More Top Stories

Economy

No debt in China deal

8 February 2025

Economy

$541.7m tourism earnings

25 January 2025

Letters to the Editor
Local

Top cop position advertised

7 December 2024

Culture
Church Talk
Court
Economy
Economy

National

Premium content
Crime

Rarotonga crime stats challenged

Cook Islands Police data shows no increasing crime trend, but the Opposition leader and a road safety advocate argue understaffing and passive policing conceal actual crime and safety issues in Rarotonga.

Local

Australian High Commission accepting applications for community grants

The Australian High Commission has announced the opening of the Australia – Cook Islands Community Grants Program.

Travel savings voluntary

Ministers and members of parliament have the opportunity to save taxpayers money on travel by opting for economy class seats on flights, using air points accrued from official travel and staying in cheaper accommodation. There is a level of entitlement to MPs and ministers for official travel and its associated costs, through the Remuneration Tribunal […]

National

Tupapa takes early lead in Lotto Cup

The 2011 Rarotonga Lotto round cup football competition kicked off on Saturday with Takuvaine hosting Tupapa and Avatiu facing Arorangi. In the premier mens match in the Happy Valley Tupapa showed their dominance in terms of ball possession and tactical play, however it was Takuvaine that piled the pressure on first. Tupapa found it difficult […]

National

Zumba funds go to mental health

International Zumba instructor Maria Teresa Stone generated funds for the Cook Islands Creative Centre and Te Kainga Mental Health and Wellbeing Centre last week. Stone, who originates from Mexico but now lives in Sydney, hosted a Zumba master class at the National Auditorium in Rarotonga on Wednesday. Shes pictured here with zumba enthusiast George George […]

National

Pearls and energy on agenda

Cook Islands pearl exports to China and cooperation in respect of renewable energy technology are issues being discussed this week by Prime Minister Henry Puna and senior representatives of the Chinese government. Puna is also involved in bilateral discussions with China about its general development assistance to the Cook Islands and possible aid for next […]

National

Prime minister begins China visit

Prime Minister Henry Puna began his official visit to China yesterday with his first official engagements in Beijing. Met at the new airport in the capital by senior Protocol officials from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the prime minister and his delegation were provided a police escort into the city where they were taken […]

National

Biodiversity study includes Cooks

Leafflower trees and leafflower moths which are mutually dependent on each other arrived in the South Pacific separately, but over time reconnected. That is the conclusion of a study conducted by University of California Berkeley PhD student David Hembry, whose research centred on biodiversity in the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Hembry started out studying […]

National

Natural resources adviser appointed

A Cook Islands initiative to develop deep sea mining is further progressed by the appointment of a natural resources adviser. New Zealand geologist Daryl Thorburn has officially been appointed to the new position, funded by the Commonwealth Secretariat for two years. Minerals and natural resources minister Tom Marsters has formally notified the secretariat that Cook […]

National

Finsec tracks aid funding trends

Global funding patterns are changing, but the Cook Islands is relatively well-placed to continue receiving aid, financial secretary Richard Neves says. Neves has returned to the Cook Islands from a conference in London, at which the changing trends of aid application and criteria were analysed. It precedes a further international conference in November, at which […]

National

PM clocks up biggest travel costs

Prime Minister Henry Puna has proportionately spent the most from governments Civil List on international travel of any minister or member of parliament in this financial year. Since July 1 Punas official international travel to Samoa, New Caledonia, the United States, New Zealand and China has included about $47,000 from the Civil List. Government has […]

National

Audit job under wraps

Finance and audit minister Mark Brown is keeping tight-lipped about the appointment of an audit director. He says a media release is likely to be issued in the next two weeks and in the meantime he is not prepared to discuss the matter.

National

Parliament to resume soon

Parliament may resume in October, finance minister Mark Brown says. Following a lengthy session in July, parliament adjourned sine die and then an impromptu sitting was scheduled in late August for the passing of an amendment bill to governments withholding tax legislation. Brown says the resumption of parliament has not been confirmed, but government wants […]

National

Vanilla in demand

The Cook Islands could soon be exporting up to 100 tonnes of vanilla to French Polynesia every year, as international demand for the spice continues to grow. A delegation of Cook Islands agriculture industry professionals, growers and government officials recently travelled to Tahiti in an effort to better understand initiatives for product expansion. Finance minister […]

National

US pays $2m for fish rights

Annual payment to the Cook Islands by the United States as part of a Pacific fishing treaty is set to increase from $250,000 to $2 million. Finance minister Mark Brown says the increase is a result of discussion at the recent Pacific Leaders Forum in New Zealand, involving marine resources minister Teina Bishop. Brown says […]

National

Short stories on my favourite things

My home The nice breeze lets you hear the noise of the trees surrounding the house. The soft painted wall in the hallway of the house is just so soft that you would want to rub your cheeks on. You can hear the sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks. When the sun sets […]

National

Dialling in a cover shot

Telecom Cook Islands is offering artists and photographers the chance to have their work reach every home, business place and hotel room in the country. The companys annual telephone and business directory cover competition is closing on Wednesday next week and organisers are seeking a photograph, painting, drawing or collage that reflects life in the […]

National

Caf culture lovers take over Jireh

Cafe Jireh has inherited two important things from Warkworths wildly popular Ginger Cafe its custard squares and its managers. The cafe, situated across from the airport, has come under the management of Brian and Rachael Aitken, a Kiwi couple with a passion for high-quality food and a love for the island of Rarotonga. They recently […]

National

Pacific Snapshots well received

Tereora College performers elicited a resounding applause from the crowd that filled Nikao Hall on Thursday night. They performed a number of skits adapted from scripts written by Pasifika writers and dance numbers in their home-grown production Pacific Snapshots. Performing arts teacher Claire Waldron has received a flood of positive feedback since Thursdays performance. Her […]

National

Rakahanga gets $1m for renewables

Rakahanga will receive more than US$1 million to pay for the islands conversion to renewable energy. The Cook Islands government announced this week that the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat had approved its funding allocation to help the northern group island move away from its reliance on diesel generators to solar power as the source of […]

National

Hot air and climates changing

Climate science is fascinating. Im taking it this semester on USP Moodle. No matter how much the opposition camp challenges the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the panel has convincing figures that show that in the last 50 years the upward swing in global heating is true and urgent and predicts that by the […]

National

Break the stigma around asking for help

Another suicide prevention week has come and gone, but the community should continue to think about suicide, which is now as a pertinent and pressing an issue as ever. Te Kainga director Mereana Taikoko says the Cook Islands needs to change its perceptions of mental health in general in order to stem the rising tide […]

National

« Previous  1    608  609  610  611  612  613  614  615  616    818  Next »