New South Wales, Australia – A Tongan man has died after getting into trouble in the water with two other men at a beach on the New South Wales Mid North Coast.

The man has been identified by kāinga and friends on social media as Kauvaka Tupou, as messages of grief and condolences began circulating following news of the tragedy.

NSW Police have not yet publicly named the man, and Kaniva News has not independently confirmed the identification with Australian authorities.

Police said emergency services were called to Saltwater Beach, Saltwater, about 18km southeast of Taree, at about 1.45pm on Sunday, 20 September, following reports that three people were in trouble in the water.

Officers from the Manning/Great Lakes Police District attended alongside surf lifesavers.

The three men, all aged in their 20s, were pulled from the water.

NSW Ambulance paramedics treated all three at the scene, but one of the men could not be revived and died.

The two survivors were taken to Manning Base Hospital for treatment. Police have not publicly disclosed the nature of their injuries or their current conditions.

The circumstances surrounding how the three men got into difficulty remain unclear.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident and said a report will be prepared for the Coroner.

Tributes have begun flowing on social media for Kauvaka, with grieving relatives and friends expressing shock and disbelief at his sudden death.

Messages remembered him with affection and offered prayers and condolences to his kāinga, with several describing his death as a heartbreaking loss and saying he had been taken far too soon.

“Rest in peace, Kauvaka. Still cannot believe you are gone. Our hearts are broken. Sending all our love and prayers to your family during this difficult time. ʻOfa atu,” a commenter wrote.

“Gone far too soon, Kauvaka Tupou. Such heartbreaking news. May God comfort your family and everyone who knew and loved you. Rest peacefully, brother,” another wrote.

One commenter expressed particular sympathy for Kauvaka’s wife and their only child following his sudden death.

“A sad day for the family and everyone who knew Kauvaka. Our deepest condolences to his parents, siblings, relatives and friends. May the Lord give you strength through this unimaginable loss.”

NSW Police statement on the Saltwater Beach death

Auckland NZ – Tongan methamphetamine trafficker Ulakai Fakaosilea, who helped import more than half a tonne of the drug through Ninety Mile Beach before later orchestrating another massive shipment while behind bars, has failed to overturn his life sentence.

The Court of Appeal dismissed Fakaosilea’s challenge to his life imprisonment in a judgment delivered on 15 September, ruling that the seriousness of his offending required the maximum available penalty.

Fakaosilea was already serving 22 years and nine months in prison for his role in the notorious importation of 501kg of methamphetamine into New Zealand when he became involved in further drug offending from inside prison.

Despite being incarcerated for one of New Zealand’s largest methamphetamine importations, he went on to play a leading role in another operation, orchestrating the importation of 198.2kg of methamphetamine.

He pleaded guilty to the later offending and in March last year was sentenced in the High Court to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years.

Fakaosilea is the brother of Selaima Fakaosilea, who was also convicted over the record 501kg methamphetamine importation through Ninety Mile Beach in 2016 and received a lengthy prison sentence, although she was not sentenced to life imprisonment.

Guilty pleas fail to displace life sentence

Fakaosilea appealed, arguing that life imprisonment was manifestly excessive and that the Court should instead have imposed a fixed-term sentence, particularly because of his guilty pleas and personal circumstances.

However, the Court of Appeal found his leading role, the enormous quantity of methamphetamine involved and, critically, the fact that he committed the offences while already serving a lengthy sentence for similar offending placed his case among the most serious for which life imprisonment was available.

The Court considered whether Fakaosilea’s guilty pleas should have resulted in a finite sentence rather than life imprisonment.

It acknowledged that guilty pleas normally attract sentencing credit because they save court resources and remove the risk and expense of a trial.

But the judges found those considerations carried less weight in Fakaosilea’s circumstances when balanced against the need for deterrence, denunciation and protection of the community.

The Court stressed that a guilty plea can, in some cases, be sufficient to move a sentence away from life imprisonment, but said it was not enough in this case.

Offending from prison decisive

The Court said the most significant feature was that Fakaosilea organised serious methamphetamine offending from prison while serving a lengthy sentence for importing more than 501kg of the same drug.

It also rejected the argument that his other personal mitigating circumstances and prospects of rehabilitation made life imprisonment inappropriate.

The judges said aspects of Fakaosilea’s background helped explain his association with gangs and a criminal lifestyle, but did not sufficiently explain offending of such seriousness. The Court also found there was no demonstrated intention to leave gang life or rehabilitate.

In upholding the sentence, the Court said the circumstances required the continuing oversight that accompanies life imprisonment.

Unlike a finite prison term, a life sentence means Fakaosilea remains subject to the sentence for the rest of his life, even if he is eventually released on parole.

The Court concluded that, given the scale and circumstances of his repeated methamphetamine trafficking, that level of oversight was appropriate.

Fakaosilea’s appeal was dismissed.

Tongans seeking permanent residence in the United States could face tougher scrutiny over their use of government benefits under a new immigration rule that took effect on September 18.

The latest change comes four months after another Trump administration immigration announcement initially raised concerns that many foreigners already in the United States could be required to return to their home countries to complete their Green Card applications.

The Department of Homeland Security later clarified that most applicants who legitimately qualify for adjustment of status would still be able to seek permanent residence from within the US, with applications continuing to be assessed individually.

The May announcement nevertheless highlighted the Trump administration’s increased emphasis on the discretionary nature of adjustment of status, the process that allows eligible immigrants already in the United States to apply for permanent residence without leaving the country.

This week’s change concerns a separate immigration requirement known as the “public charge” test, used to determine whether certain immigrants seeking admission to the United States or permanent residence are likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance.

The Trump administration has rescinded the narrower 2022 public-charge regulation introduced under former President Joe Biden, restoring broader discretion to immigration officers when assessing applicants.

Under the new rule, immigration officers may consider whether an applicant receives means-tested government benefits, including Medicaid, when deciding whether the person is likely to become dependent on public assistance.

However, receiving such benefits does not automatically disqualify someone from obtaining a Green Card. Officers must look at the applicant’s overall circumstances, including their age, health, family situation, income and other financial resources, employment, education and skills.

This means the use of public benefits is only one factor in the decision. Immigration authorities will weigh it together with the other factors before determining whether an applicant is likely to become what US immigration law describes as a “public charge”.

The new rule applies to relevant benefits received or applied for on or after September 18. Benefits received before the rule took effect are not considered under the expanded approach.

States challenge new rule

The new immigration rule is already facing major legal challenges from state and local governments.

A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia has sued the Trump administration seeking to block the public-charge rule, while New York City is leading a separate challenge involving cities and counties including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County and King County.

The challengers argue that the policy gives immigration officers excessively broad discretion and could discourage immigrant families from using healthcare, food, housing and other public assistance for which they are legally eligible.

The Trump administration says the change restores immigration officers’ ability to consider all relevant circumstances and promotes self-reliance among immigrants.

The public-charge requirement does not apply equally to every immigrant. Humanitarian categories including asylum seekers are among those not affected, while the consequences for other applicants depend on their immigration pathway and individual circumstances.

For Tongan families in the United States, the latest rule therefore introduces another consideration for those seeking permanent residence, particularly applicants who receive or apply for means-tested government assistance.

Auckland, NZ – Tongan man Lasalosi Vaitohi has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for orchestrating a gang retaliation from behind bars that ended with an innocent 75-year-old grandfather being shot dead at his Ōtāhuhu home.

The High Court at Auckland sentenced Vaitohi on July 16 after he pleaded guilty to the murder of Peter Rasmussen. Justice Tracey Walker said Vaitohi was not the gunman but, while already serving a prison sentence, planned an attack targeting Rasmussen’s grandson.

The Court was told Vaitohi was a high-ranking member of a faction of the Crips gang. The planned attack was retaliation after Rasmussen’s grandson, a Killer Beez member, and others were involved in a stand-over and robbery of methamphetamine from one of Vaitohi’s co-defendants.

Over several days in August 2021, Vaitohi communicated with associates from prison as they planned the retaliation, discussing the target’s address, obtaining a firearm and finding a vehicle.

The Court heard Vaitohi knew the grandparents lived at the Ōtāhuhu property but said he did not care. He later asked associates whether they would take a firearm to the property and “see if you can get him too”, referring to Rasmussen’s grandson.

On August 22, 2021, associates obtained a shotgun and a Ford Falcon before travelling to the house.

Rasmussen came to a side door shortly before 5pm, where one of Vaitohi’s co-defendants fired the shotgun, striking him in the right leg. Bleeding heavily, Rasmussen managed to move from the doorway into the kitchen, where he lay dying. The group drove away about two minutes later.

Justice Walker found the murder involved calculated and lengthy planning, saying Vaitohi had spent about five days organising the attack, including sourcing a firearm, identifying where the intended target lived and arranging transport.

The judge described the shooting as an organised gang “hit” motivated by retribution connected with methamphetamine dealing and stressed that Rasmussen was an innocent 75-year-old victim standing at the threshold of his own home.

She rejected an argument that Vaitohi’s culpability should be distinguished from that of the person who fired the shotgun, finding his encouragement and facilitation were central to what happened.

“Any distinction loses potency when Mr Vaitohi was clearly instrumental in, if not the orchestrator of these events,” Justice Walker said.

The Court was also told Vaitohi had more than 60 previous convictions and had offended every year between 2006 and 2018. Justice Walker said his record, combined with his calculated directions to gang associates, demonstrated the need to protect the public.

Vaitohi initially pleaded not guilty. A 2025 trial ended without verdicts after the jury was unable to reach a decision. He eventually entered a guilty plea on May 13 this year, more than four years after his first court appearance.

In an unusual development at sentencing, Vaitohi entered the courtroom but left within minutes and chose to remain in the cells. The judge allowed proceedings to continue after being satisfied that he had voluntarily declined to participate and that standby counsel had made submissions on his behalf.

Justice Walker ultimately found that the circumstances triggered the statutory requirement for a minimum term of at least 17 years and that imposing that period would not be manifestly unjust.

Award-winning Tongan-Fijian journalist Indira Stewart has revealed she has been undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer, sharing her experience publicly to encourage women to get checked and not delay mammograms.

The 41-year-old TVNZ journalist disclosed that she was diagnosed with Grade 3 breast cancer in January and began chemotherapy just two weeks later.

“January is now a blur to me,” Stewart wrote in an emotional social media post, alongside photographs taken just days before she began chemotherapy.

She said the tumour was aggressive and that much of her life this year had been spent at home undergoing treatment.

Stewart revealed that she had managed to keep her illness largely private, including from some friends and family members who would learn of her diagnosis through her public announcement.

When she did go out, she said she used false eyelashes and drew on eyebrows, while cold-capping treatment helped preserve about half of her hair.

The cancer treatment also brought major changes she had not expected at her age, including early menopause and undergoing a mastectomy.

Despite the difficult journey, Stewart said she remained grateful and was continuing chemotherapy alongside other treatment.

Her decision to reveal the diagnosis carried a wider message for women and families, particularly in communities where health checks can sometimes be delayed.

“This is a reminder to get checked fam, get your mammogram if you’re eligible and don’t put it off,” she said.

Stewart is one of New Zealand’s prominent Pacific journalists and has worked at TVNZ since 2020. She is currently an In-Depth Multimedia Reporter and has previously presented TVNZ’s Breakfast and Midday news programmes.

Her Tongan upbringing has featured strongly in her journalism and public storytelling. Stewart has previously written about growing up around the New Lynn Tongan Methodist Church, where her father conducted the church choir and Tongan music and language became an important part of her identity.

She has also spoken publicly about how, as a young Tongan woman, she did not initially see journalism as a possible career because she had not seen women like herself represented on mainstream television.

Her work has since earned significant recognition. Stewart won the Le Mana Pacific Award for Pasifika journalism at the New Zealand media awards for a third consecutive year in 2026, following wins in 2024 and 2025.

Her disclosure now places her own experience at the centre of a deeply personal message: for women not to postpone breast checks and to undergo mammography when eligible.

Stewart said that although the treatment journey still felt long, she felt “lucky and grateful”.