Sailors from Tahiti edged over Rarotonga, proving to be very competitive taking out first place in both the Lasers and the Optimist classes, winning the 2024 sailing challenge overall trophy.
Former Cook Islands prime minister and secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, Henry Puna, has been confirmed as the first Cook Islander appointed to the East-West Center Board of Governors based in Honolulu, Hawaii.
TONGA – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern touched down in Tonga yesterday afternoon on the third leg of her Pacific Mission.
PACIFIC – An analyst says New Zealand’s planned trade deal with the Pacific Island nations could be extremely damaging to their economies.
PACIFIC – The New Zealand government is looking at its pension rules to see if New Zealanders living in Niue and Cook Islands can access payments.
PACIFIC – Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in Beijing with Tonga’s King Tupou VI last Thursday where they agreed to further promote the strategic partnership between China and Tonga.
PACIFIC – New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern says the main goal of her delegation’s visit to Tonga this week was to see how the kingdom and other Pacific Island nations are recovering from last month’s Cyclone Gita – but Ardern and her ministers may also be worried about another force that’s hit the region – China.
An Otago student has started a campaign to save a controversial camp for second-year law students.
An anti-census campaigner in New Zealand was hoping to avoid yesterday’s compulsory national count by hiding in a TARDIS, it’s reported.
NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand’s introduction of an online census has caused consternation throughout with country, with the absence of an ethnic group choice, accessibility issues for the disabled and elderly, and fears that the nation’s most marginalised people won’t be counted.
NEW ZEALAND – Steven Joyce summed up his time in politics with, “I like to get on and get things done” – and with his resignation decision, that is what he has done.
NEW ZEALAND – Meg, a black labrador-huntaway cross, disappeared after a crash in which the car she was travelling in rolled on January 31 in Purakaunui, near Dunedin.
Samoa – Children in the village of Moata‘a spend their time playing with turtles and swimming among the mangroves – but there are fears their playground may not be around for much longer.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Authorities in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands say 11 people died during a strong earthquake aftershock on Monday morning.
SAMOA – Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has brushed off concerns about Chinese aid following a meeting with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, saying grants and loans from the Asian superpower are “all out in the open”.
SAMOA – It may have looked like a tropical island holiday, but it was anything but, reports Henry Cooke for Fairfax media.
More than 200 people gathered at Manuka Point in the Chatham Islands on Sunday to lay to rest the last remaining officer of the 28th Maori Battalion.
Dunedin’s first iwi-led community health centre is being praised as a pioneering example of Whanau Ora in action.
Otago University has cancelled its law camp after complaints of past excessive drinking, nudity and jelly wrestling.
NEW ZEALAND – Auckland iwi Ngati Whatua Orakei is taking the health of its people into its own hands by providing free universal private health insurance for its members. The iwi, which has a commercial portfolio of more than $1 billion, wants to lift Maori health statistics by improving the wellbeing of its people. Joining the scheme is free for registered members of the iwi who live in New Zealand – and all of their insurance premiums and any payable excess will be paid for by the iwi.
Australian values are neither clear nor consistent. If Australia want to make a difference in the world, its government should follow New Zealand’s lead, writes Pacific and Australian foreign policy analyst Thom Woodroofe in the Guardian.
Nude cyclists bared all in Golden Bay this weekend to promote freedom and body awareness.