PINA

Tonga is facing an “unprecedented disaster” from a massive volcanic eruption that covered the nation in ash and 15-metre tsunami waves that destroyed almost all the homes on two small islands, the government has said. Hampered by a communications breakdown caused by the severing of a major undersea cable, authorities had not released an official update since the blast on...

Preparations are being made to send a specialist cable repair ship from Papua New Guinea to Tonga to fix breaks in the Tonga Cable that have crippled phone and internet connections to and from Tonga. The cable, which would normally carry almost all communications traffic to and from Tonga, has been out of action since shortly after the eruption of...

New Zealand is ready to assist Tonga in its recovery from Saturday night’s undersea eruption and tsunami, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “Following the successful surveillance and reconnaissance flight of a New Zealand P-3K2 Orion on Monday, imagery and details have been sent to relevant authorities in Tonga, to aid in decisions about...

A group of Tongan seasonal labourers stranded in New Zealand's South Island can continue to work until a flight is available to take them home, their employer said. About 70 labourers from the Pacific Island Kingdom were scheduled to return home on Thursday but Air New Zealand cancelled the flight due to ash clouds caused by last weekend's volcanic eruption. Eighteen...

Tahiti has received its first trans-Pacific cruise ship in two years, with the arrival of the Viking Orion from the United States. International cruise ship visits to French Polynesia had been suspended because of the pandemic, but tourism officials expect this year's numbers to rebound and match those of 2019. The Viking Orion with about 500 passengers aboard arrived in Papeete...

By Shane Cronin The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world. The volcano is usually not much to look at. It consists of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga, poking about 100m above sea level 65km north...

New Zealand Boxing chairman Keith Walker has expressed "grave concerns" over the Olympic future of the sport and the questioned the direction of the International Boxing Association (IBA) under Russian President Umar Kremlev. In a wide-ranging interview with Radio New Zealand (RNZ), Walker cast doubt over Kremlev's motives and said he was worried the money being pumped into confederations by...

Lakapi Samoa has today confirmed that its Manu Samoa 7s Squad of 20 players and six management currently in a holding camp in Dubai will not be able to compete in the first of two HSBC legs scheduled for Malaga, Spain this weekend. Lakapi Samoa Chief Executive, Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai confirmed that, “Due to a high number of positive Covid test...

Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa have been forced to withdraw their teams from upcoming World Rugby Sevens Series events in Spain due to the COVID-19 pandemic. World Rugby said New Zealand would not field teams at either the men's or women's tournaments in Malaga and Seville because of travel restrictions. New Zealand's men have been replaced in the line-up for the...

Prime Minister James Marape of Papua New Guinea has pledged assistance to Tonga following Saturday’s massive underwater volcanic eruption which caused tsunami affecting neighbouring island nations as well. “I am greatly concerned about the situation in Tonga where an undersea volcano erupted on Saturday, sending large tsunami waves crashing on the shore and people rushing to higher ground,” Marape said...