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
Tabuya ‘an ideal Minister for Information’, Fiji’s PM says
Fiji's Prime Minister is set to restore a backbencher to cabinet after she appeared in a private video dancing naked.
Diesel fuel aboard sunken Manawanui still unaccounted for
New Zealand Defence Force figures show more than half a million litres of diesel fuel aboard the Manawanui when it sank has not been taken off it.
Solomons' corruption a 'cancer'
SOLOMON ISLANDS – The Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has warned that seven more arrests related to corruption will be made in the coming days.
Safety measures for observers
PACIFIC – The Pacific Tuna Commission has voted to improve safety for observers who work on fishing vessels in the region.
Twin quakes rough up Solomons
Disaster preparedness sees no lives lost
Aircraft crash kills two, leaves town powerless NEW ZEALAND
- The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating an agricultural aircraft crash, which killed two men near Wairoa and knocked out power to Gisborne. The aircraft, operated by Farmers Air, hit powerlines near Tiniroto, just after 9am yesterday. About 20,000 customers in the area are without power, and it could take two days to repair the damaged lines. Police said they were working to recover the two men's bodies and were in contact with their families. The men have not yet been formally identified. Three accident investigators would fly from Wellington tonight to start combing the crash site, joining the other personnel already at the scene. The Civil Aviation Authority said its initial indications were that the aircraft hit powerlines and then crashed to the ground 2.5km further on. The aircraft was burnt out as a result of the accident. The authority said the wreckage was in inhospitable terrain, 33km northeast of Wairoa. The investigators would have to be lowered from a helicopter to reach the site. Civil Defence said six powerlines had been brought down, in an area that was difficult to access, and repairs were unlikely to start until late tomorrow. Gisborne mayor Meng Foon said the plane crash had caused significant damage to the city's electricity infrastructure. "It's broken... about four major pylons, 800m worth of powerlines." The whole city, and some rural areas, were without power, he said. Civil Defence spokesperson Sheridan Gundry said people should conserve water. "Keep flushing the toilet to a minimum, don't water the garden, and the biggest advice is to prepare and think about how you'll be cooking," she said. "We hope some people may have a gas back-up, but we have lifted the fire ban for those who need to cook in their backyards with a fire if they absolutely have to. "We obviously urge people to do this as safely as possible." She said people should keep their fridges and freezers closed as much as possible. Gisborne Hospital chief executive Jim Green said its back-up generators were running, and had the capacity to do so for five days. "We're phoning around rest homes to see what their arrangements are and the emergency plans they have in place," he said. "We're also contacting general practices to see how they're placed to provide general care for people." Civil Defence said generators were being sent to two petrol stations and some fast food restaurants to allow them to keep operating. - RNZI
English NZ's new prime minister
NEW ZEALAND - Finance Minister Bill English has been selected as the country's new leader after the ruling National Party voted him to power in a special caucus meeting.
World Tuna Day announced
PACIFIC – The United Nations General Assembly has voted today to make May 2 World Tuna Day annually.
It's fight night
Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz set to go at Vector
Bare-chested Tongan is now aiming for the Winter Olympics
TONGA – Pita Taufatofua, the sculpted taekwondo fighter who caused a sensation when he carried Tonga’s flag at the Rio Olympics earlier this year, has announced plans to go to the 2018 Winter Games as a cross-country skier.
Landowner forcibly deported
Latest Fiji expulsion ‘reeks of authoritarianism’
Travel ban
FIJI – A group representing some foreign landowners in Fiji says it’ll be mounting a campaign against travel to the country as a protest over land law changes.
Churches have become a 'burden'
FIJI – Churches have failed in their primary role in providing individuals with spiritual counselling and grounding, according to Fiji’s Ministry of iTaukei Affairs training officer Ro Aca Mataitini.
'Visa issues' led to man's death
AUSTRALIA – A sick Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island missed a flight to Port Moresby because of “visa issues”, an inquest into his death in Australia has heard.
PNG to outlaw home births
New law to make hospital births compulsory
Probation, fine for growing drugs at home
A 22-YEAR-old man drug grower was sentenced to 18 months probation and a fine of $600 at the Cook Islands High Court.
Trump alerted to kuru virus
PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A human rights group in Papua New Guinea has congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his victory – optimistic that he will correct alleged US atrocities in relation to historic disease research in the Eastern Highlands 60 years ago.
Mini Games a moving target
Ministerial changes in Vanuatu pose challenges for organisers
Two killed in ambush on MPs
Mobile police unit burns 200 homes in reprisal
Cuba has declared a week of official mourning after the death of former leader Fidel Castro
Castro: David to America’s Goliath
Victims of Kaipara disaster named
Islander families bereft after fishing trip tragedy
Man killed in fight at wedding
VANUATU – A man is dead and two homes were set on fire after a fight broke out a wedding on the island of Erakor, a small island in the Efate lagoon off Port Vila, last Friday evening.