Firefight investigators have ruled out foul play as the cause of a fire at a Chinese store in Tofoa, Tonga.
The blaze on 19 November which destroyed a Chinese convenience store at Vahaʻakolo Road costs owner TP$8,000 local reports said.
Tongan Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Sinamoni Kauvaka told local media investigators believed the fire started at the kitchen which was at the back of the store.
He said a gas cylinder and a stove were also found.
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Tongan boxer Uaine (Junior) Fa won his WBO heavyweight fight in just three rounds on Saturday night.
Fa, who was taller and heavier than his opponent, gave Argentine boxer Pablo Magrini only the second loss in 20 fights.
Fa had a much longer reach than Magrini and Magrini tried to avoid his punches.
Fa, who returned to the ring this year, had a successful career as an amateur, but has been trying to find a promoter to take him on and give his professional career a boost.
The Tongan’s victory came on an evening of major triumph for Pacific Islands sports at Auckland’s Vector arena.
Joseph Parker, a New Zealand boxer of Samoan heritage, became the WBO heavyweight champion of the world on the same night, defeating Mexican opponent Andy Ruiz.
It was his 22nd victory in the ring.
Fa beat Parker in 2012, in a qualifying amateur boxing competition for the London Olympics.
But last night he posted a message of congratulations to Parker on his Facebook page, saying: “Congrats to Parker!! I scored it the same. Well done.”
Although New Zealand born and raised, Fa has represented Tonga internationally, winning a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.
Fa’s father is from Ha’alaufuli in Vava’u while his mother is from Matangiake in Tongatapu.
Parker turned professional in 2012. Fa stayed an amateur and then retired to raise a family before making his comeback as a professional.
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Joseph Parker wins WBO world heavyweight title in tight battle over Andy Ruiz
The Public Service Commission has announced the appointment of three high qualified and experienced women to the positions of Chief Executive Officers in government.
They were Fekita ‘Utoikamanu Tupou, Polouini Fāʻotusia and Sūsana Faletau.
Three Ministries were benefit from these talented women and they are the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.
The women and their respective ministries are as follows:
Ministry of Tourism – Fekita ‘Utoikamanu Tupou
Polouini Fāʻotusia – Ministry of Finance
Sūsana Faletau – Ministry of Justice.
The king of Tonga named the Tuingapapai church’s new multi-million hall this morning the Lesieli Tonga auditorium.
His Majesty King Tupou VI opened the NZ$7 million building in Favona Rd, Māngere, South Auckland.
The hall was consecrated by the Free Wesleyan Church’s president Rev. Dr ‘Ahio.
The late Lesieli Tonga adopted the late Queen Sālote Tupou III after her mother, Queen Lavinia, died in 1902 when Sālote was two years-old.
His Majesty said his grandfather, the late Prince Tungi Mailefihi, Queen Sālote’s husband, once said the exceptional domestic work Lesieli did should be remembered.
Foreigners who came to Tonga in the early 20th century marvelled because they could see western etiquette and civilisation reflected in Lesieli’s domestic chores, the king said in front of hundreds who gathered at the opening event.
The king said Queen Sālote repeatedly mentioned Lesieli as her first teacher who taught her important lessons including linguistic and behavioural etiquette.
He said the Queen “confirmed” the majority of her success as Queen of Tonga was because of the good things Lesieli had taught her.
Queen Sālote is regarded as one of the most respected and successful Tongan monarchs.
Her work in Tongan music and composition as well as dancing were unique and still popular with today’s scholars and generation.
Michael O’Sullivan from Bull O’Sullivan Architecture in Auckland told His Majesty the auditorium was “seven years in the making”.
He said the duration was normal on big buildings like this, but for the auditorium it was not.
Sullivan said this was because many church buildings in the past were constructed with the help of the church community.
However, today’s construction environment meant everything must be done by contracted companies, which was time consuming and costly, Sullivan said.
The church’s treasurer Rev Filipe Sāmate read out a financial summary of the costs of the building and said the auditorium was 46 metres in length 46 metres in width with a height of 11 metres.
The cost for the building alone was NZ$6, 885, 415.11 with goods and service taxes (GST) making it a total of NZ $7,589,977.98, he said.
Rev Sāmate said the church could claim the GST charges.
The auditorium was designed with eight offices for the church and there is an indoor sporting facility.
It can hold large scale cultural activities and was open to any church or ethnic group at a very cheap price, he said.
The church had paid off all goods purchased on credit, including services offered by outside providers.
The President of the church, Rev. Dr ‘Ahio, consecrated the auditorium and thanked the congregation for setting a special ‘afio’anga (seat) at the auditorium for the king.
The programme began with a prayer service followed by a taumafa (lunch) and entertainments before the king left.
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READ MORE:
Research reveals Queen Sālote’s “great sorrow” about loss of tradition in modern Tonga
A Tongan fruit picker who terrified passengers and used foul language on a plane while he was drunk had been arrested and charged in Tonga.
Police were waiting for him at the Fu’amotu International Airport on Wednesday evening.
The 22-year old man from Maʻufanga was flying from Auckland, New Zealand, on Virgin Blue flight number 167 when he became intimidating and aggressive.
Reports said the man apparently was drunk before he boarded the plane and obviously, he drank his duty free purchased alcohol during the flight, something the airline said was prohibited.
He was among Tongan fruit pickers who were returning home from Australia through New Zealand.
He was arrested on landing and told he had shown a reckless disregard for safety on the busy flight.
Tonga Broadcasting Commission report said the man was charged with using indecent and threatening languages.
He was expected to appear in court next week.
Tongan student Semi Hausia will return to the kingdom in February, determined to use what he has learned in an internship with Auckland Council to improve his country’s economy.
Hausia, who has been studying a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Massey University, is completing a 10 week summer placement with Auckland Council’s Environmental Monitoring, Research and Evaluation (RIMU) division.
He is one of 15 students to win a placement as part of the New Zealand Scholarships Undergraduate Student Summer Internship.
The 32 year-old student said he planned to use what he is learning at Auckland Council to contribute to sustainable agricultural practices and to improving Tonga’s economy and pasture production.
“One of my personal goals is to have my own broiler chicken farm but instead of importing broiler strains, I wish to use our local strain,” he said.
He said it was important to find out about what information the council provided to farmers to ensure they were operating profitably and sustainably.
He wants to understand how the council implements and controls its strategies.
Hausia is one of three students interning with the council.
The internship began on November 21 and ends in February.
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WARNING: This article contains a graphic image. You have been warned.
Tongan Police remain tight-lipped in the face of requests from Kaniva News to confirm whether graphic photos shared on social media this week were related to an accident in Halaleva we reported on Saturday 3.
In that story, we reported that a van overturned on a road in Halaleva.
Our report was based on information and a photo of the overturned van provided to us by an eye witness.
The eyewitness only confirmed the incident had occurred, its place of occurrence and when it had happened. No further information was available to us.
This week horrific photos emerged on Facebook apparently linked to the incident we reported.
We sent the photos to Police and asked them to confirm whether they were linked to the accident in Halaleva but we have yet to receive any response.
The photos were accompanied by captions saying they were taken at an accident in Halaleva on Saturday 3.
One of the photos showed a van similar to the one we reported lying overturned on the road.
Another photo showed a seriously injured man lying on the ground near a retail store while some people apparently tried to help him including one man showed fanning the victim with a piece of cardboard.
Another man with his foot in plaster was seen being carried away on a hospital trolley while a woman, apparently a medic, was assisting him.
Traffic accidents have become a grave concern to many Tongans. They regularly comment on and discuss the issues on Kaniva’s social media pages when we reported road accidents in Tonga.
Critics said it appeared there was a traffic accident in Tonga every week. They said the high frequency of the accidents was intimidating given the tiny size of Tonga and its small population.
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A Tongan fruit picker patient has returned to Tonga today with the help of a medical ventilator after doctors in New Zealand said they could not perform an operation on his head because it is very risky.
Henelī Tupou, 19, of Tatakamotonga was in the country on the New Zealand’s Regional Seasonal Employee.
He was taken to hospital in Nelson early last month in a serious condition before he was transferred to Christchurch hospital.
At the time we were reliably informed specialist surgeons found Tupou’s cause of sickness as very rare and was in life-threatening condition.
His wife ‘Asinate Tupou, who flew from Tonga while he was hospitalised, told Kaniva News today the surgeons eventually decided to refrain from performing an operation on Henelī’s head while attempting to cure the disease.
She said they returned to Tonga today and Henelī was given medication. She said he was told he has to take the medication as instructed for the rest of his life.
She sent us a photo of her and her husband which showed the couple apparently sitting together arm to arm in a plane. Heneli was shown wearing a nasal oxygen tube.
ʻAsinate later asked us to not publish the photo.
The Free Wesleyan Church headquarter in Tonga had donated $1.7 million to help finish building the Tuingapapai church in New Zealand.
The Free Wesleyan Church in Māngere, Auckland encountered financial management problems while constructing its multi-million church hall at 143 Favona Road.
But the church members now can celebrate their new hall tomorrow Saturday, December 10.
The Tuingapapai church construction fell behind schedule and costs were higher than expected, Rev Dr Tēvita Havea, the Church General Secretary, said.
Dr Havea said because of the problems the Church’s headquarter in Tonga stepped in to help according to its policy.
Attempts to talk to the Tuingapapai office and their treasurer, Rev Filipe Sāmate, to obtain costs and details of the size of the hall were unsuccessful.
A Tongan constructor has estimated the hall to be at about 90 metres square and 8-10 metres high. He estimated the cost at between NZ$4-6 million.
Dr Havea said Tuingapapai had money as they had just paid cash for two properties in South Auckland. He said the purchases should have been put on hold to make sure the new hall was properly funded.
Before the construction took place, the church bought a NZ$1.8 million property near Tuingapapai. This showed the church had enough money but they did not manage their finances properly, Dr Havea told Kaniva News.
He said if the church collected the money needed for the construction properly and paid just one construction company to do the building the project would have been “short, clear and cheap.”
“The vahefonua (Tuingapapai church) invested money while it should not because it had to spend on its construction”, Dr Havea said.
He said the Tongan Headquarter had talked with Tuingapapai’s board of trustees in October and they agreed the New Zealand church would sell one of its property to pay back the $1.7 million if needed.
He said the church has two properties near Tuingapapai. One of them is known as Omeia has a market value of $4 – 5 million. The other has the same value.
Dr Havea said it was important for the headquarter to help its vahefonua ensure the construction was completed so it could continue its role for its Christian followers.
He said the $1.7 million given to Tuingapapai was not a loan by the vahefonua. It was just a donation to support its construction, something the Headquarter has done for other churches.
Dr Havea said the FWC churches had problems with their building from time to time.
This was because of additional items being added to the main plan after it was approved.
“Some churches, after they approved their estimate, later wanted to add on a fence or tiles but that was not included in the original estimate”, Havea said.
The same thing happened to Tuingapapai’s construction, he said.
Difference between Pulelaʻā and Tuingapapai
Dr Havea has revealed that the Tongan headquarter made the same offer for its troubled Pulelaʻā church in Sydney, when it was liquidated by the bank four years ago, but the Pulelaʻā leaders did not want the assistance.
The Pulelaʻā properties were seized by Westpac and resold after the community was engulfed in a financial scandal which costs the church over AU$20 million.
Dr Havea did not say whether the Headquarter would have offerred to clear Pulelaʻā’s debts or not.
The Pulelaʻā leaders told the Headquarter they did not want financial assistance. They only needed prayer, Dr Havea said.
Despite the repeated attempts by the Headquarter to help Pulelaʻā, they continued to turn down offers of assistance.
Instead, they fell into debt and believed in make believe promises offered by an Indian Trust and never trusted the church’s headquarter, Dr Havea said.
Dr Havea said the difference between Tuingapapai and Pulelaʻā was that Tuingapapai humbly accepted the church’s donation and support, but “Pharaoh continued his arrogance” and never listened and they now were separated from the Church conference.
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The authorities in Haʻapai islands have called off the search for a 3-year-old boy still missing after Saturday’s boat collision in Haʻafeva.
Police have identified the boy as Saimone Vaea.
Her 5-year-old sister who was hospitalised after the accident was identified as Manu Tapu.
The boy and his sister were among the passengers of a boat from ‘O’ua who fell into the sea after they realised their boat was about to crash into the MV ‘Otuanga’ofa while the ferry was unloading in the deep water at Ha’afeva.
The boat which was belonged to the Free Wesleyan Church of ‘O’ua reportedly smashed into the ferry’s loading end at about 5.07am and capsized.
The sister and the rest of the passengers were rescued while the boy could not be found.
One report says the passengers including the siblings’ parents jumped off the boat when it became clear it could crash into the ferry, a move many believed it helped avoid a collision that may have put many passengers’ lives at risk.
