Sources: The Washington Post
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake strikes the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, causing tsunami warnings in Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and other countries in the South Pacific, and generating a 60 cm tsunami in Lenakel, Vanuatu. 2023-05-19
The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force send aircraft to assess the damage in Tonga as communications continue to be disrupted in the Pacific islands. 2022-01-16
Tonga's main island of Tongatapu enters a seven-day lockdown that closes non-essential businesses and bans sales of alcohol and mass gatherings, except small funerals, after the country reports its first case of COVID-19 in a person who travelled from Christchurch, New Zealand on a repatriation flight last week. 2021-11-2
The Speaker of the Tongan Parliament, Lord Fakafanua, introduces the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Bill 2021 for debate in the legislative assembly. The Speaker wants a mandatory death sentence for serious drug offenses. Tonga has a moratorium on the death penalty and has not used it in more than four decades. 2021-08-16
Tongan authorities contact their New Zealand counterparts to warn them of death threats against Tongan Prime Minister Pohiva Tuʻiʻonetoa on social media. 2019-11-20
From the Diocese of Tonga, Catholic Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi is welcomed at the Co-Cathedral of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus in Honolulu, Hawaii. Appointed by Pope Francis, Mafi is the first and youngest cardinal from the small South Pacific nation of Tonga. 2016-01-16
Tonga begins an 11 day coronation ceremony of King Tupou VI. 2015-06-27
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano disrupts flights to and from Tonga. 2015-01-12
Tongan Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala marries Sinaitakala Fakafanua in a wedding ceremony in Nukuʻalofa. The marriage, the first for a Crown Prince of Tonga in 65 years, sparks controversy as the couple are second cousins. 2012-07-12
The funeral of former King of Tonga George Tupou V is held in Nukuʻalofa with thousands of mourners lining the street. 2012-03-27