Cook Islands News - Breaking news, latest news & world news online

Top Headlines

Culture

Over 900 Pa Enua residents journey to Rarotonga for 60th self-governance celebrations

Over 900 Cook Islanders are heading to Rarotonga from the Pa Enua for the 2025 Te Maeva Nui cultural festival and the 60th year of self-governance, to be held from July 25 to August 4.

Block spraying in preparation for Te Maeva Nui celebrations

Te Marae Ora (TMO) Ministry of Health has begun block spraying island hostels in Avarua and public gathering areas to prevent any form of dengue mosquito breeding sites.

New cyclone shelters eyed for northern Cook Islands

The Cook Islands Investment Corporation (CIIC) is considering the construction of two extra cyclone shelters for the Northern Group.

Letter: ‘People have the right to their money’

Dear Editor, And there we have it. In black and white. From the horses’ mouth. Unsaid since the Cook Islands Superannuation fund was established. But now the tide has gone out and guess who is swimming naked?

Premium content

Culture

New Zealand’s ‘highest office’ to attend Cook Islands’ milestone 60th anniversary

New Zealand will send its Governor-General to the Cook Islands’ 60th Constitution Day celebrations next month, as talks between the two countries to resolve the diplomatic rift stemming from the Cook Islands’ agreements with China continue.

Premium content

Health

Children diagnosed with diabetes in Cook Islands

A six-year-old child has become the youngest person to be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the Cook Islands, and a 10-year-old with type 2 highlighting a growing public health crisis and the urgent need to address the country’s high rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

National

Crime

Police patrol boat Te Kukupa II returns home

Local

Funding crucial as Te Are Manu aims for regular Pa Enua vet visits

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Keyboard warriors

Business

Raromart MEGA Te Maeva Nui sales

Business

Autism Cook Islands cooks up confidence and skills in the kitchen

Last Thursday, Autism Cook Islands (ACI) held a double celebration, marking the end of their last cooking session before the Term 2 break.

Culture

Cook Islands warriors shine at Tu’aro Mā’ohi Traditional Games

The Cook Islands is proudly represented at the 2025 Heiva Tu'aro Mā'ohi traditional sports games in Tahiti, joining more than 800 athletes from around the Pacific for the vibrant cultural event.

Sports

Baudinet aims for historic Davis Cup doubles record

Cook Islands tennis veteran Brett Baudinet is set to compete in his 21st Davis Cup, aiming for a historic world record in doubles wins while balancing his business ventures, all to inspire the next generation of athletes from his small island nation.

Football

Exciting start to the 2025 Rarotonga Round Cup Season

Round 1 of the 2025 Rarotonga Round Cup kicked off in style, delivering high-octane football action across all divisions. Fans were treated to an exciting weekend of rivalries, standout performances and dramatic twists that set the tone for what promises to be an entertaining season ahead.

Football

Fearless Avatiu at Raro round 1 football season

Avatiu will field a young and fearless side, full of promising talent from their U18 team at today’s round one of the 2025 Rarotonga Football Season as they face Puaikura at the CIFA Complex.

Rugby Union

Panthers hosts Bears on home ground

Arorangi Bears will be facing Tupapa Panthers for their first 2025 Rarotonga Club Rugby Union 15s season today.

Football

Matavera-Ngatangiia faces Nikao-Sokattak in season opener

The excitement continues this week as Round One of the 2025 Rarotonga Football Season rolls into its midweek matchups, featuring Matavera-Ngatangiia FC and Nikao-Sokattak FC going head-to-head across multiple divisions.

Opinion

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Keyboard warriors

Dear Editor, I see a lot of debate around “keyboard warriors” lately, some see them as all talk, no action, I’m a self-confessed keyboard warrior and damn proud as. But I’d suggest a different lens, some of our most strategic, intelligent, and future-ready thinkers aren’t on the ground handing out sausages, they’re reading, coding, analysing, writing policy, or connecting with the world online.

Letters to the Editor

Letter: ‘People have the right to their money’

Editorials

Some Reflections on the Sixtieth Birthday of the Cook Islands Constitution

Dr Alex Frame grew up in 1950s Tahiti where his father was a flying boat pilot in the days before landplanes, attending the old Arue School and Collège Paul Gauguin in Papeete.

Editorials

Ruta Mave: ‘Fit, healthy, active, proud nation’ 60 years ago

There is a lot of talk about the New Zealand China thing right now but what no one is talking about is the elephant in the room, writes Ruta Mave.

Letters to the Editor

Letter: Our relationship with New Zealand

Dear Editor, A few people have asked me what our position is in relation to recent correspondence and news items about our relationship with New Zealand. From my recollection, we (Cook Islands) is not a country.

Editorials

Thomas Wynne: Voices from the taro patch

As a columnist, my inbox and Facebook Messenger are often full of people expressing their thoughts, disagreements, agreements, or sharing other ideas, writes Thomas Tarurongo Wynne.

Editorials

Te Ipukarea Society: Meet Tumu the pink octopus

Aere mai tātou on Saturday 19 July from 2pm at Aroʻa Beach (next to the Rarotongan Hotel) for a fun, family beach day organised by Ocean Ancestors—a collective of individuals, NGOs, and businesses united by a shared passion for protecting the ocean.

Features

Premium content

Features

‘NCD the silent killer’: Cheap sugary drinks danger

Cook Islands residents need to realise that the whole country, ‘is saturated in cheap sugary, unhealthy sugary drinks’ and these, ‘are directly linked with tooth decay, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer’, says a public health specialist who conducted a comprehensive review of the country’s NCDs legislation.

Entertainment

Vaka Puaikura welcomes first-time performers for Te Maeva Nui 2025

Fifteen-year-old Maraea Wichman is one of the youngest dancers at team Arorangi’s Vaka Puaikura, marking her first year in participating in Te Maeva Nui.

Art

100% Wale: Deep powerful cultural presence

This year’s Te Maeva Nui celebrations will be defined by a powerful cultural presence from the islands of Pukapuka and Nassau, who are preparing to make a grand entrance in Rarotonga, bringing with them the heart and soul of their homeland.

Business

Te Maeva Nui demand keeps seamstress busy

With the 2025 Te Maeva Nui cultural festival just around the corner, the sewing machine at Are Tui Kakau (The Sewing House) hasn’t stopped, and seamstress Evelyn O. Gonzales is feeling the pressure more than ever.

Art

Reo Māori Week celebrations end on a high note despite low turnout

Te Epetoma o te Reo Kūki ‘Āirani Māori – Cook Islands Māori Language Week – came to a lively close on Thursday, with spirited Tarere Imene Akateni (string band competition) performances lighting up the stage at Te Are Kariori Nui.

Premium content

Features

A name, a promise, a reunion: How a 1984 encounter led to a lasting bond

A New Zealand couple successfully reconnected with an Aitutaki family on social media, whom they befriended 40 years ago and whose baby inspired the name of their daughter, ahead of their planned September visit to the Cook Islands.