More Top Stories
‘Nothing to worry about’: Prime Minister Brown on China agreement
16 February 2025
‘Serious questions’: Opposition challenges China partnership
15 February 2025
No-confidence motion against PM and his Cabinet faces delays
15 February 2025
Ruta Mave: People’s Republic of China red flag
10 February 2025
No debt in China deal
8 February 2025
Thomas Wynne: Haka with the taniwha or dance with the dragon?
8 February 2025
‘Paedophile’ gets 13 years in prison
22 January 2025
Thomas Wynne: Where were our leaders while children suffered?
25 January 2025
$541.7m tourism earnings
25 January 2025
Cook Islands passport proposal
6 January 2025
Top cop position advertised
7 December 2024
Police need numbers and bigger budget
9 December 2024
Niki Rattle: A call for stronger human rights protections
10 December 2024
Solid and Hazardous Waste Bill referred to Parliament committee
10 December 2024
DPM defends CIIC finance and travel policies
6 December 2024
Cook Islands has its first mosque
14 November 2024
CI Muslim opens up about her faith and journey
16 November 2024
RAC to address mosque legality
19 November 2024
I don’t expect much change: PM Brown on US Elections
6 November 2024
Fifth weekly Sydney flight to Rarotonga announced
23 October 2024
CIIC directors seek $350,000 in damages over defamatory claims
21 October 2024
Man found guilty of rape, burglary
24 September 2024
Tenants face water bill burden
8 October 2024
Concerns over Minister’s role in inmate work releases: PAC
5 October 2024
Tourism contribution set to surpass half-billion dollar mark
25 September 2024
Parliament Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
23 September 2024
Deep sea dilemma: Cook Islanders weigh the cost of mineral riches
21 September 2024
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
Cook Islands deep sea mining poll sparks controversy
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Articles by Utopia Support
Explosion injures restaurant staff
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Regional
PAGO PAGO – Two people were injured in an explosion at an American Samoa restaurant on Christmas Eve.
PNG'S resource wealth a dilemma
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Regional
PORT MORESBY – Papua New Guinea’s wealth of natural resources can be viewed as the nation’s blessing, providing a lubricated pathway to social development and financial security.
Lava stalls on Christmas eve
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Regional
PAHOA – Molten lava flowing from the Kilauea volcano in Hawai’i has stalled on its slow creep toward a Big Island shopping centre.
Ciguatera heading to southern waters
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Regional
EVANS HEAD – What was once considered a tropical food poisoning danger is now becoming a problem in places much further south.
Job loss follows Atiu mayor's conviction
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Politics
Atiu mayor and business owner George Taoro James Brown has been stripped of his mayoral role after being convicted on a charge of receiving stolen goods.
Bishop investigation drags on, but police decline to comment
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Politics
An investigation into Aitutaki MP Teina Bishop is continuing and it appears no progress has been made on a case that has dragged on for almost two years.
Act gives you right to appeal denial of official information
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Politics
The Cook Islands Law Society through a number of planned articles aims to share information and explanations on laws that impact on people in their everyday lives.
Kids and cops join in New Year's action
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Local
Police National Headquarters will become a hive of activities for children, young people and their families on New Year’s Eve.
BCI move to NZ payments system could have wide-ranging benefits
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Politics
Minister of Finance Mark Brown is appointing a team to look into the feasibility of the Bank of the Cook Islands (BCI) joining the New Zealand payments system.
Smokies: Appeal after appeal is making people tired
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Smoke Signals
The recent statement from the Prime Minister shows how desperate the Demos are in seeking to govern the country.
Tourists – don't pull to the left
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Local
Police have issued a message to tourists, asking them to stay in the centre of the side of the road they are travelling on, rather than pulling over to the left.
Need to learn from history
Monday 29 December 2014 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, We read that recently-elected Mona Ioane has become the first Tautu member of Parliament with a criminal record, when he was convicted of bribery and his election win made void.
Keep us in the loop, Mac
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, I thank Mac Mokoroa for his response to the Aroko roading issues.
Appointments leave burning questions
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor Recent senior executive appointments by this CIP Government and Cabinet are highly questionable.
Opinions are personal
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor, The Tupapa Maraerenga Democratic Party Committee wish to advise that the opinions expressed by William Framhein
Smokies: TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Smoke Signals
It is a disgrace to see people too drunk to go home and sleep! Especially when you know they have a wife and small child at home. No wonder we are labelled the world champions of binge drinking.
Aere mai ki Rarotonga!
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Local
Kua o ia te otera Rarotongan i te vaerua oronga o te Mataiti ou, no reira te oronga nei ratou ki to tatou iti tangata.
Christmas Day damp but trouble-free
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Local
Rarotonga residents and visitors to the island celebrated a merry and safe Christmas, despite the less than ideal weather conditions.
Newspaper finally gets traction on complaint over MMR secrecy
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Local
After four months CINews has finally got traction on an outstanding complaint against the Ministry of Marine Resources for secrecy over a settlement made over an incident involving illegal fishing, by lodging a fresh complaint with the Ombudsman.
Peace on Earth to those of goodwill
Saturday 27 December 2014 | Published in Church Talk
If you look into the Scriptures, you will find that angels encircled the entire life of Jesus. From the angel’s invitation asking Mary to welcome Jesus into her womb (Luke 1: 26) to the blessed moment of an angel announcing his being raised from the dead (Luke 24:4). In between there was the angel that appeared to Joseph in his dreams telling him not to divorce Mary. (Matthew 1: 20). Then there were the angels at his birth (Luke 2:8), calling forth wonder, awe, and gratitude. The angel that appeared to Joseph informing him that Herod would kill Jesus if he found him and that he should take his family and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2: 13). I want to focus on the song of the angels who appeared to the shepherds in Bethlehem on the night when Jesus was born. It was the custom that when a child was born, the local musicians would gather at the house to greet the child with simple music. As Jesus was born in a stable outside of Bethlehem, this ceremony would not have been carried out. So the music came from angels. Scripture even gives us the words of the song they sang. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours. (Luke 2: 14) It is a song which unites heaven and earth, giving praise and glory to heaven, and the promise of peace to earth and all its people. In choosing a message for Christmas, one message stands out for me over all others and that is Christmas calls us “to give glory to God, for He is good, He is faithful, He is merciful.” I hope we can all come to know the true face of God the Father, who has given us Jesus. And if we do discover this, our response will be to glorify God by spending our lives for love of him and of all our brothers and sisters. Starting on Christmas Eve, and again Christmas Day itself, our churches here in the Cook Islands would have reflected our giving this glory and honour to God by our attendance at church services. Like the Shepherds on hearing the angels’ message, we too need to “Go up to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us.” (Luke 2: 15) The special hymns of the night – those solemn Christmas carols, the various decorations according to our traditions, all bring home to us that God has been faithful to his promises. That God is with us as the word Emmanuel implies. Peace to Mankind Equally, powerful in the Christmas message is that God has come to bring “Peace to Mankind”. In the words of scripture, “And peace to men who enjoy his favour”. Luke 2: 14 The lead up to Christmas for me in 2014 has not been particularly peaceful as I watch the news each night on television: The new threat of Isis in Iraq and Syria. A large number of schoolgirls still missing in Nigeria who will not be able to celebrate Christmas with their families. Another group of schoolchildren missing in Mexico. The slaying of 132 school children and ten of their teachers in Pakistan. These events happening in parts of the world relatively remote from the Cook Islands are easy to ignore. But then the siege in central Sydney, where hostages were held by an armed gunman, is not a world away from us. His eventual slaying of two innocent hostages brings the issue into our part of the world where it starts to register. This is the backyard of some Cook Islanders. If it can happen in Sydney it can happen anywhere. Even America with the shooting or taking of lives of African-American citizens by police and the subsequent negative response by the authorities means that what is considered the civilised world has it problems too in maintaining peace. We are used to living in a peaceful, tolerant, secure society, free to go about our daily business as we choose, without fear. Further darkness in the pre-Christmas season was the mother who killed seven of her own children and a niece outside of Cairns in Queensland. And not all this violence is the work of terrorists. The harmful effect of drugs darkens normal life. Perhaps the incident in Otara in Auckland last weekend when someone lost their life as a result of a disagreement over music being played at a party talks loudest of the chaos darkness brings about. Our main street, Te Ara Maire Nui, is beautifully decorated with Christmas lights for Christmas. Outside our Catholic cathedral is a Christmas crib and a well-lit Christmas tree. On the Sunday night before Christmas, our youth entertained us for three hours with carols and acting out the Christmas story. Various ethnic groups making up our community participated, reflecting how Christmas is celebrated in other countries. And I am sure it would have been the same or better in other churches around the country. We did prepare for the arrival of the Light of Christ. The Mixture of Darkness and Light There is a mixture of darkness and light. That is though true to reality, as it often is, true also to the Gospel. In the middle of all the romance of Christmas, the astonishing good news of God made man for us, the angels, shepherds and wise men adoring, the Gospels report that all was not quite as it ought to be. There is suspicion about the pregnancy. The husband considers divorcing his wife. A mother nearing labour is required to travel a great distance and there is no room for them at the inn. The child is delivered in the squalor of a cave for animals. In the temple, the proud parents are warned of trouble ahead and the family must flee as refugees to a strange land. Meanwhile Herod’s henchmen kill the rest of the little children born at the same time as Jesus. So I should not be surprised that the backdrop to the light which dawned for us at Christmas is in fact darkness. The Way, the Truth and the Life come to people who often lose their way, to a civilisation sometimes more comfortable with lies than truth, to what is a culture of death more than a culture of life. The Christ is threatened from the moment of his birth until the violence of the world finally catches up with him on the cross. And our world today is every bit as mixed up as it was at the first Christmas. There is plenty of talk of human rights, the dignity of the person, equal respect and care. We have all the modern day resources and technologies and know how to help people through troubled times. Even here in the Cook Islands I am aware of people falling through the cracks despite the good resources available. We Christians do believe that the Babe of Bethlehem is the Prince of peace, the God who is with us, that God is one of us, God is saving us. So why, if the Prince of Peace has come, do these terrible things keep happening? My colleague the archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Fisher put it this way after the siege in Sydney. Perhaps the answer is in the first Christmas carol; when the angels sang ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to those of good will.’ The God who saves still leaves men and women free. We choose whether to be of good will or not. The Christ child proposes peace, again and again. He gives us the wherewithal to be reconciled and live peacefully with our neighbours; but in the end we choose whether to live in his kingdom, by his values. There is something greater than hatred and violence. There is love, that humble self-giving love that comes in the shape of the Christmas Babe, the Prince of Peace. He can soften the hardest of hearts. He can convert the most hardened of sinners. Come Prince of Peace, Come, O Come Emmanuel. Bishop Paul Donoghue. (Catholic Church.)
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