Photo: Tipi Autagavaia
Tonga renews Covid-19 SOE, Samoa's biggest Church to hold annual Fono, Tonga's PM welcomes King's chastising of Parliament.
Tonga's prime minister describes King's comments of Parliament a blessing.
Tonga's prime minister has welcomed a speech by the King in which he chastised the entire parliament.
Tongans are due to go to the polls in November.
In a particularly frank speech from the throne last week, King Tupou the sixth questioned members' honesty and ability to run the government, making no secret of his displeasure.
He told of his concern with how the government was managing the country's affairs, saying it had lost sight of the key issues.
Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa is reported to have described the chastising as a blessing.
Mr Tu'i'onetoa is understood to have a meeting with the King planned for later this month, in which he's keen to start remedying broken promises.
Covid-19 State of Emergency extended for both Tonga and Samoa.
Tonga's government has renewed its Covid-19 state of emergency for another month.
It means the midnight to 5am curfew will remain in force, and restrictions on mass gatherings will still apply.
Tonga's border also remains closed.
In Samoa, the state of emergency was also extended for one more month. The country remains free of the virus, but the government is not taking any chances, and the new order will stay in place until 6 June.
It restricts sea traffic, flights into and out of the country, operating hours for shops and liquor sales, among other things.
Public gatherings are permitted, but people are required to follow Covid-19 safety rules.
It's the 45th time the state of emergency has been extended for Samoa.
Businesses warned not to break Papua New Guinea's pandemic lockdown
Businesses involved in gambling and liquor in Papua New Guinea face huge fines if they are caught breaching lockdown rules, the country's pandemic response controller has warned.
The National reports David Manning's alert that any bars, clubs and gambling venues caught operating could face fines of up to US$139,000 (NZ$191,700).
They would also be shut down, he says.
Mr Manning says he knows operators are worried about losses, and it is a fine balancing act between the industries that are necessary and those that can be shut down to avoid the risk of transmission.
The Congregational Christian Church of Samoa holds annual Fono this week
Samoa's largest Christian organization, the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa, this week started its annual Fono Tele at Malua Theological College.
The Fono Tele is the governing body of the church that approves policy and especially its annual budget.
This year, because of the global pandemic and travel restrictions, international delegates will be taking part virtually via a zoom link and only Samoa based delegates will be at Malua.
The sudden calling of the snap election for Samoa has seen the Fono Tele reduced to an eight day meeting instead of the scheduled 14 days.
The conference ends on Monday.
