Three bodies have been found in a search and rescue operation off North Cape at the top of the North Island.
Photo: NZ Topo Map
Police say two people remain missing.
Five people have been rescued after a vessel activated its beacon at 8pm last night.
Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter trust said they were asked to join the search and rescue of a sunken vessel approximately 200 metres off North Cape.
A marine traffic website shows a fishing boat in the area.
A trust spokesperson said five people have been rescued.
They were winched off the boat to safety and are now in Kaitaia Hospital in a stable condition.
Search and Rescue said 300 square nautical miles off the North Cape is being scoured for the missing crew members.
Rescue Coordination Centre officer Nick Burt told Nine to Noon a Defence Force P3 Orion and a naval vessel are part of the search.
He said he believes the ship in distress is a charter vessel.
Burt said police have interviewed those who were rescued, and they have provided some useful information.
Bad weather is making the search dangerous but it has eased slightly.
Burt said it is unclear if the emergency locator beacon that was activated is on the vessel or with any survivors in the water.
Maritime New Zealand which is leading the operation said helicopters are assisting search vessels and police are searching on the ground near Te Pua in the Far North.
The Northland Coastguard says an Airforce P3 Orion is also on the way.
The Coastguard were also asked to respond but said conditions were too dangerous.
The Defence Force and the Whangārei rescue helicopter have been involved.
MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the areas of Kaipara, Far North, Whangārei and Rodney.
A severe thunderstorm watch is already in force for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel Peninsula.
Helicopters are assisting in a major search and rescue operation in Northland. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
New Covid cases have climbed in Tonga forcing the nation to go into another lockdown for a week starting this Saturday 19 at 8pm, a government spokesperson told Kaniva News this evening.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold a press conference tomorrow through zoom in which he would release the details.
The news came after the country recorded its first community cases early last month after two port workers had tested positive.
It followed with a nationwide lockdown but that was eased on February 21. Further lifts of Covid restrictions had been announced later on including Tongatapu and Vava’u students in forms 6 and 7 returning to face-to-face learning at schools yesterday, Wednesday 16.
There are 273 new cases of Covid in Tonga today Thursday 17 brining the number of active cases to a total of 1632.
There have now been 2530 confirmed Covid cases in Tonga since the outbreak.
The number of Covid related deaths stood at two while 896 people had recovered.
Meanwhile, three cabinet ministers reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, including the Minister for Internal Affairs Sione Sangstar Saulala, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fekita ‘Utoikamanu and the Minister for Justice and Prisons Hon Sāmiu Vaipulu.
The Prime Minister Hon Hu’akavameiliku had also tested positive and entered self-isolation last week.
Lord Fuliva (L), Helen Fulivai (R). Photos (Supplied) taken at the time of service of Certificate of Registration of Judgment, Ex parte Application for Registration of a Foreign Judgment in the Supreme Court of Tonga filed 4 March 2022, Affidavit in support of Application for Registration of New Zealand Judgment in Tonga sworn on 20 December 2021 & Ruling of the Court dated 8 March 2022.
Lord and Lady Fulivai have been served with a demand for payment of more than a quarter of a million dollars owed to Auckland businessman Christopher Barrett.
The Fulivais have been pursued over non-payment of fees and expenses incurred during business deals with Barrett.
As Kaniva News reported in October last year, the High Court in Auckland ordered that the former Governor of Vava’u and his wife repay Barrett $253,370.60, the equivalent of $TP407,777.
The couple were also served with an affadavit showing that the Tongan Supreme Court had allowed the New Zealand judgement to be registered in the central registry of the Supreme Court under the terms of a reciprocal enforcement of judgements order.
The Fulivais were served with an affadavit on Saturday at their home in Mangere Bridge in Auckland.
The Honourable Justice Venning ruled in the New Zealand High Court last year that the Fulivais must repay the money together with interest dating back to January 1, 2018; repayment of loans with interests and costs for the entire proceedings.
In evidence submitted to the court Barrett said the Governor told him he had considerable influence in being able to facilitate the granting of leases of land in Vava’u and made various other promises.
“In particular, he gave me assurances for the granting of a 99-year lease of land on an island called Pangaimotu in Vava’u for which I was to pay $170,000,” Barrett said.
“Part of these monies were to be used to pay off persons who were presently occupying that land.”
Barrett said he did not receive any lease and the defendants were therefore in breach of the agreement.
Barrett said Lord Fulivai made various promises to grant leases of other pieces of land in Vava’u.
“I was duped,” he said.
“Having given me these assurances of the granting of various leases in land, I received a series of requests from both defendants seeking loans from me over the following years. Unfortunately, I naively trusted them and made loans to them as requested from time to time.
“In general, the loans were agreed to be repaid shortly after they were made although there was no particular time for that to happen. They were certainly repayable on demand.”
New Zealand Police investigated claims against the Fulivais and charged them with obtaining money by deception.
A statement lodged with the court by Barrett’s legal representative said Lord Fulivai had admitted responsibility to repay the $170,000 and $21,500 in loans. The Fulivais had agreed to take no further action in the proceedings last October.
Documents showed that Lord Fulivai used the King’s name and that of the Prime Minister and Health Minister Saia Piukala in his dealings with Barratt.
Tuna project
Last year Barrett told Kaniva News he was also pursuing Lord Fulivai and his Seattle-based cousin Micheal Thomson for $550,000 for work on a yellow fin tuna project.
The project was intended to establish open water fish farms off Hunga Island through a company called Horizon Deep International.
Documents seen by Kaniva News show that Lord Fulivai was sent a bill for US$340,200 through Pacific Consultants and Construction Ltd on August 31 last year.
The bill included consultation services, preparation of documents for investors and loans and financial advances for Lord and Lady Fulivai. The latter came to more than US$30,000.
Barratt told Kaniva News that Lord Fulivai had ignored demands for payment and he would chase the couple for repayment.
Adrienne Lois Kaeppler, an American anthropologist who was regarded as an expert on Tongan dance and the work of Queen Sālote, has died aged 87.
A portrait of Adrienne Kaeppler, Photo: Photo / Smithsonian Institution
“Why is a Palangi talking about this?”, Kaeppler said at the launching of the book Songs and Poems of Queen Sālote in Nuku’alofa in 2019.
“The short is answer is because Queen Sālote invited me to do so.
“It goes back to 1964 when I was a student. The first time when I came here, I came to a conference of the Pan-Pacific Southeast Asia Women’s Association Meeting. Queen Sālote invited us all and I gave the paper for the Hawai’ian Group which was about Hawai’ian music and dance.
“For the international night, I performed a Hawai’ian dance and the next day Queen Sālote saw me and she said ‘could you do that sort of thing for Tongan music and dance?’ and I said ‘oh, okay’. So I decided to stay, and I stayed for three months and Queen Sālote sent me to all the people she felt were the important people to pass on this kind of information.”
Dr Kaeppler researched the lakalaka, a mass dance that sometimes involved more than 1000 people, all singing and dancing in carefully synchronised motions, that had been passed down from generation to generation.
The American anthropologist said she had been supported and directed in her work by Queen Sālote, who introduced her to a number of the kingdom’s punake.
“Queen Sālote put me in contact with a number of important Tongan dance people. My first teacher was Tu’imala Kaho who taught me tau’olunga. Tu’imala’s mother, ‘Ana Malia and Uncle Vaisima (Hopoate) taught me ula and ‘otuhaka,” Dr. Kaeppler wrote in the introduction to her book Poetry in Motion.
She returned to Tonga for a year in 1965-66 and began to learn Tongan, in what was to become a transitional time for the kingdom.
During her doctoral research in the 1960s and onwards, she spent much time with Ve’ehala, Tupou Posesi Fanua, Sione Hau Koula, Tu’ialo Kefu, Malia Fusi, Kavapele, and Vaisima. She also worked with Catholic nun Sister Tu’ifua, who descended from a high ranking line of chiefs and who learned dancing from Malia Toto and Kolotile, both of whom danced for the immediate descendants of the last Tu’i Tonga.
She returned to Tonga nearly every year to continue her research and learn dance. She took part in the Lakalaka of the village of Ha’ateiho for the Coronation kātoanga of King Tāufa’āhau Tupou IV.
“As an outsider I have really only scratched the surface. Tongans have a more thorough and detailed understanding of dance and its place in their lives,” she wrote. She hoped her work would stimulate more Tongans to write down their knowledge to ensure that dance would continue to enrich the lives of future generations of Tongans.
Her work helped promote understanding of the Tonga’s rich heritage, In 2003 UNESCO recognised the importance of the Tongan Lakalaka when it was proclaimed a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
She spent several years researching the songs and poems of Queen Sālote, working with Princess Nanasipau‘u Tuku‘aho, Dr. Melenaite Taumoefolau and Dr Elizabeth Wood.
In 1998, she worked at the Tongan National Museum, setting up a special exhibition on the 80th birthday of King Taufa’āhau Tupou IV.
Dr. Kaeppler, was invested as a Commander of the Royal Household Order during the Coronation celebrations of King Tupou VI in 2015.
Last year Her Majesty Queen Nanasipau’u, who worked closely with Dr. Kaeppler over the years, praised her, saying: “It has been amazing for me to have accompanied you on some of your journeys of discovery. Your excitement about the history, culture and arts was captivating and inspiring. …You dedicated your life to your scholarship and the sharing of the wonders you had so carefully and masterfully unveiled.”
Smithsonian
Kaeppler was curator of oceanic ethnology at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
Her work centred on the interrelationships between social structure and the arts, including dance, music, and the visual arts, especially in Tonga and Hawa’i.
The Smithsonian awarded her the Secretary’s Distinguished Scholar Award for excellence in research.
Prime Minister Hu’avakameiliku has tested positive for Covid-19.
“Tested positive for covid19. Was Negative on (Wednesday) but now positive. We are fine and isolating at home,” he said this afternoon Saturday 12.
There are 131 new Covid-19 cases in Tonga today, with the Ministry of Health also announcing two deaths.
There are now 1,058 active cases in the community with the number of confirmed cases now at 1,513.
There are 453 people who had been recovered.
The Prime Minister said yesterday none of the active cases was admitted to hospital and no one had showed any sign of serious illness.
Schools reopen
Meanwhile, Forms 6 and 7 students in Vava’u and Tongatapu are expected to return to school on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.
This meant, only fully vaccinated teachers were allowed to teach in schools, the Prime Minister said.
The Hon Prime Minister said “school management will need to ensure that all Health protocols are followed strictly for the safety of teachers and students”.
“Schools will be given Monday and Tuesday next week to prepare for the return to school and stated this was the only change to the current COVID-19 restrictions”.
Curfew remains from 8pm to 5am for Tongatapu and Vava’u.
Multiple people were discovered injured after shots were fired in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill last night.
Photo: 123RF
Police responding to calls about gunfire about 10.30pm on Sandringham Road Extension found “at least five people” had been injured.
None of the wounds were life-threatening, and the injured were taken to hospital, police said in a statement.
Police did not give other details about the “incident” near the Wesley Community Centre, but said officers would be in the area today and are investigating.
Two women have been found guilty in the Supreme Court for running a pyramid scheme.
The two accused, Viola Tupa (Tupa), and ‘Anaseini Pongi (Pongi) were charged with advertising a scheme in Kolomotu’a , where profits earned by participants in the scheme largely depended on increases in the number of participants in the scheme.
Known as pyramid or Ponzi schemes, such schemes are contrary to section 3A of the Financial Institutions Act.
According to the Act, anybody who directly or indirectly, initiates, offers, advertises, conducts, finances, manages, supervises or directs a scheme where profits earned by participants in the scheme largely depend on increases in the number of participants in the scheme or in the size of their contributions to the scheme is liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding TP$1 million or to prison for not more than 30 years, or both.
Evidence was presented to court by serving police that Tupa had tried to persuade people working in the Police Department to join the scheme.
Siosateki Vainikolo, a police officer in the Professional Standards division said he interviewed the accused, Pongi, who said she paid about $1180 to join the scheme.
She told Vainikolo she had to recruit eight people before she could expect any repayments. She made TP$8295.
A few people took payments, but she asked them to pay back the money so new recruits could be repaid their monies. She said they collected about TP$30,000 and paid it all out, but it was not enough to refund everyone.
Evidence was also presented to the court that Tupa had promoted the scheme and e-mail records showed Tupa and Pongi discussing recruiting from fellow church members.
The accused did not give evidence or call any witness.
In his summary of the case, Mr Justice Niu, presiding, said there was uncontested evidence that there was a scheme in which every participant had to register with a certain sum of money.
Each participant had to recruit another eight people who were each to register with a sum of a similar amount. Upon the registrations of those eight people, those eight people had to recruit eight persons each and so on.
The earlier participants got their profits from the monies which the later participants paid. The more participants there were, the more profits there were for the earlier participants, and so on.
Both Pongi and Tupa stood to gain their profits, from the increase of the number participants in the scheme.
Mr Justice Niu said the accused advertised the scheme to members of the church they each attended and invited them to join.
Minister of Health Dr Saia Piukala. Photo/Screenshot (Broadcom Broadcasting)
There are 100 new cases of Omicron in Tonga today, the Ministry of Health reports.
The number of total active cases rises to 954.
The total number of people who had been recovered since the outbreak was 366, it said.
There is a total cumulative number of 1320 cases since the outbreak.
Meanwhile, Vava’u authorities have growing concerns after the number of covid cases on the main island increased significantly since last Friday.
The Minister of Health Saia Piukala said yesterday the number of active cases in Vava’u on Monday was 35 including six which had been recovered.
He said the Ministry conducted rapid antigen tests (RATs) there on Monday and eight people had tested positive. He did not say whether or not these eight cases were included in the total number of 35 cases he reported.
He also said the Ministry conducted RAT tests on Tuesday and 11 people tested positive.
The Minister then said Vava’u had 22 cases in home isolation while 27 cases were quarantined at Puataukanave Hotel MIQ. These numbers added to a total number of 49 active cases but the Minister did not confirm whether or not this was the latest total number of cases on Vava’u.
Hon Piukala said most of the positive cases showed no sign of serious illness and no one was admitted to hospital.
The governor of Vava’u Lord Fakatulolo reported 28 cases on Sunday.
He said there was a connection between the 28 cases and a positive case passenger who arrived from Tongatapu on Wednesday last week.
Lord Fakatulolo said he was concerned about the restriction guideline and he attempted to check with the airline to see why the positive passenger was allowed to fly to Vava’u.
The governor said it appeared all the villages on the main island had become locations of interest.
Yesterday, the Neiafu town officer Vāvā Lapota wanted to know what the government’s plan for the situation was.
He claimed the total number of active cases on Vava’u were 40.
The previous total number of cases in Vava’u constantly remained at six or seven.
A woman killed in a suspected family harm related incident in Falaleu last week had been laid to rest yesterday at Houmelei cemetery.
‘Ālisi Keilini Tuita. Photo/Supplied
’Alisi Keilini Tuita, 51, was allegedly stabbed to death inside her house on Saturday morning.
Her twin brother was arrested shortly after the incident.
The brother, who often underwent assessment for mental health problem at the psychiatric ward, remains in Police custody, a source very closed with the victim claimed.
It is understood police were not seeking anyone else in connection to this incident.
