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
Film Raro2 casting call open to all ages
Fearless Cook Islands heroes and heroines of all ages are encouraged to audition for Film Raro2 who are back in Rarotonga looking for a cast of characters.
Seventeen composers for Mire Atu
Cook Islands composers are prepared to take centre stage this month in the prestigious Tauranga Vananga/Ministry of Cultural Development Te Pae Tai Nui Mire Atu original Māori song composers competition.
BMX dream fast becoming a reality …
Grand plans are in place for the future of BMX in the Cook Islands and there is some heavyweight support in making it a reality.
Navigating unsteady waters in a crowded market
New rules for marine tourism are in the pipeline, as operators express concern about overcrowding.
The secret to being a Christian champion
In life you only get to run once, so run to win. To avoid stumbling and losing your place in the race, don’t look back. You can’t change the past, but you can learn from it, writes Pastor Eric Toleafoa from the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Human rights abuses and violations: Children, people with disabilities and LGBT+ community ‘vulnerable’
According to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI) children continue to be subject to high levels of abuse, there is still a stigma around people with disabilities and the government is complicit in allowing religious leaders to persist with homophobic attitudes in the Cook Islands.
‘Scurrilous rags’ and ‘brimstone belchers’ – Cook Islands’ early newspapers
An ‘insatiable lust’ for reading matter among Cook Islanders led to the appearance of Rarotonga’s first newspaper Te Punavai in 1843, printed with the help of the Sydney Morning Herald. Later in the century came Te Manu Rere, Te Torea and Ioi Karanga, all generating controversy and landing one local editor in prison – the first inmate of Rarotonga’s newest jail. By Rod Dixon.
Visitor arrival numbers dip, industry braces for ‘shoulder period’
Tourism providers are bracing themselves for the ‘shoulder period’ of the year, as visitor numbers are predicted to dip again.
Fruits of cocoa labour
A Rarotonga farmer is three years into growing cocoa for his chocolate business and is just starting to see the fruits of his labour.
CHURCH TALK: Fix your eyes on Jesus
When our devotion is on our church, our culture, our career, even our family, instead of Jesus, then we’re on the slippery slope, writes Pastor Paul Kauri, lead pastor at The Arepua Gateway Assembly of God Church.
‘It was a bit of a baptism of fire coming here’: Departing Crown Prosecutor
It’s been an adventure. All of it. But as Crown Prosecutor Annabel Maxwell-Scott sits down over coffee, she wonders whether it’s time for a new one.
A tribute to Papa John Tansley – A 57-year Rarotonga resident
John Tansley passed away a week ago at his home by the lagoon in Avana. He always told us he wouldn’t leave Raro, and true to his word, he never will. By Craig Tansley (and brothers, Rod, Dale and Paul).
Cook Islands chef heads to culinary celebration
Cook Islands chef Rangi Mitaera-Johnson will mix it with the best in the region for what looks to be celebration of food and community to help strengthen relationships between the Pacific and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Chantal’s drive: ‘It’s a matter of determination’
A Cook Islands podcaster has branched out in an effort to connect the nation to dozens of countries.
Traditional canoes taking shape
In a bid to revive the art of traditional canoe building, Te Mana O te Vaka boat building and sailing project – a collaboration between the Cook Islands Voyaging Society (CIVS) and the Gallery Tavioni and Vananga – started last week.
CHURCH TALK: Life is too precious
I have attended so many funerals and saw grieving families and friends over their loved ones. It still raises the question: ‘What if there is no resurrection?’ Reverend Vakaroto Ngaro of Ekalesia Avarua writes.
Auckland Cook Islands community’s ‘beating heart’ as good as gold
Cook Islander Selina Roimata Vainerere-Patia is the ‘beating heart’ of the Cook Islands community in Auckland, and is admired by many for her generous and kind hearted soul, always giving up her time for others. Last week she received the ASB (Auckland Savings Bank) ‘Good as Gold’ award in New Zealand. TVNZ’s Seven Sharp rocked up unannounced to a community meeting surprising Vainerere-Patia with the news.
Carving a niche in acting
When Dominic Ona-Ariki is not playing Detective Ariki Davis, a Cook Island Māori police officer in the New Zealand supernatural crime drama One Lane Bridge, he spends time discovering himself and his Cook Islands heritage.
‘An amazing honour and privilege’ – PM shares Queen’s funeral experience
Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral service was attended by Heads of State and Overseas Government Representatives, Foreign Royal Families, Governors General and Realm Prime Ministers, including the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. PM Brown shares his extraordinary experience attending the symbolic and historical event with Cook Islands News senior journalist Melina Etches.
Inflation hits hard: ‘The most vulnerable are hit the hardest’
The Cook Islands are facing serious inflationary pressures for the first time in several years. Senior journalist Matthew Littlewood looks into what could happen for both businesses and consumers as a result.
Renewable energy sets 2030 target
Cook Islands Renewable Energy Division started around 10 years ago with the ambitious goal to have the country fully renewable by 2020, the date has been and gone but the head of the division still views its work as a success.
Shipwrecked or ‘ship-saved’
The adversary satan subtly comes as a thief to steal, to kill and to destroy but Jesus comes to save and offers us eternal life with Him, writes Bishop Tutai Pere of the Apostolic Church.
