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
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Features
Cook Islands hosts global World Day of Prayer event
Every year on the first Thursday in March, Cook Islands Women Christian Church groups throughout the country join a worldwide movement known as the World Day of Prayer (WDP)/Te Rā Pureanga Maata a te Vainetini o Teianei Ao.
‘Journey towards better character’: Children and faithful join Ash Wednesday mass
The pouring rain did not dampen the spirits of Catholics in Rarotonga as they joined millions of faithful followers around the world yesterday to mark Ash Wednesday, celebrating the start of the Lent season.
Seabed explorer: Who are Moana Minerals?
Seabed explorer vessel Anuanua Moana has been blessed and named as she prepares for research work in Cook Islands waters. Today she is scheduled to set sail for Atiu, then Aitutaki, before sailing to the Penrhyn Basin where she will start mapping the area with sonar. Moana Minerals chief executive Han Smit is at the helm of the operation and briefs deputy editor Al Williams on what they are up to in our area of the Pacific.
Warring madness, or a sad anniversary
The Ukrainians and the Russians are not the only people being hurt by this war. Possibly there are two impacts of the war that we have felt in the Cook Islands, writes Bishop Paul Donoghue of the Catholic Church.
It’s a labour of love for long distance sailor
Stephen Banks is a sailor on a mission – a mission to sail from New Zealand across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal to reach his three-year-old daughter in Maine – mainland United States.
Cook Islands holds first-ever sheep shearing and woolhandling nationals
The Cook Islands held their first-ever shearing and woolhandling nationals a week ago in New Zealand, to select a team for the Golden Shears World Championships in Scotland later this year.
Women carve their place in traditional art
Master carver Ta’unga Mike Tavioni BEM believes in women carvers and that they should be encouraged to practice the art.
A heart for service
Aotearoa New Zealand and the Cook Islands (Avaiki Nui) are inextricably tied together and have been since our people migrated there when Vaka left its shores bound for Avaiki Tautau in and around the 12th century. Our migration story starts then and happens again on mass in the 1950s and 1960s through to today with close to 100,000 people in Aotearoa identifying themselves as Cook Islands Maori, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.
Pa Ariki meets Aquaman
Pa Marie Ariki (middle) meets world famous actor Jason Momoa of Aquaman fame at Te Matatini Kapa Haka Festival this week at Auckland’s Ngā Ana Wai Eden Park.
Mosquito-borne diseases become climate reality in warming Pacific
Disease surveillance by the WHO shows mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever are rising sharply. By Catherine Wilson of Al Jazeera.
How Mangaians helped rescue Raro’s economy
At the beginning of the twentieth century migrants rescued Rarotonga’s population and economy, then in apparently ‘terminal’ decline. Within a few decades these migrants had become established Rarotongan families, traditional landowners and custodians of the culture. Is a similar process currently underway?
Commitment of doctors recognised
With a father who worked in health administration in the Cook Islands, it’s probably understandable Dr Te Ariki Faireka decided to study medicine.
Daring to dream: Young women turn ‘side hustles’ into fulltime businesses
Businesswoman Ana File-Heather who is the founder of the Taki Tahi ‘start-up’ project facilitated a free online business incubator ‘Dreambuilder’ course for Cook Islands women last week.
Hope – even in the midst of difficult circumstances
Many of us today have misplaced our hope in the things that don’t last. We have not really understood let alone rediscovered God’s purpose for our lives, writes Pastor Eric Toleafoa from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Red carpet rolled out at the Empire for world premiere
The red carpet was rolled out on Rarotonga with a packed house for the world premiere of Cook Islands’ film Stranded Pearl.
‘The Lord saved our marriage’
Well known Cook Islanders Kevin and Tina Iro have been together for 37 years but their journey has not been smooth sailing. They parted ways in 2007 after ‘everything spiralled out of control’, but a divine intervention saved their marriage. They talk to editor Rashneel Kumar about the meaning of Valentine’s Day and the secrets to succeeding in their marriage.
Spreading the spirit of love
Valentine’s Day ‘organised chaos’ for gift retailers with 30-year romance. As gift retailer Island Craft gears up for its second-busiest holiday of the year, Valentine’s Day, business directors Fletcher and Vaea Melvin sit down with journalist Joanne Holden to share their love story and the secret to a lasting relationship.
Telling it like it is –Framhein’s 90-year journey
Sharp, witty, wizened and well groomed, 90-year-old Apai Raropua Mataiapo Tutara Tekeu Emil Framhein still tells it like it is, good naturedly with no filter. Affectionately known as Apai or Papa Keu, Framhein shares some of his life’s journey with Cook Islands News senior journalist Melina Etches.
Artefacts gifted to King’s Representative
Veteran Kiwi journalist and Cook Islands News publisher John Woods has turned his hand to woodturning and is utilising his new found skills with Cook Islands native timber.
The arrival of the Gospel
I wrote this muse two years ago, as we were celebrating the arrival of Gospel to Aitutaki, I thought it was worth raising up again in the light of Rarotonga’s 200-year celebrations in 2023, slightly edited of course, writes Paul Kauri, lead pastor at The Arepua Gateway Assembly of God Church.
Providing an experience to remember
An Aitutaki-based lagoon cruise tour company allows guests to choose their own adventure, giving them an experience to remember.
A failure to connect? Leading telecom provider in spotlight
The status of Vodafone as the lead controller of the telecommunications market in the Cook Islands has come under scrutiny thanks to a major report.
