More Top Stories
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’s 12 sitting days sufficient for business: Clerk
24 September 2024
Parliament Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
23 September 2024
Parliament’s 12 sitting days sufficient for business: Clerk
24 September 2024
Tapaitau and Charlie-Puna released to ‘family jobs’
21 September 2024
Police apprehend four juveniles in connection with motorcycle thefts
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
Rising seas, rising costs: Climate impacts on Cook Islands economy
2 September 2024
Inflation eases but concerns remain
31 August 2024
Prime Minister defends $659,000 MPs travel bill
23 August 2024
Taxpayers foot $659,000 bill for MPs travel and allowance
22 August 2024
Corruption report exposes ‘bribe and sexual favours’
17 January 2023
PM Brown eager to hand over Forum chair role to Tonga
13 August 2024
ICI explains road works delay in front of old Sheraton site
10 August 2024
Diaspora dismayed over lack of Te Maeva Nui livestream
8 August 2024
Everyone is a winner, says Culture
7 August 2024
Local women outshine global peers in business leadership
8 August 2024
Housing crisis hits tourism industry
27 July 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
Features
Master Navigator and Canadian journalist team up on a history of voyaging
It has been almost 40 years since the first ocean-going vaka of the modern age arrived to the Cook Islands. Some readers will remember Hōkūle’a’s first visit in September 1985, and since then a growing fleet of canoes has come and gone from these shores, including several built or based here, such as Takitumu, Te Au O Tonga, Marumaru Atua, Paikea, and canoes built for the Festival of Pacific Arts in 1992. Jennifer Kingsley writes.
Read, read, read
To be a writer, you need to read, read, read, says children’s book author Karen McMillan, who recently wrote Elastic Island Adventures: Rarotonga.
Rarotonga in vogue
Cook Islands men returning from overseas have been a source of fashion innovation for almost 200 years. Long before Bluff white boots and gangster wear, Rarotongan sailors helped revolutionise the formless, shapeless world of missionary clothing.
Travel bubble uncertainty in an already uncertain business
As government works towards two-way quarantine-free travel with New Zealand by the end of the month, local businesses are getting desperate and many say they can’t survive much longer without tourists. Yet even with a bubble, they face unprecedented challenges in an uncertain environment.
Mixing science with fun and imagination
Former Miss Cook Islands and Miss South Pacific Joyana Finch recently released a book ‘Buzz the Electron’ on Amazon. Just weeks after its release, Finch saw the book rise to number one in the ‘Children’s electricity and electronic’ category on Amazon. It has received a five-star rating.
For Travel, a Sustainable Comeback?
With travel stalled for the past 10 months, its sustainable comeback has been a popular topic. Now with Covid-19 vaccines in distribution, and the prospect of travel reviving later this year, some travel operators, local governments and nonprofit organizations are walking the talk, with new eco-oriented programs and trip. By Elaine Glusac from The New York Times.
Christchurch earthquake, ten years on: The trauma, chaos and the compassion
A decade ago, on February 22, 2011, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Christchurch at 12.51pm, causing widespread damage across the city, killing 185 people, in the nation’s fifth-deadliest disaster. Cook Islands News columnist Ruta Mave had just dropped her children at school when the incident happened.
‘We honour you and we make a promise to remember’
Knitting was introduced to Cook Islands Girl Guides in 1936. In 1940, a great deal of work was undertaken by the Girl Guiding Company in Rarotonga that included knitting comforts for men serving in the forces. For years the Guiders knitted garments for children overseas. This week those involved in the project were honoured at a special event.
Bid to diversify local economy
E-sports, intuitive accounting and digital TV out of Aitutaki, Caleb Fotheringham talks to some businesses on how they plan to use the government’s SMART Economy grants.
Mobile cash app targets Pa Enua
Sending cash to the far corners of the country has long been a challenge for many Cook Islanders, but a new electronic service is offering residents a cheaper and faster way. Will they adopt this new technology?
The miraculous catch of fish
Jesus looked at Simon and extended his hand toward him, “Simon, don’t be afraid. Follow me and I’ll make you a fisher of men”. This invitation is still extended to all. By Pastor Paul Kauri.
NASA Sent a Secret Message to Mars. Meet the People Who Decoded It.
As NASA’s Perseverance rover fell through the Martian atmosphere last week, a video camera on the spacecraft captured the breakneck deployment of its parachute, which was decorated with splotches of reddish orange and white. Those splotches were a secret message. By Kenneth Chang from the New York Times.
Recipe: A recipe perfect for all pasta lovers
Basil pesto and mushroom pasta bursts with flavour, it’s fresh, light, summery and delicious. With a freshly made basil pesto, garlic mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, this recipe is perfect for all pasta lovers! By Alana Nanai-Fonmanu.
Following in his father’s footstep
Food security, water storage and migration are among the issues Puna Vano will focus on as the new Executive Officer of Penrhyn.
‘People are leaving the country and not coming back’
Close to 1000 people, mostly Cook Islanders, have left the country since the one-way travel bubble opened, sparking fears of another exodus of labour overseas.
Celebrating 200 years of Christianity
The epic journey of seeking and saving those who are lost took 36 years, to cover the whole of the Cook Islands not without challenges from the natives, writes Rev. Vakaroto Ngaro of Ekalesia Avarua.
RECIPE: Vegan sushi with tomato ‘tuna’
Most people may think that a diet without dairy cream or cheese or without meat is boring and tasteless. They haven’t tried the alternatives. By Alana Nanai-Fonmanu.
A WHO Researcher on His Trip to China Seeking Origins of the Virus
Peter Daszak recently returned from Wuhan, China as a member of the World Health Organisation team that was sent to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. He recently spoke with The New York Times, shedding light on the team’s work. By James Gorman via The New York Times.
‘Sons for the return home’
New Zealand Maori plans to resettle Rarotonga. As a land-war brewed in the Waikato in 1863, a New Zealand ngāti, befriended by Kainuku ariki, looked to Rarotonga as a possible site for refugee resettlement.
A journey of modern Pacific art
The logistics of taking part in an international art fair when you are an art gallery based on a small island in the Pacific is challenging at the best of times. When you add the year that has been into the mix, it all gets very interesting. By Rachel Smith.
Whale Songs Could Reveal Deep Secrets Beneath the Oceans
A team of American scientists are using whale songs to study the earth's deep interior. By Robin George Andrews via The New York Times.
CHURCH TALK: The secret of restored blessing and prosperity - Te Muna Akaokianga Meitaki e te Puapinga
The life and story of Job is proof that man usually has no idea what God has in store for those who believe in Him.