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
Pacific
Roadshow not consultation
Non-government organisations are frustrated with the Cook Islands government seabed mineral consultations that are being held in New Zealand, calling for a 10-year moratorium to allow for independent research and capacity building within the Cook Islands.
USP Student body represents 14,000 students
The University of the South Pacific Students’ Association (USPSA) from 14 campuses spanning 12 member countries convened in Rarotonga yesterday representing the voice of 14,000 students.
Superpowers recognise Vanuatu's importance
Reports this week that Vanuatu was to be the site of a Chinese military base caught most in Vanuatu by surprise.
Son of Philip the demi-god given chiefly title
VANAUTU – Last week Prince Charles touched down in Vanuatu on a side trip from his visit to Australia for the Commonwealth Games, but unfortunately he might not have been the British prince that some of the islanders had been hoping for. It is his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who is regarded in a very spiritual way to a community of Tanna islanders. When he visited in 1974 many believed Philip was a reincarnation of an ancient warrior. Philip, the husband of the Queen of England, may hold a string of grand titles but for the small community, deep in the rainforests on the southwestern part of the island of Tanna, he is regarded as a an demi-god. “For them Philip is a tabu man – human but possessing qualities and powers that make him sacred,” Matthew Baylis, the British author of Man Belong Mrs Queen: My Adventures with the Philip Worshippers, who spent time living with the villagers, told the ABC. He said the people have a special relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh that is more complex than simple worship. “The closest parallel I can think of is the way we treat our war dead,” Baylis said. “We honour them, remember them, hold ceremonies for them, but we’re not actually worshipping them.” A group of people living around Yaohnanen village on Tanna have an ancient legend, describing a band of warriors who left the island to fight a war to protect and preserve their culture. The leader of the warrior group vowed to one day return with a rich, powerful – and white wife. In 1974, the British Royal family visited Vanuatu – then known as New Hebrides – as part of a tour of the Commonwealth. While he and Queen Elizabeth did not visit the isolated community, it is said that Prince Philip handed a symbolic white pig to a Tanna man in the country’s capital, Port Vila. It is believed that from that gesture the Tanna people formed a strong bond with Prince Philip, believing him to be a physical representation of the ancient warrior leader returning home with his wife. According to Kirk Huffman, a research associate at the Australian Museum in Sydney and honorary curator of the National Museum of Vanuatu, it’s a link they are very serious about. “On Tanna, traditional spiritual belief systems are a 24/7 situation,” Huffman told the ABC.
Highlands rocked by new quake
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Emergency response teams are being flown by helicopter to a remote part of Papua New Guinea – a region already struggling to recover from a magnitude-7.5 quake which hit in February.
Cyclone Keni drenches Fiji's west
FIJI – Fiji’s meteorological service says Cyclone Keni was a category two storm but expected to intensify further as it moves closest to Fiji at around midday yesterday.
Another cyclone bears down on Fiji
FIJI – With rivers still raging, thousands still in temporary shelters, and streets and farmland caked in silt and mud after Cyclone Josie little more than a week ago, residents in Fiji’s sodden west are now being warned to be prepare for the arrival of yet another cyclone.
First medal for the Solomons
SOLOMON ISLANDS – Solomon Islands won its first ever Commonwealth Games medal on a historic night on the Gold Coast.
Water and sanitation the top priority
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – World Vision Papua New Guinea is assisting 5000 people with water and sanitation following February’s magnitude 7.5 earthquake in the Highlands.
Ban overturned but too late for Games
SAMOA – Samoan weightlifter Iuniarra Sipaia has been cleared of any wrongdoing after mistakenly taking a banned substance.
Homeless children live in toilets
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Urban migration is leading to an increase in the number of homeless children in Papua New Guinea capital.
China diplomats accused of squatting
FRENCH POLYNESIA – China’s diplomats in French Polynesia are accused of illegally occupying premises in Tahiti.
Water needed in cyclone hit West
FIJI – There is an acute and widespread need for water in Fiji’s west following the weekend’s dousing by Cyclone Josie.
Tragic tales emerge from Fiji's floods
FIJI – The death toll in Fiji now stands at five as survivors relate their stories of loved ones who were swept away by raging floodwaters during Cyclone Josie on Sunday.
Road repairs to cost millions
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – The earthquake repair bill for roads in Papua New Guinea’s Enga, Southern Highlands and Hela provinces is expected to be more than US$12 million, according to PNG’s Works Secretary David Wereh.
Islands are in 'fight for survival'
FIJI – Fiji’s prime minister has said the Pacific island nation is in “a fight for survival” as climate change brings “almost constant” deadly cyclones to Pacific islands.
2018 Pacific Music Awards finalists named
NEW ZEALAND – Newcomers and previous winners have been announced as finalists for the 2018 Pacific Music Awards.
Magic performance by Naked Samoans
NEW ZEALAND – The magic of storytelling Pacific Island-style has seen audiences return in droves to see a popular Pacific comedy group for performances at this month’s Auckland Arts Festival.
Nauru scraps court of appeal
NAURU – It has been revealed that Nauru’s government has secretly scrapped its links to the High Court of Australia which served as Nauru’s court of appeal – impacting on the rights of asylum seekers to challenge the refusal of refugee status.
Cyclone kills at least five in Fiji
FIJI – Tropical Cyclone Josie has caused severe flooding in parts of Fiji, with four people reported dead and one missing.
Every official wants to be the 'king'
TONGA – It seems that ministers of the Tonga government and their officials are all following their own logic, writes a commentator on the Matangi Tonga news site.
Minister stands by girls sports ban
TONGA – A woman boxer will be Tonga’s flag bearer at the XXI Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia next week.