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After All Blacks election Fekitoa tweets: ‘Proud, excited to represent this country’

By
Kalino Latu
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In picture: Fekitoa and his mother Meleane Fekitoa. Photo/Malakai Fekitoa (Facebook)

Malakai Fekitoa elatedly tweeted this afternoon to express how he felt after he was announced as one of the 31 All Blacks squad elected for the Rugby World Cup 2015.

Fekitoa tweeted: “Huge HONOUR to be part of this Team for the RWC. Iʻm Proud and excited to represent this country.”

Fekitoa was the only Tongan-born player named in the All Blacks team for the Rugby World Cup after Charles Piutau was not included on the list.

There were mixed reactions from Tongan All Blacks fans after the team was officially announced this morning.

Fekitoa arrived in New Zealand in 2009 and enrolled at Wesley College. Now he has achieved what many Tongan boys dream of – the chance to wear the black jersey.

Fekitoaʻs election to the team marked another milestone in the 87 year-old connection between Tongan players and the All Blacks. The link between the kingdom and the team began with Walter Batty, whose mother was Tongan and father was English.

Batty played for the All Blacks in 1928. He is claimed to have been the first Tongan to play for the world champions of rugby union.

Fekitoa has only  14 months’ history with the All Blacks. He will be a member of the team that defends the Webb Elis Cup next month.

While many Tongans welcomed the election of Fekitoa, some were not satisfied with Piutau missing out.

Some Tongan commentators on social media asked whether Piutau was injured because his recent performance had been brilliant. However, Fairfax reporter Lian Napier suggested that the comeback of  Waisake Naholo to the All Blacks assured the fate of Piutau.

New Zealand will face Tonga in Pool C along with Argentina, Georgia and Namibia.

Fekitoa tweeted:

Fekitoa tweeted_Page_1

ALL BLACKS SQUAD:-

Hookers: Dane Coles (Hurricanes/Wellington), Keven Mealamu (Blues/Auckland), Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury).

Props: Wyatt Crockett (Crusaders/Canterbury), Charlie Faumuina (Blues/Auckland), Ben Franks (Hurricanes/Hawke’s Bay), Owen Franks (Crusaders/Canterbury), Tony Woodcock (Blues/North Harbour).

Locks: Brodie Retallick (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty), Luke Romano (Crusaders/Canterbury), Samuel Whitelock (Crusaders/Canterbury).

Loose forwards: Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty), Jerome Kaino (Blues/Auckland), Richie McCaw – captain (Crusaders/Canterbury), Liam Messam (Chiefs/Waikato), Kieran Read (Crusaders/Canterbury), Victor Vito (Hurricanes/Wellington).

Halfbacks: Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Chiefs/Waikato), T.J Perenara (Hurricanes/Wellington), Aaron Smith (Highlanders/Manawatu).

First five-eighths: Beauden Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki), Daniel Carter (Crusaders/Canterbury), Colin Slade (Crusaders/Canterbury).

Midfielders: Malakai Fekitoa (Highlanders/Auckland), Ma’a Nonu (Hurricanes/Wellington), Conrad Smith (Hurricanes/Wellington), Sonny Bill Williams (Chiefs/Counties Manukau).

Outside backs: Nehe Milner-Skudder (Hurricanes/Manawatu), Julian Savea (Hurricanes/Wellington), Ben Smith (Highlanders/Otago), Waisake Naholo (Highlanders/Taranaki).

The main points

  • Malakai Fekitoa elatedly tweeted this afternoon to express how he felt after he was announced as one the 31 All Blacks squad elected for the Rugby World Cup 2015.
  • “Iʻm proud and excited to represent this country,” Fekitoa said.
  • He was the only Tongan-born player named for the All Blacks team for the Rugby World Cup after Charles Piutau was not included on the list.
  • Fekitoa will be a member of the team that defends the Webb Elis Cup next month.

For more information

First Tongan All Black (Kaniva News)

Hospitalised: 12 year old abducted and horrifically beaten at Muitoa village

By
Kalino Latu
-

A 12-year-old boy was hospitalised in Ha’apai after he was allegedly abducted yesterday  (August 29) by two men in their 20s and horrifically beaten with a machete and a piece of timber.

The boy was attacked in bush near the village of Muitoa, at Kauvai Island in Ha’apai.

Photos obtained by Kaniva News show the boy’s buttocks and upper part of his legs covered in swelling and bruising.

However, despite the beating, his mother has not decided whether to prosecute his attackers.

Talaiasi Tau’ataina Latu was taken to hospital and was released last night with a medical report to be taken to Police.

A copy of the medical report on the Ministry of Health letterhead was sent to us by the victim’s mother Lesieli Latu.

The letter says Talaiasi Latu was admitted to hospital on August 29.

Lesieli said she had considered not taking actions against the alleged abductors because they know each other and she also considered the way they lived as villagers in the island.

Senior Constable Lucy Tukuafu from Ha’apai Police Community Services said they had not received or heard about the incident.

“I will look at it and if you have further information please contact me,” Tukuafu told us.

According to Lesieli, the medical officer who attended Talaiasi at Niu’ui Hospital claimed parts of the boy’s flesh where he had been hit were smashed.

Alleged abduction

The mother said the men met Talaisi on his way home on the road.

They allegedly forced him into nearby bush where one man beat him with the machete and the piece of timber while the other man held his hands and mouth so that no one could hear him crying.

Lesieli said the duo claimed they beat her son because they found him smoking.

She said after the beating she saw her son limping on his way home. She said she could tell by the way he was limping that something terribly wrong with him.

When Talaiasi arrived he told his mother the tragedy he came through.

She said his son was taken to the local nurse on the island.

“She advised us to take him to hospital otherwise the injuries would become aching and the child could suffer convulsion as he was too young to receive such horrific beatings,” Lesieli said

She said they hired a dinghy to take her son to Pangai on the main island of Lifuka where the hospital Niu’ui is.

“It may have been better that they killed him rather than torturing him like that,” she said.

Lesieli said when she saw her son’s condition she determined she would definitely take legal action against the two men.

However, she said she had second thoughts when she considered how they lived and helped each other in the village.

She said she had yet to make a decision about whether or not she would talk to Police about the two men.

Kaniva News has sent photos of the incident to the Police Commissioner, Steve Caldwell and requested that he comments on the matter.  We are still waiting for his response.

Violence against children is not uncommon in Tonga. Earlier this week we reported on an attack on a young girl and in 2013 the media reported on the beating of a group of teenagers.

The main points

  • A 12-year-old boy was hospitalised in Ha’apai after he was allegedly abducted yesterday (August 29) by two men in their 20s and horrifically beaten with a machete and a piece of timber.
  • The boy was attacked in bush neat the village of Muitoa, at Kauvai Island in Ha’apai.
  • Photos obtained by Kaniva News show the boy’s buttock and upper part of his legs covered in swelling and bruising.
  • However, despite the beating, his mother has not decided whether to prosecute his attackers.

For more information

Tongan teenagers beaten at school

Masked men armed with machete rob hundreds from Fu’amotu petrol station

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Two masked men armed with a stick and a machete escaped with about TP$500 on Thursday 27 after robbing the Fuʻamotu petrol station.

Police said the men held up the petrol station by the Scenic Hotel demanding cash from the cashier at around 12pm.

Police are seeking witnesses to the robbery in which the masked men entered the petrol station from the back door.

 

 

Ice, sleet falls in Tonga

By
Kaniva Staff
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An unconfirmed report made on social media this week says heavy rain and sleet surprised locals at Toloa and Fuʻamotu in Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga on Monday 24.

Photos of the ice pellets claimed to be from the sleet was also uploaded to Facebook by Tineheti Aloveita Tuinauvai Tongamana.

Tongamana claimed the photos were taken while the sleet was falling.

Another Facebook user, Mele Lausiva Felemi Manu said on Facebook: “ko ia masi’i faka’ohovale emau fanongo hake ki he ngagana ae aisi he ‘ato e fale”

Translated:

“yeah boy, it was surprising when we heard the ice falling on the rooftop”.

It met with approvals from other Facebook users. A commentator who commented on the post compared the weather at Toloa around that time to New Zealand’s cold weather.

Tonga Met Services could not be reach for coments.

Manukau East MP supports efforts to wipe window washers off streets

By
Kalino Latu
-

 

Dear Editor

I support calls to toughen up Auckland Council’s bylaws dealing with window washers. My electorate office regularly deals with complaints about the behaviour of window washers at intersections around South Auckland.

Constituents have been intimidated; their vehicles have been kicked and scratched. My staff and members of the public have witnessed fights and intimidation amongst window washers themselves, and, in fact, there was an outright brawl on East Tāmaki Road outside my office not so long ago.

Labour MP Jenny Salesa Latu
Labour MP Jenny Salesa Latu for Manukau East

I have written to Auckland Council and met regularly with local police to see what can be done. Police powers are limited but, nonetheless, they done what they can to charge window washers and manage the problem. It seemed for a while as if the problem had disappeared.

However, window washers are starting to reappear at South Auckland intersections and it is disappointing to hear a local board member and a member of the public have been recently assaulted by window washers. I appreciate this is a complex issue.

It would seem really helpful if Auckland Council would clarify and strengthen their rules in a way that supports the police’s ability to protect the public from these behaviours. We all have the right to go about our business without threats of intimidation on street corners.

Yours faithfully

 

Jenny Salesa

MP for Manukau East

Phone: 021 940 863

Arrested: Horrific scars left on five year-old daughter by angry father

By
Kalino Latu
-

A five year old girl was left bleeding and screaming after her father whipped her, allegedly because she was playing with his mobile phone.

The girl’s father was arrested on Monday (August 24) and released on bail the next day.

He was expected to appear in Nukunuku Magistrate’s Court today (August 27).

Police have removed the child from her parents’ home and a court order has been put in place prohibiting the father from getting access to her.

A police officer attending a family function at the neighbour’s house called Police 922 emergency number while a woman was sent to the Nukunuku Police station to report the incident but Police did not respond immediately, according to the witness.

It was only when photographs of the little girl’s bruised and scarred back went viral on Facebook the next day that Police acted.

The images were uploaded to Facebook by Sharon Nora Fiu.

Fiu said on her Facebook page that she was attending a family reunion at Nukunuku on Sunday (August 23).

About 4pm, while they were serving a meal, they heard the girl crying and calling for Samiu, the owner of the neigbouring house.

Fiu and other women came out and found the girl crying and saying she had been beaten by her father, Sione.  Fiu said the girl begged to be allowed to stay because she was scared of him.

She said she broke down when she saw the condition of the child and assured her she was in safe hands.

Fiu said she was devastated by the situation.

She said she saw the girl’s father clench his fists when he arrived at the neighbour’s house and demanded his daughter be returned.

She said the neighbour denied his demand and said Police had been called. Sione then agreed to leave.

While the girl was being washed and calmed down, her mother appeared at the house. The girl was hidden and her mother agreed to leave and go home.

The main points

  • A five year old girl was left bleeding and screaming after her father whipped her, allegedly because she was playing with his mobile phone.
  • The girl’s father was arrested on Monday (August 24) and released on bail the next day.
  • He was expected to appear in Nukunuku Magistrate’s Court today (August 27).
  • Police have removed the child from her parents’ home and a court order has been put in place prohibiting the father from getting access to her.

Charged: Woman suffers horrific burns after husband throws boiling water over her body

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A 47-year-old woman is in hospital with horrific burns after his husband allegedly poured boiling water over her body, Monday morning 24 at Sopu.

The 52-year-old husband has been charged with bodily harm for a violent domestic assault while his wife is being treated in hospital, local media reported.

Police said there was an argument between the couple before the husband scalded his wife.

The incident comes after a woman from Navutoka died in December 2014 after her husband doused her body with boiling cooking oil  while she was asleep. She was rushed to hospital where she died later.

 

Two people seriously injured during Vaimalō night attack, Tuʻanekivale invaders appeared in court

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Two people sustained serious injuries Saturday night 22 and were rushed to hospital after an alleged attack in Vaimalō, Vavaʻu Islands.

Police said the duo, in the ages of 21 and 39, were  asleep while they were injured at about 3 – 4am and they are recovering in hospital.

Police have yet to make any arrests in connection to the incident, Vavaʻu Superindentent Netane Falakiseni told Kanva News.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact Vavaʻu Police station.

Meanwhile three people appeared in court yesterday and pleaded guilty after Police charged them with illegal home invasion at Tuʻanekivale , wilful damage and possessing prohibited alcohol.

Falakiseni said the three men smashed windows of a house in the residence.

They were arrested in relation to the crime and  after Police found home brew in the van they were driving.

Falakiseni said the trio will reappear in court tomorrow 27 for sentencing.

Two separate car crashes in Vavaʻu, two passengers fight for life in hospital

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A 45-year-old man remains in a critical condition at Ngu hospital after the truck he was driving collided with a big horn van on Utulangivaka Rd Saturday 22.

Vavaʻu Police have arrested the 20-year-old female driver of the van and charged her with reckless driving causing bodily harm and causing structural  damages, Police Superintendent Netane Falakiseni told Kaniva News. 

Police investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile a 38-year-old man who was involved in a horrific crash involving his younger brother yesterday morning outside Longomapu is fighting for his life in hospital.

The man was a passenger in the van while his 22-year-old brother was driving.

Police have arrested the younger brother and charged him for reckless driving causing bodily harm and he remains in Police custody .

Falakiseni said further details regarding the incidents will be released when they become availabe.

St George’s palace design revealed at today’s foundation ceremony at Pangai Si’i site

By
Kalino Latu
-

The designs for what could be the largest government building ever built in the kingdom were officially unveiled in Nukuʻalofa today in a formal ceremony attended by King Tupou VI and government leaders.

His Majesty laid the foundation of the new Chinese-funded building today.

Construction of the complex, to be known as St George’s palace, has already generated controversy, with many people upset by the fate of a historical building and calls for a war memorial to be safeguarded.

The project was initiated by the late King George VI in 2010 after the Chinese government donated TP$25 million (NZ$18 million) to its costs. The Chinese Northeast Architectural Design and Research Institute Co. Ltd worked on the conceptual design.

The four storey building, which will house the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, is being built at Pangai Siʻi in Nuku’alofa.

The structural details of the building have yet to be released.

Ceremony

Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhiva welcomed His Majesty King Tupou to the foundation laying ceremony.

Crown Princess Sinaitakala and Queen Nanasipau’u also attended.

In his speech welcoming His Majesty, the Prime Minister said  the palace would help connect most of the big government ministries, which would make their work easier.

He thanked the Chinese government for funding the project.

The Chinese Ambassador to Tonga, Mr Huang Huaguang, said the project strengthened Tonga’s relationship with China.

Critics

Some people became emotional last week when photos emerged showing the demolition of the band stand that had been in Pangai Si’i for many years.

Overseas Tongans who were in Tonga when it was built suggested it should have been saved and reinstated somewhere in the new compound as it was a historical building.

At times when there were hardly any instrumental entertainments in the country in 1960s and 70s Police and Military bands used to play at the band stand for entertainment purposes and welcoming of those who visited Nukuʻalofa or  for Police or the military marching practices.

Many remembered when they arrived at the capital Nuku’alofa for shopping or selling their products and visited the band stand to listen to the bands.

Some women remembered it as a place where they met their boyfriends before going home after school.

A petition was sent to government last week asking that the Armed Forces be allowed to remove the Memorial Stone in Pangai Si’i.

The memorial was built to remember those who served in both world wars.

The petition said the memorial stone should not be disturbed during the construction of the new palace as a sign of respect to those soldiers who went to war.

The main points

  • The design for what could the largest government building ever built in the kingdom were officially unveiled in Nuku’alofa today in a formal ceremony attended by King Tupou VI and government leaders.
  • His Majesty laid the foundation of the new Chinese-funded building today.
  • Construction of the complex, to be known as St George’s palace, has already generated controversy, with many people upset by the fate of a historical building and calls for a war memorial to be safeguarded.
  • The four storey building, which will accommodate the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, is being built at Pangai Si’i in Nuku’alofa.

For more information

Pangai Si‘i green bulldozed to make way for new Tonga Government building

War monument at Pangai Si’i to be relocated

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