By Radio New Zealand

Three petitions with over 10,000 signatures calling for the King of Tonga to dissolve Parliament and launch an investigation into the government have been presented to the palace in Nuku’alofa.

Matangi Tonga reported the petitions, presented on Monday, come alongside claims there were no checks and balances and corruption existed in government.

A former government minister Clive Edwards presented a petition signed by former politicians.

Noble MP Lord Nuku presented a petition from the country’s nobles.

The third petition was presented by former MP Teisina Fuko from members of the general public.

Clive Edwards said he believed that once a Royal Commission for Investigation was appointed, a caretaker government would need to be put in place.

Teisina Fuko said a fourth petition from another sector of society was expected to be presented today.

He said there was pressure for a major public demonstration to present the petitions, but they decided it was best to avoid possible confrontations with government supporters

In August 2017 King Tupou VI dissolved parliament which resulted in new elections being held the same year.

In June 2018, a 3,000-strong signature petition to impeach the prime minister and seven of his cabinet ministers was submitted to parliament.

This article is republished under Kaniva’s partnership content agreement with Radio New Zealand.

A 22-year-old Tongan man had been charged earlier this month in relation to a murder of 50-year-old man in Nevada, US.

Taniela Siale Lopiseni Salakielu, 22, of Henderson, Nevada, was charged Friday with murder, a first-degree felony; burglary, a second-degree felony; and theft, also a second-degree felony in 2nd District Court.

The state’s media reports said Salakielu was arrested on Aug. 22, 2018, in connection to the death of Rand Hatch, after Hatch was found dead in his Bountiful home a few days earlier.

Bountiful Police began investigating Hatch’s death after his body was found by his brother on Aug. 19. Hatch’s body had “heavy signs of decomposition” when it was found, according to court documents, and an autopsy uncovered blunt force trauma to his head, including a broken jaw and skull fractures.

Police found a jail identifying document and a jail booking slip belonging to Salakielu at the scene, court documents say.

Salakielu was located on Aug. 21 and brought into the Bountiful Police Department for questioning, where he allegedly told detectives that he knew Hatch and that he had gotten into a “verbal altercation with the victim but denied that any physical altercation had taken place.”

A witness, who was interviewed multiple times by police, later said there had been a physical altercation between Salakielu and the victim. The witness and Salakielu had allegedly lived with Hatch earlier in August 2018, but he’d kicked them out.

Salakielu and the witness later returned to Hatch’s residence, where Salakielu allegedly snuck in a window and let her in via the front door. She told police that she saw Salakielu hit the victim.

“She heard the victim moaning and she stated that she then left the house. The defendant exited the residence a short time later,” court documents say.

The victim’s 2007 Silver Infiniti was missing from the home when his body was discovered, and the witness said she and Salakielu allegedly left the area in the car. The car was later found abandoned in Sunset. Salakielu lived in the area, police say.

Hatch had last spoken to a witness on Aug. 10 and records show that his phone was last used during the early morning hours of Aug. 11, court records say. His phone was in the area of Sunset later in the day.

Salakielu has been held without bail in the Davis County Jail since his initial arrest. He has also been charged in several other domestic violence-related cases since his arrest.

On Jan. 16, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail after pleading guilty to one count of third-degree felony assault that occurred in July 2018. A no-contact protective order was granted to the victim in this case, which Salakielu violated on Dec. 4, 2018, when he made up to 30 calls to the victim from Davis jail.

Salakielu pleaded guilty to six counts of violation of a protective order, a third-degree felony, and was sentenced to 180 days jail, receiving credit for 155 days served.

On Friday, he was charged with an additional seven counts of violation of the same protective order in 2nd District Court. Salakielu allegedly called the victim from jail on Jan. 13 and Jan. 15, just days before his assault sentencing hearing.

During his sentencing hearing, the judge ordered Salakielu to have no contact with the victim and contact would be a violation of probation. He allegedly called the victim on Jan. 17 and multiple times on Jan. 18 and 19.

Salakielu’s initial court appearance for the murder charge is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 11.

An elderly woman died in a house fire in San Mateo, US this morning.

The 85-year-old woman was found in a home in the 100 block of South Humboldt St.

San Mateo fire officials said they got a 911 call around 4.30am Tuesday reporting smoke and flames coming from the home.

When firefighters first got to the scene, they thought that everyone inside the house had escaped. They did, except for one person, San Mateo news media have reported.

But when seven of the eight family members finally regrouped, they realized their elderly grandmother was still inside.

“We went in and located her,” said San Mateo Consolidated Fire Dept. Marshal Robert Marshall. “We brought her out and attempted CPR but we were unsuccessful and she passed away at the scene.”

Firefighters were able to knockdown the fire by 4:45 a.m., but not before flames had heavily damaged the home.

It was not clear whether the delay in pulling the woman out would have made a difference. “That’s very difficult to say,” said Marshall. “With the advanced nature of the fire, that amount of fire would be difficult to overcome in that regard. There was a lot of smoke in the house even after the fire was extinguished, So it’s very difficult to second-guess that sort of thing.”

The Red Cross was helping the displaced family find temporary shelter.

“It’s always a sad day, You know, we always want to save people. And when we can’t, that always hits us hard,” said Marshall.

Deputy Fire Chief Kent Thrasher said a cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Sione Feimoefiafi, the US based Tongan who arrived in the kingdom last month before he was murdered in a bar brawl, was farewelled yesterday.

Hundreds of mourners packed a FWC church for his funeral in Puke yesterday morning after he was allegedly being assaulted by five suspects.

His funeral was held as it emerged the men accused of murdering him did not appear in court on Monday because of Police concerns of the public reaction.

Mourners, including community leaders and a large number of Tupou College alumni, gathered to pay tribute to the 49-year-old father, husband, son and brother.

The services have been livestreamed and broadcast online attracting thousands of heartfelt and emotional comments and condolences from viewers across the world.

Feimoefiafi was in Tonga to attend his father’s funeral.

A month later on February 4 he died in hospital after the fatal brawl inside a bar in Nuku’alofa

It was devastating news for not only Feimoefiafi’s friends and family but for the nation who became enveloped in the brutal attack.

His coffin was carried into the church and to his grave by about ten pallbearers.

By Radio New Zealand

A second type of fruit fly (Bactrocera facialis – the facialis fruit fly) was found in the south Auckland suburb of Ōtara.

It is a different species to the Queensland fruit fly and is a separate incident to that in Devonport.

The facialis is native to Tonga and is known to affect crops of capsicum and chilli. However, it appears to be less harmful to other fruit and vegetables.

Ministry for Primary Industries director general Ray Smith said it was a tropical fruit fly species so New Zealand’s climate may not be an ideal home for it.

“As with the fruit fly in Devonport, we need to determine if it’s a lone specimen or if there’s a population of these flies in the area,” Mr Smith said.

“To do this, we’re setting more traps in the area around the find.

“And while we look for more flies, we have restricted the movement of fruit and vegetables to stop the spread of any other facialis fruit flies that may be out there.

“We are progressively ramping-up activities in the area and will be working closely with the local community.”

If there are no further detections, the operation is expected to last two-to-three weeks.

Ōtara under Controlled Area Notice

Parts of Ōtara have now been put under Controlled Area Notice (CAN).

The movement of certain fruits and vegetables out of the Controlled Area is restricted to help prevent the spread of any fruit flies if there are more than one. The CAN is a legal notice.

Those living in Zone A, are not allowed to take out whole fruit or vegetables (except leafy and root vegetables like taro, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, rhubarb, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, kumara, celery, onions, spring onions).

Additionally, no fruit or vegetable waste, such as fruit skins and cores/stones, peelings and the like, or garden waste such as prunings from fruit trees or vegetable garden cuttings, can go out of the area.

The fruit or vegetables should either be disposed of in a home in-sink disposal unit or put into specially-supplied Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

Those in Zone B cannot move home-grown fruit and vegetables out of the Controlled Area.

Commercially-purchased fruit and vegetables bought at the supermarket can be moved out of the area. Homegrown produce waste and garden waste needs to be disposed of in Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

Minister for Biosecurity Damien O’Connor said getting rid of the fruit fly was New Zealand’s “most well-oiled biosecurity response”.

“We’ve been here several times before and each time we’ve successfully got rid of this horticultural pest,” he said.

“Two fruit flies is not an incursion as we saw in 2014 when the fruit fly was found twice in Whangarei, but we can’t be too careful and as the response ramps up I urge the local community to be vigilant.

“This is a pest that could significantly harm our $5.5 billion horticulture sector and is why the government is committed to do what it takes to keep it from establishing here.”

This is a pest that could significantly harm the $5.5 billion horticulture sector.

“Ever more visitors, a changing climate and more trade all contribute to biosecurity risk and this is the reason we are strengthening the system, including an extra $10 million at the Budget to bolster our systems offshore, and why we’re overhauling our 25-year-old Biosecurity Act to make it fit for the future we face.”

Biosecurity New Zealand has commenced an investigation into how the fruit flies have entered the country.

The response and eradication of the Queensland fruit fly in Devonport and the Bactrocera Facialis fruit fly in Ōtara, is estimated to take two-to-three weeks, both operations costing $1.3 million.

Previous fruit fly responses and successful eradication include:

• 2016, Tau fly, Manurewa, Auckland: one fly, level 1 response, two weeks, $1.0m
• 2015, Queensland fruit fly, Grey Lynn, Auckland: 14 flies and larvae at varying stages, level 2 response (breeding population), 10-11 months, $16.1m
• 2014, Queensland fruit fly, Whangarei: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.1m
• 2014, Queensland fruit fly, Whangarei: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.2m
• 2012, Queensland fruit fly, Avondale, Auckland: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.5m

If people in the area believe they have seen signs of this fruit fly or found larvae (like white grains of rice) in fruit, they should call the response team on 0800 80 99 66.

This article is republished under the Kaniva Tonga’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.