could explore other ways of obtaining costs.

The main points

  • Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva has won the latest round in his long running fight with Tongasat over what he says were illegal payments of Chinese money.
  • Lord Chief Justice Paulsen ordered that Tongasat and the Kingdom of Tonga clearly state what documents they had relating to the transfer of Chinese money to Princess Pilolevu’s company.
  • The original case focused on a payment of US$25,450,000 made by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to the Government of Tonga in May 2011 and paid to or for the benefit of Tongasat in around June of that year.
  • Pohiva argued that the payment to or for Tongasat was unlawful within the meaning of the Public Finance Management Act.
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