More Top Stories
‘Nothing to worry about’: Prime Minister Brown on China agreement
16 February 2025
‘Serious questions’: Opposition challenges China partnership
15 February 2025
No-confidence motion against PM and his Cabinet faces delays
15 February 2025
Ruta Mave: People’s Republic of China red flag
10 February 2025
No debt in China deal
8 February 2025
Thomas Wynne: Haka with the taniwha or dance with the dragon?
8 February 2025
‘Paedophile’ gets 13 years in prison
22 January 2025
Thomas Wynne: Where were our leaders while children suffered?
25 January 2025
$541.7m tourism earnings
25 January 2025
Cook Islands passport proposal
6 January 2025
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
Anxiety on the rise: Cook Islands faces mental health challenge
7 September 2024
MCI rejects ‘dark fleet’ label
3 August 2024
Pacific
NZ looks forward to talks with Cook Islands govt
New Zealand has indicated to the Cook Islands Government that they are looking forward to discussions between relevant officials on their concerns related to the China / Cook Islands agreement.
Cook Islands seeking New Zealand expertise for Sovereign Wealth Fund
The Cook Islands government has taken further steps towards establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), with officials currently in New Zealand holding discussions with financial experts, Prime Minister Mark Brown told Parliament this week.
Refugee death 'hard to believe'
Medical facilities on Manus Island need attention
Deluge delivers worst flooding in decades
FIJI – Rakiraki Town residents have dubbed the recent flooding as the worst in more than a decade.
Fijians facing a muddy Christmas
FIJI – Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is calling on every Fijian to share the Christmas spirit through helping those that are in need and those that were affected by Tropical Cyclone Winston and this week’s severe flooding from tropical depression TD04F.
Airliner hijackers surrender
MALTA – The hijacking of a Libyan plane has ended peacefully after armed men who seized control surrendered in Malta.
Ebola vaccine being fast tracked
Trials in West Africa prove 100 per cent effective
Berlin attacker shot dead
GERMANY – The Berlin market attacker, Anis Amri, has been shot dead by police in Milan.
Tonga welcomes 2000 Chinese tourists on board cruise ship
TONGA – Around 2000 Chinese tourists visited Nuku‘alofa on Friday last week on the Italian cruise ship Costa Atlantica, which began its journey from China.
Fiji land laws imposed on foreign owners
FIJI – A Fiji economics professor says the imposition of retrospective laws on foreign landowners sends a signal that Fiji is not a safe place to invest.
Earthquake aid co-ordination needed
SOLOMON ISLANDS – Shelter, health and education are the priority areas for authorities responding to recent quakes in Solomon Islands.
Seismic volatility a part of life in PNG
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – There have been no reports of significant damage or casualties from a big earthquake in Papua New Guinea on Saturday night.
Stranded on flooded river island
FIJI – About 1000 villagers stranded on their island in Fiji’s Rewa river delta say they are running out of food after six days of constant rain and rising floodwaters. The villagers said the river water had flooded homes, crops were under water and they have no means to get to their jobs in nearby Nausori and Suva. Bale Bulimaivale of Muana Village on Toga Island said the community was running out of food and sanitary supplies. “People are worried because they might lose their job, their security and their safety. The livestock, people’s lives are all in danger because the water levels continues to rise. It has not receded yet.” The three villages on Toga Island are connected to the mainland via a culvert which is now flooded, and there is no boat to get out. “It’s been hard for us. The main crops like cassava and yam are under water.” She said the villagers were managing with the few basic items they have. “We were caught off guard and now we don’t have any transport to buy food.” The villagers could move to the double-storey village hall, but were busy securing their homes and livestock, Bulimaivale said. She had not heard of any help coming yet but she said she thought they could hold out for another three days. The government said assessment teams were being deployed across Fiji to ascertain the extent of damage and the government had urged people along the banks of the Rewa River to move to higher ground. The National Disaster Management Office’s Akapusi Tuifagalele said until the weather cleared, it was still too early to ascertain the full extent of damage. “But by looking at things it seems that, you know, we are not as bad as what has happened during Winston or any other disaster where it cost us millions of dollars, but it’s more of a wait and see.” The flooding and landslides caused extensive damage to infrastructure and crops, particularly in the northern and central areas and parts of the western divisions. The worst-affected towns were Nausori, Rakiraki, Ba, and the northern island of Qamea, where a slip hit houses, a school and a health centre. On Viti Levu, parts of the main Kings and Queens roads were closed, and power and water supplies had been affected in some areas. - RNZI
Flooding chaos continues in Fiji
Opposition calls for disaster zone declarations
School's $700,000 trip to Hawai'i questioned by audit office
NEW ZEALAND –An audit has questioned a NZ$700,000 trip to Hawai‘i by an entire New Zealand school.
Landslide takes house, almost takes wife
FIJI – A Fijian man defied danger and bravely pulled his wife to safety as a landslide destroyed their house on Thursday.
River swim claims life of young Fijian
FIJI – Simione Naduva remembers the hour after 10.00am on Tuesday as the most terrifying and chaotic of his young life.
Christmas crayfish tails selling for $100
AUSTRALIA – Overindulgence is in keeping with many Christmas celebrations, but eye-popping retail prices for lobster in Australia could mean it is a luxury that is out of reach for many people this festive season.
Fiji's sevens campaign yet to start
FIJI – Fiji’s interim-sevens coach has sent out a warning to the world series teams, saying Fiji may have lost out on titles in Dubai and Cape Town but there is plenty of opportunity to contend for a third consecutive series title.
Job to 'tell truth' about West Papua
NEW ZEALAND – The man selected by Indonesia’s government as its new ambassador to New Zealand says it’s his mission to relay accurate information about West Papua.
Flooding widespread across Fiji
TD04F brings rain, flooding and landslides
China building industrial complex in PNG
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – China has agreed to spend nearly $US4 billion to build a giant industrial park in Papua New Guinea.