Olympic gold medallist Valerie Adams escaped a possible aircraft crash after a plane she was on started skidding off a runway in Tonga.

He'll inevitably be labelled as another one who got away, but no one in New Zealand rugby is convinced Taniela Tupou will return to bite them.

A former Auckland policeman and Kiwi league representative who romanced two Pacific princesses has died in Hawaii, after an apparent family shooting.

Two Tongan police officers found guilty of the manslaughter of a NZ constable have been sentenced to jail, a sentence his family have called "a slap on the wrist."

Almost two years have passed since constable Kali Fungavaka was killed. And the two policeman guilty of his manslaughter had to face his wife and children in court.

Mana Party Leader Hone Harawira is facing a new challenge in his Te Tai Tokerau seat at this year's election, from his party's former Te Tai Tonga candidate Clinton Dearlove.

Two Tongan police officers have been found guilty of the manslaughter of New Zealand policeman Kali Fungavaka.

He's the player many coaches would love to have. But 135kg, 18-year-old Tongan-born prop Taniela Tupou can't represent NZ at schoolboy rugby level.

New Zealand has donated hundreds of emergency shelter kits and a further $300,000 to help residents of cyclone-hit Tonga.

Officials in Tonga say it's 'almost unbelievable' there weren't more fatalities in the devastation caused by a powerful cyclone that smashed 400 houses.

Tropical Cyclone Ian has cleared Tonga leaving in its wake the death of at least one person and the destruction of infrastructure.

At least one person has been killed in a cyclone that has ravaged parts of Tonga, as organisations rushed to get supplies to thousands of people affected.

At least one person has been killed in a cyclone that has ravaged parts of Tonga. Aid organisations were last night rushing to get supplies to thousands of people affected in the worst-hit group of islands, Ha'apai. These images are from the RNZAF P3 Orion.

One person is thought to have died after a tropical cyclone tore through northern Tonga last night, media reports say.

A tropical cyclone warning is in place for Tonga, where thousands of people are battening down as Cyclone Ian approaches.

Two Tongan police officers, one an inspector, have been committed for trial charged with the manslaughter of New Zealand policeman Kali Fungavaka.

The hunt is on for more than 40 Tongan criminals who obtained "clean records" from their homeland authorities to get New Zealand visas.

A Kiwi policeman who died in Tonga suffered heavy blows to the head and was allegedly beaten repeatedly by five local police officers and a prisoner.

The King of Tonga arrives in New Zealand today, with his wife and the Minister of Education.

Tongan police are under investigation after it was revealed the criminal records of 33 people were wiped in order to gain visas to enter New Zealand.

Abby Gillies soaks up the vibe in a tropical kingdom of idyllic beauty where time has been forgotten.

South Pacific islands are being targeted by crime syndicates as bases from which to smuggle drugs and guns to New Zealand and Australia.

Abby Gillies dives into the world of the humpback whale, in the blue seas surrounding Tonga.