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.
Will nodule mining impact animals that live on the ocean floor?
A closer look at the potential impact of nodule mining on the megafauna associated with nodules in the Cook Islands EEZ from Penrhyn southward to Aitutaki and Palmerston. By Gerald McCormack, Director of the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust.
Tacos with a twist
A Mexican classic with an Indian (local) twist, Flying Turtle Café’s fresh fish roti tacos is a dish not to be missed. By chef Shivnesh Chandra.
Cook Islands-based NCD research looks at early-life health for wellbeing
Siobhan Tu'akoi discusses her groundbreaking research into non-communicable disease risk in the Cook Islands.
From hunters to watchers – whaling in Raro waters
Commercial shore-based whaling began on Rarotonga in 1865 with the help of Rarotongan whaler Jimmy Pi’i and members of a Ngāpuhi family from New Zealand. With whale numbers already in decline, it soon became clear a commercial industry was not viable. Yet a local taste for whale-meat meant opportunistic whale-hunting continued off Rarotonga and Aitutaki for almost another century.
Pooch perfect! Dog groomer at your service
Keeping your dogs healthy by brushing their teeth, cleaning their ears, trimming their nails and brushing their coats is essential but it can never be easy. For Victoria Teio, her dog grooming business ‘Kuri Cutts’ can do all this for you.
CHURCH TALK: The origin of Valentine’s Day
I have been a Catholic priest for 46 years and have never preached a sermon on St. Valentine. I find it strange that businesses have taken over the feast day, February 14th and in our church, you will not hear any mention of St. Valentine on that day, writes Bishop Paul Donoghue of the Catholic Church.
Island life showcased in fashion wear
While growing up, Cook Islands fashion designer and aspiring school teacher Toka Toka has always carried his mother’s advice: “In all that you do, do not forget God. He is the reason you are blessed with your talent.” This has become his mantra for success.
Pursuing pizza perfection
It’s been a long road for Adam’s Pizza to get their business to where it is today. Along the way, owners and married couple Adam and Sabrina Connelly have caught some lucky breaks, but the backbone of their business is a steely determination to do things right.
Trusting God in the lion’s den
You might be enduring your own personal ‘den of lions’ right now, but remember that no matter what your circumstances are, God loves you, writes John Mateara of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
‘When Chantal is quiet, she’s learning’
The permanent smile on her face shows that Chantal Napa is a go-getter. In partnership with American Haydn Adams, she turned a bad situation initiated by Covid-19, into a golden opportunity.
Globetrotter says ‘ka kite’ to Cooks and its infamous canines
After an extended stay in the Cook Islands, tourist-turned-volunteer Karolina Szelag is saying goodbye today to a country that gave her so much more than she ever expected.
First wedding of the year
Rarotonga businessman Stephen Lyon and his long-time partner Lovelyn Gatchalian exchanged their vows in front of family and close friends this week. The wedding held at Ra Mura in Betela, Arorangi, was a special one – it was the first wedding of the year.
Begin by putting God first
Do not be satisfied in being the same person you have always been but put God first and learn to walk with Him every day, writes Pastor Eric Toleafoa of Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
A ‘Whopper’ of an opportunity
In the midst of a pandemic, local tour guides and creatives found themselves working together to help create an ad campaign for one of Oceania’s most recognisable brands.
Thriving in a man’s world
Frances Taoro returned to her birthplace Mauke in October 2003 for a short visit but an experience there led her to change her mind. She stayed back and started a business operating from a small room on the verandah of their family home. Today, her one stop shop Kato’s General Store continues to thrive.
‘Be proud of who you are’
Dr Jon Tikivanotau Jonassen is passionate about Cook Islands culture and is now on a mission to record all he has experienced and learned in a book to preserve the country’s culture for future generations.
Discovering your identity and purpose
We need to know that we have purpose in life, that we’re not just an accident, that regardless of our situation, there is still purpose and meaning to our lives, writes Pastor Paul Kauri.
Rukau - A simple delight
A staple at many island tables, but it must be thoroughly cooked to eliminate the needle-like crystals of oxalate that can burn your throat.
Embarking on a second homecoming
At the beginning of 2019, Vainepoto Tangaroa traded her mum’s slice of paradise, Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand, for that of her late father’s, the beautiful Cook Islands. Tangaroa tells associate editor Katrina Tanirau why it’s a decision she’s glad she made.
Teaching the teachers of te reo Maori
Deploying an effective academic programme is challenging in the best of times, but it took a pandemic to bring together an all-star roster of Cook Islands academics that are helping a group of local University students to revitilise te reo o te Kuki Airani.
