Thursday, February 26, 2026
Newsletter
Support Kaniva
Home Blog Page 84

New Zealand’s aid for Kiribati under review after meeting cancelled with Winston Peters

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s aid for Kiribati is being reviewed after its President and Foreign Minister cancelled a meeting with him.

RNZ/Reece Baker

Winston Peters had been due to meet with the president and foreign minister of Kiribati last Tuesday and Wednesday. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER

Terms of Reference for the review are still being finalised, and it remains unclear whether or not funding will be cut or projects already under way would be affected, with Peters’ office saying no decisions would be made until the review was complete.

His office said Kiribati remained part of the RSE scheme and its eligibility for the Pacific Access Category was unaffected – for now.

Peters had been due to meet with Taneti Maamau last Tuesday and Wednesday, in what was to be the first trip by a New Zealand foreign minister to Kiribati in five years, and part of his effort to visit every Pacific country early in the government’s term.

Kiribati has been receiving increased aid from China in recent years.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Peters said he was informed about a week before the trip Maamau would no longer be available.

“Around a week prior to our arrival in Tarawa, we were advised that the President and Foreign Minister of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, was no longer available to receive Mr Peters and his delegation.

“This was especially disappointing because the visit was to be the first in over five years by a New Zealand Minister to Kiribati – and was the result of a months-long effort to travel there.”

The spokesperson said the development programme was being reviewed as a result.

“New Zealand has been a long-standing partner to Kiribati. The lack of political-level contact makes it very difficult for us to agree joint priorities for our development programme, and to ensure that it is well targeted and delivers good value for money.

“That’s important for both the people of Kiribati and for the New Zealand taxpayer. For this reason, we are reviewing our development programme in Kiribati. The outcomes of that review will be announced in due course.

“Other aspects of the bilateral relationship may also be impacted.”

New Zealand spent $102 million on the development cooperation programme with Kiribati between 2021 and 2024, including on health, education, fisheries, economic development, and climate resilience.

Peters’ office said New Zealand deeply valued the contribution Recognised Seasonal Employer workers made to the country, and was committed to working alongside Pacific partners to ensure the scheme led to positive outcomes for all parties.

“However, without open dialogue it is difficult to meet this commitment.”

They also said New Zealand was committed to working alongside our Pacific partners to ensure that the Pacific Access Category leads to positive outcomes for all parties, but again this would be difficult without open dialogue.

The spokesperson said the Kiribati people’s wellbeing was of paramount importance and the terms of reference would reflect this.

They said New Zealand stood ready “as we always have, to engage with Kiribati at a high level”.

Colombia defying Trump deportation policies, lesson for Tonga to negotiate over US murder suspect who fled the kingdom in exchange for deportee deals 

By
Kalino Latu
-

COMMENTARY: The decision by Colombian president Gustavo Petro to return two military aircraft of deportees from the United States, citing tens of thousands of illegal US immigrants in his country, provides an important clue for Tonga.  

FILE – In this Oct. 4, 2016, file photo provided by the Samoa News, Dean Jay Fletcher, left, is escorted by a police officer after his initial appearance in the District Court of American Samoa in Pago Pago, American Samoa. A U.S. judge in Hawaii has ordered the release of U.S. citizen Fletcher, being held for extradition to Tonga, where he’s accused of beating his wife to death, escaping police and sailing some 300 miles to American Samoa. (Ausage Fausia/SamoaNews via AP, File)

The kingdom is expecting an influx of deportees from the States as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminals and undocumented immigrant policies.   

Petro, according to a Guardian report,  blocked two US military aircraft last week carrying deported Colombians from landing in his country, prompting a feud with Donald Trump, who enacted emergency tariffs and other retaliatory measures. 

Mexico reportedly refused to receive a similar flight on Saturday, according to US officials cited by Reuters and NBC News.  

Petro condemned the practice on Sunday, suggesting it treated migrants like criminals. In a post on social media platform X, Petro said Colombia would welcome home deported migrants on civilian planes. 

He also said that there were 15,660 Americans who were living without legal immigration status in Colombia.  

He said, “he would never carry out a raid to return handcuffed Americans to the US”. 

Petro’s reference to the number of Americans living without legal immigration status in his country could be seen as a strategic move in negotiations with the US, suggesting a form of reciprocity and returning favours that could be used by targeting countries to address Trump’s mass deportation policies.  

While there may be no American citizens residing in Tonga unlawfully, there exist other circumstances that could assist the Eke government in engaging with U.S. authorities to address the potential arrival of deportees in Tonga. 

2016 US Suspect 

Over the past five decades, Tonga has unsuccessfully pursued requests to repatriate United States citizens suspected of committing murder in the kingdom so they could face justice. 

In 2016, the Tongan government processed a formal extradition request to the American Samoa authority to have the US citizen suspected of murdering his wife in Tonga’s Vavaʻu islands be brought back. 

Dean Jay Fletcher, 54, was facing charges in Tonga in connection with the death of his Canadian wife. 

He fled a prison cell on Vava’u before he was arrested in American Samoa. 

The US authorities took him to Hawai’i to face judicial proceedings. 

Deborah Gardner

The court finally released him, saying the US was worried that without a legal aid system in Tonga, Mr Fletcher would not have legal representation or a fair trial. 

Despite the release, the Tongan government kept fighting to have him returned, but to no avail.  

1976  killing of US volunteer  

A female Peace Corps volunteer was killed in Tonga in 1976.  

Debra Gardner, 23, was murdered in the village of Ngele’ia in Tongatapu by Dennis Priven, another US Peace Corps volunteer. 

It has been alleged that the Peace Corps and US authorities duped the Tongan government into letting them move Priven to America, where he was eventually released. 

During the legal proceedings, the US government sent a psychiatrist from Hawai’i to assist Priven in court, but the Tongan government could not afford to hire one. 

Tongan lawyer Clive Edwards represented Tonga in court.  

Edwards submitted to the court that Priven was not guilty by reason of insanity. 

American promises 

The US authorities assured the Tongan government that if they allowed Priven to be handed over, he would face confinement in the US. 

The move was opposed by Tonga’s then Prime Minister, but Priven’s removal was later approved after a letter from US authorities promised that Priven would be admitted to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington for treatment. 

The letter said Priven could be held involuntarily and “that his mental commitment would be terminated only upon findings that (the) patient is no longer a threat to society or himself.” 

Priven was flown under escort to Washington, but instead of being committed to psychiatric care, he returned to his family home in Brooklyn and took a government job as a computer supervisor with the Social Security Administration. 

Deborah Gardner’s father assumed her killer had spent decades in an institution. He later learned from Philip Weiss, who wrote a book about her daughter, not the Peace Corps or the government, that he had never been confined. 

Eke government 

It is estimated that approximately 30 individuals convicted of crimes in the United States are deported to Tonga each year. This figure complicates the already significant challenges associated with Tonga’s illicit drug crisis.

If the mass deportation policies implemented during the Trump administration were to double the current number of deportations, Tonga could potentially experience a significant escalation in drug-related illicit activities.

Tonga can use the Fletcher and Priven cases to negotiate with U.S. authorities and encourage them to rethink their current deportation policies and consider a more lenient approach for undocumented Tongans and criminals in the States. 

Tributes paid after doctor dies in Tonga collision

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Tributes have been paid following the death of a doctor in a two-car collision in Tonga this morning.

Dr Viliami Lavemai

Viliami Lavemai has been honoured in heartfelt tributes shared on social media following the tragic news of his death in a fatal car accident at Vaolōloa.

The details of the fatal incident remain unclear.

As Kaniva News previously reported this morning, footage showed churchgoers scrambling to free the driver of a car which crashed near the Tupou High School compound.

We reported that the footage showed what appeared to be helpers carrying something from the driver’s seat.

It was unclear whether it was the driver.

According to the streamed video, people at the scene included some wearing Tongan formal attire.

It is understood the young doctor was graduated in 2022. However, the details about him and his graduation remain unknown.

Shortly after the tragic incident, friends and community members took to Facebook to express their sorrow and remember the doctor’s vibrant spirit, highlighting his impact on those around him.

“Ko e toketā angalelelei lahi he’ene fakafōtunga ki he’ene patients”, a commenter wrote in Tongan, saying he was a well-presentable doctor when receiving his patients.

“The incident has left a deep void in the lives of many who knew him”, another commenter wrote.

“Taken so soon”.

Churchgoers scramble to save driver in Tonga crash

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Churchgoers rushed to free the driver of a car which crashed in Tonga this morning, Sunday 26.

Footage shows onlookers carrying something from the driver’s seat.

It was unclear whether it was the driver.

A video poster claimed the apparent two-car crash happened at Vaolōloa opposite the Tupou High School compound.

People at the scene included some wearing Tongan attire, according to the streamed video.

It was unclear whether they were on their way to church when they came across the accident or were car passengers.

The details of the incident were still unclear.

Kaniva News could not verify the authenticity of the footage independently.

Police have yet to comment.

The crash follows a fatal single-vehicle crash at Hofoa earlier this week in which a family suffered two children deaths.

.

Suspension of US aid programs’ new funding may affect Tonga significantly  

By
Kaniva Staff
-

US President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze new funding for nearly all US aid programs could have significant implications for Tonga.

The State Department, according to an Associated Press report, “has ordered a sweeping freeze Friday on new funding for almost all U.S. foreign assistance, making exceptions for emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt”. 

The US provides more foreign aid globally than any other country, budgeting about $60 billion in 2023, or about 1% of the U.S. budget. 

The US has a long history of assistance with Tonga, which proved helpful to the archipelago.   

The aid supports various initiatives, including disaster relief, infrastructure development, military, security, fisheries and health services in the kingdom.  

In 2021, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), provided an additional $2.5 million in humanitarian assistance to support people affected by volcanic eruptions and tsunami waves in Tonga.   

That funding was in addition to an initial $100,000 in immediate assistance and longstanding programs in Tonga that are already responding to urgent needs.

The kingdom received critical water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies and supporting disease prevention messaging campaigns to reduce the spread of infectious disease.

USAID also worked through partners to address food security, agriculture, livestock, and shelter needs among the most affected populations.  

“USAID also works year-round in Tonga to help communities prepare for and be more resilient to natural disasters. With more than $8 million in existing programs across the Pacific region, USAID partners have been on the ground responding. For example, local partners are distributing thousands of first aid and hygiene kits that were prepositioned in Tonga”.  

Another USAID partner is providing emergency telecommunications support after the eruption broke an underwater communications cable, leaving most of Tonga without communication and internet access.  

USAID also works with partners to maintain air and sea transport capabilities that stand ready to deliver relief supplies to people on all affected islands and in remote communities. 

USAID disaster experts in the region coordinate response efforts with humanitarian partners and other donors like France, Australia, and New Zealand to help Tonga.

Major financial contributor

Apart from providing direct funding to Tonga, the United States is a major financial contributor to international and regional organizations that assist Tonga.  

This included the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank, UN Children’s Fund, World Health Organization, and UN Fund for Population Activities. However, the US has withdrawn its financial support for the World Health Organization this week, with President Trump saying that the global health agency has mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and various other international health crises.

Tonga receives Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to equip its military and participates in the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, which sends Tongan officers and senior enlisted personnel to professional military education and leadership development courses in the United States.   

The Nevada National Guard has a State Partnership Program with Tonga, with whom it regularly conducts joint training.   

The United States also has a ship-rider agreement with Tonga to provide security and support ship-rider missions which allow Tongan law enforcement officials to ride aboard U.S. Coast Guard vessels.   

The United States also contributes U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy air assets to regional Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) operations that help combat IUU fishing in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and supports the long-term sustainability of the fisheries resources.  

Additionally, Tonga is a regular participant in U.S. Pacific Command sponsored workshops on topics including humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, maritime security, peacekeeping, and international humanitarian law. 

Fiji HIV outbreak: Too early to tell of impact on NZ, charity says

By
Kaniva Staff
-

By Lucy Xia of rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission

It is too early to tell what impact the current HIV outbreak in Fiji may have on New Zealand, a charity at the forefront of New Zealand’s response to the virus says.

Computer illustration of a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) particle.

Many of the people newly diagnosed with HIV in Fiji contracted the virus through injecting drugs. (File image) Photo: Photo / AFP

Fiji has recorded 1093 new HIV cases from the period of January to September 2024, and Fiji’s minister for health and medical services has declared an official outbreak.

The United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said there were three times as many cases between January and September as there were in the same period in 2023.

Preliminary Ministry of Health numbers showed that among the newly diagnosed individuals receiving antiretroviral therapy, half contracted HIV through injecting drugs, it said.

The rise in infections in Fiji “put the entire Pacific region at risk”, UNAID’s director in Asia Pacific Eamonn Murphy said.

The Burnett Foundation, formerly the New Zealand AIDS Foundation, said the outbreak in Fiji was still new and it was unclear to what extent sexual transmission was contributing to the outbreak.

“It is too early to tell what the impact will be here in Aotearoa,” the foundation’s interim general manager Alex Anderson said.

It was likely that sex between men was playing a role, Anderson said, but he believed that stigma about sex between men was affecting the reporting of such cases.

“We hope more data on modes of transmission will be available soon, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”

The Burnett Foundation would continue to ensure people in Aotearoa had good awareness of HIV and were well-protected with condoms, PrEP( an HIV prevention medication), testing, antiretroviral therapy, and free and easy access to needles, he said.

New Zealand had a strong practice of a safe supply of needles and a needle exchange programme, he said. People who used drugs accounted for very few HIV infections in New Zealand, thanks to that programme.

Anderson said the current outbreak in Fiji also highlighted the need for temporary migrants in New Zealand to have funded access to PrEP.

“We know that there are strong migrant connections between Fiji and Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Temporary migrants are not currently eligible for funded PrEP in New Zealand, and need to pay for it along with the necessary lab tests.

Anderson also called for the New Zealand government to support Fiji through the outbreak, “to ensure good access to prevention, testing and Antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV and the establishment of a needle exchange programme”.

One dead after crash near Palmerston North

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A motorcyclist has died after a crash at Bunnythorpe, north of Palmerston North.

(File photo) Photo:

Emergency services were called to the crash involving a car and motorbike, at the intersection of Railway Road and Clevely Line, just after 8:30pm on Friday, police said in a statement.

The motorcyclist died at the scene.

No-one else was injured in the crash, but the intersection was closed until the early hours of Saturday as a scene examination was carried out.

Police are continuing to investigate.

Two injured after serious crash in Canterbury

By
Kaniva Staff
-

Two people have been injured following a serious crash in Canterbury’s Selwyn district on Saturday morning.

No caption

Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Emergency services were called to Southbridge-Leeston Road, near the Pooles Road intersection, at about 2.20am after a vehicle had rolled.

One person was critically injured, while another sustained moderate injuries.

Both were rushed to Christchurch Hospital.

The road was initially closed as emergency services and the Serious Crash Unit responded, but it has since re-opened.

Car overtaking on wrong side near-miss with oncoming vehicles on Tonga road 

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A video shows a car overtaking other vehicles in the wrong lane and narrowly misses crashing into oncoming vehicles that abruptly emerged around a bend ahead.  

The driver in question appeared to have made a critical split-second decision to manoeuvre back into their rightful lane. 

The first oncoming vehicle was seen veering to its left in an effort to avoid a collision on the steep road with the car.  

It appeared that the potential collision was only avoided because the queue in the car’s lane caused them to drive slowly before making the dangerous overtaking manoeuvre. 

Kaniva News could not immediately verify the authenticity of the footage. 

The footage was shared on Facebook and has attracted more than 100 comments.

Commenters have strongly urged the person who recorded the video to report it to the police.  

Some viewers have expressed their disapproval of the video’s content, labelling the action as both reckless and stupid.  

US woke bishop’s pleas with Trump to have mercy on migrants divides Tongans on LGBTQ+ rights  

By
Kalino Latu
-

The plea from a US bishop to President Donald Trump to have mercy on immigrants has sparked a division among Tongans concerning LGBTQ+ rights.  

‘They fear for their lives’: Bishop confronts Trump on immigration and gay rights – video

While some in the community, which included most of about 80,000 Tongans living in the US, showed compassion towards migrants and saw the bishop’s efforts as a call for humanity, others held to their traditional views that conflict with LGBTQ+ rights.  

During his inauguration service, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde told Trump that most immigrants, even those without proper documentation, were good neighbours, and the vast majority were “not criminals.”  

She said, “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”   

She implored Trump to “have mercy upon” immigrants and LGBTQ+ people.  

Budde’s plea during the inaugural prayer service sermon draws fury from conservatives as others praise her ‘courage’.  

Trump’s reactions

Trump took to social media the following day and called Budde a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” adding that “she brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way” and criticized her tone as “nasty”. 

He later demanded an apology from the bishop, which she refused.  

Kaniva News published the news about the woke bishop’s imploration and shared it on its social media accounts.  

It prompted vigorous discussions as numerous Tongan supporters of President Trump voiced their discontent with the Bishop.

They contended that it was inappropriate for her to raise such a sensitive and political issue during the solemn occasion of the inauguration service, arguing that the event should focus on unity and celebration rather than political discourse. 

“What type of faifekau (church minister) is her?” a commenter wrote in Tongan.  

“This pastor advocates for gay people”, another wrote.  

“There are pastors who are representative of Satan”, one commenter wrote.  

However, supporters of the Bishop wrote otherwise. 

They believed that the Bishop was making a commendable choice by advocating for those who are marginalized and often unheard in society. 

“That’s what is written in the Holy Bible, to love your enemy”, a commenter wrote in support of the Bishop in Tongan.  

“She is speaking for the weak and voiceless”.  

Some mentioned that during the prayer service, Trump opened his eyes, glancing around the room in apparent dissatisfaction with the Bishop’s pleas.  

Traditional views 

In Tonga, engagement in same-sex sexual activities, whether between men or women, is classified as a criminal offence. The legal framework stipulates a maximum penalty of up to ten years of imprisonment for individuals found guilty of this offence. 

LGBTQ+ individuals face significant social stigma and discrimination, primarily as a result of the deeply ingrained conservative values and cultural norms present in society. 

There is a lack of legal protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in Tonga, which further compounds the difficulties confronted by the LGBTQ+ community. 

However, despite the anti-gay law and the stigmatization, Tonga’s homosexual and transgender community is active in the country, and there have been numerous organizations established as platforms to advocate for their rights, such as Tonga’s Leiti Association. 

As Kaniva News reported previously, a petition was organised to urge the king to revoke his appointment of the kingdom’s current Chief Judge after it was revealed that he is gay. 

The petition was based on reports that Justice Malcolm Bishop and his late partner, Anthony Vander Woerd, another man, lived together as a gay couple for 51 years. 

In 2016, the then-former Chief Justice Charles Cato sentenced and jailed Sione Iketau with the final 12 months being suspended after the prisoner was convicted of sodomising a child under the age of 12.  

1...838485...932Page 84 of 932
© Copyright 2026 Kaniva Tonga News & Entertainment