Tonga is just one stop on a tour of the Pacific by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week. He is the latest in a parade of US diplomats to visit Oceania in the last year.

The restoration of the internet comes as the South Pacific island nation grapples with its first outbreak of the coronavirus.

Taufatofua made headlines as Tonga's bare-chested flag bearer at the last three opening ceremonies. He's missing the 2022 Games to help his country recover from January's deadly tsunami.

Two wharf workers tested positive Tuesday. The Ministry of Health has been testing workers there amid international aid shipments after last month's volcanic eruption.

The images show populated areas in the archipelago with heavily damaged or destroyed buildings and homes and at least one island covered with ash.

Since the pandemic began, Tonga has reported just a single case of COVID-19 and has avoided any outbreaks.

It's a pandemic predicament. With only 1 recorded case of COVID-19 in their island nation, Tongans are desperate for help after the volcanic eruption — but eager to keep the virus out.

A station to detect nuclear weapons tests picked up the volcanic eruption in Tonga from Antarctica. Some experts say the blast could be more than 50 megatons, while NASA estimates 6-10 megatons.

It's just one of the ways the world is rallying to help the people of the remote Pacific island nation rebuild.

Lisala Folau told a local broadcaster about his swimming journey, which lasted more than a day and took him to three islands. Social media users hearing his story are calling him "real-life Aquaman."

The eruption severed Tonga's single fiber-optic cable, rendering the Pacific archipelago offline and unable to communicate with the rest of the world. Flights brought bottled water and other supplies.

Because of waves from Saturday's eruption, an estimated 6,000 barrels of oil were spilled near Peru's main refinery on the coast in an area rich in marine biodiversity.

Amid the 7.6-magnitude quake, the single fiber optic cable that the archipelago relied on for global communications ruptured.

Researchers who have been studying the volcano since 2015 say it was likely caused by seawater flowing into a chamber filled with magma.

Researchers who have been studying the volcano since 2015 say it was likely caused by seawater flowing into a chamber filled with magma.