More Top Stories
Top cop position advertised
7 December 2024
Police need numbers and bigger budget
9 December 2024
Niki Rattle: A call for stronger human rights protections
10 December 2024
Solid and Hazardous Waste Bill referred to Parliament committee
10 December 2024
DPM defends CIIC finance and travel policies
6 December 2024
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 Clerk sparks outrage over deep sea mining statement
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
Housing crisis hits tourism industry
27 July 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Challenging ‘rape culture’
8 July 2024
Pacific
Fears for families as Vanuatu reels from deadly earthquake
The devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu on Monday, claiming the lives of at least 14 people and injuring more than 200, has sent shockwaves around the world, with Ni-Vanuatuans residing in Rarotonga praying for the safety of their loved ones at home.
Emotional groundbreaking for Fale Niue
The Niue Community and Friends Inc, Society were overwhelmed to finally host their Groundbreaking ceremony for their Fale Niue Kūki ʻĀirani hostel in Tupapa.
Babies kept in prison with their mothers
SAMOA – The assistant commissioner of Samoa’s Prisons and Corrections Service has defended a decision to keep a mother and her two month-old-baby in prison.
Deportee refuses to leave
PAPUA NEW GUINEA– An asylum seeker detained by Australia on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island is reported to have resisted a second attempt to repatriate him to Lebanon.
Fewer Pacific migrants
NEW ZEALAND – Tighter immigration policies have led to significant falls in the number of approved migrants from Pacific countries over the last five years.
Samoa vs All Blacks likely
SAMOA – New Zealand Rugby has confirmed it is in discussions with the Samoan Union over the possibility of a test match to be played in Auckland in June.
Low key affair at medal ceremony
SAMOA – Samoa’s first Olympic medallist, Ele Opeloge, has finally been officially presented with her silver medal from the Olympics’ weightlifting competition held in Beijing nine years ago.
Samoans shocked by typhoid death
NEW ZEALAND – Distraught family members of a Samoan woman who died of typhoid last week say Auckland health officials did not tell them she had the disease.
New Caledonia detains more 'blue boats'
NEW CALEDONIA – Three more Vietnamese blue boats (pictured above) have been caught fishing illegally for beche de mer within New Caledonia’s waters.
Norfolk-Auckland air link to stay
NORFOLK ISLAND – When Air New Zealand ends its direct Auckland-Norfolk Island link in May, a company on the island will fill the void.
Hearing to confront drug use in high schools
AMERICAN SAMOA – High schools in American Samoa are confronting a growing problem of illegal drug use.
Missionaries thrown overboard by pirates
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Pirates in Papua New Guinea waters held up a boatload of people at knifepoint last week and left them adrift after stealing the boat’s engine.
666 writs give churches the jitters
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guinea’s electoral commissioner has been forced to reassure church leaders he is not asking the country’s Governor-General to evoke an apocalyptic biblical prophecy.
Detention camp film shot on cellphone
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Audiences around the world will soon have the chance to see what life is like inside one of Australia’s offshore detention centres.
Tonga casino moves closer
TONGA – A company looking to build a casino in Tonga has reportedly been given tentative approval from the government.
PNG offers dual citizenship
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa are among eight prescribed countries whose passport holders will be allowed to hold dual citizenship in Papua New Guinea.
Fiji Times offices searched
FIJI – The main office of one of Fiji’s main newspapers, the Fiji Times, was searched by police this week in connection with an ongoing sedition case.
New Zealand tree becomes social media sensation
NEW ZEALAND – A spindly, crooked tree that appears to have grown up out of a lake has become an unlikely internet star and the most photographed tree in New Zealand.
Pastor made to work like a slave in orchard
NEW ZEALAND – A Samoan father-of-five– who claims he was offered a job as a church youth pastor and then made to work “like a slave” in an orchard – has been deported.
Vanuatu workers snap up 'taste of home'
NEW ZEALAND – A Vanuatu food company giving overseas seasonal workers a taste of home is set to increase its workforce as sales rise.
Law must confront sorcery-related crime
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A Papua New Guinea church leader says strengthened laws and better law enforcement is needed to combat sorcery-related violence.
EU promoting new Pacific commitment
PACIFIC – The head of the European Union’s international development arm says its partnership with the Pacific region is at the dawn of a new era.