Pilot reveals cruel twist that ended career

Brent Meredith was born to fly. Having gotten his pilot’s licence at 16, he went on to be one of the first pilots for Virgin’s Australian arm Virgin Blue – later renamed Virgin Australia. Captain Meredith would be at the controls for 20 years,...

New Zealand’s concerns about China’s Pacific motivations grow

nder the Radar is a weekly special series bringing you compelling, under–the–radar stories from around the world, one region at a time. This week in SE Asia and Oceania, New Zealand suspends funding to the Cook Islands after its agreement with...

Explainer: What is the Pacific Island Forum and why should Māori care?

This week the 54th meeting is being hosted in the Solomon Islands and in two years’ time, Aotearoa will once again play host for the 56th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting in 2027. With deep cultural and ancestral ties to the Pacific, issues...

Abandoned catamaran found on Nassau belongs to Olympic sailor

The catamaran, Luna Bay II, was discovered washed up on Nassau beach on July 30 by the island’s environment officers. Facebook (Aizen Wuatai)/25082707/ 25082708 Cook Islands Ministry of Transport has solved the mystery surrounding a catamaran that...

PEZ Rides ROUVY: Real Routes, AR Challenges, and Winter Training Motivation

As indoor cycling season approaches, the PEZ crew has been putting ROUVY to the test — and it’s clear this platform offers a fresh alternative to enhance indoor cycling sessions letting you ride real routes from your own pain cave. ROUVY blends...

Warriors coach takes charge of Moana

Ron Griffiths coached Newcastle to back-to-back NRLW premierships in 2022 and 2023. ©Gregg Porteous/NRL Photos/25082713 Ronald Griffiths, the New Zealand Warriors NRLW coach, will take charge of the Cook Islands Moana in the Pacific Cup against...

Marshall Islands leader demands apology from UN for allowing nuke tests in the Pacific nation

Leaders of the Marshall Islands and Kiribati have pressed world leaders to achieve a nuclear-free Pacific in separate remarks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Marshall Islands President Dr. Hilda Heine also called on the...

Cocobots launch $30k campaign for Robotics Challenge in Panama

The Cook Islands’ youth robotics team, the Cocobots, is preparing to compete on the world stage at the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge in Panama City, October 27 – November 1, 2025. Pictured (from left): Lathaniel Rau Atuatika, Elsie Epi,...

Youth advocates for Ocean peace

Communities in the region have been urged to work together to foster peace, increase awareness and make resources available to build resilience against climate change. This was highlighted by Ms. Josie-Ann Ashley from the Solomon Islands National...

Coach Daley praises players’ growth post-World Netball Youth Cup

DALEY... seeing them compete against other nations that have done their investments in netball, I am extremely proud of them The Young Sunshine Girls are set to touch down in Jamaica on Wednesday, October 1, and there’s a palpable sense of pride...

A test of unity: Can the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting keep the family together

Pacific leaders will gather in Honiara for big declarations on security and climate, but regional fragmentation poses a pressing challenge Chinese military activity in the Pacific has reached new levels in the past year. A PLA Navy task group...

NES staff enhance GIS skills

The hands-on workshop built skills in ArcGIS tools for mapping, data collection, and analysis, strengthening capacity for environmental monitoring, disaster risk reduction, and evidence-based decision-making across the Cook Islands.25052402 Staff...

From rice paddies to coral reefs: 9 tropical island getaways within 10 hours of Australia

Our editors handpick everything we recommend. We may receive revenue for sharing this content or when you shop through our links. Read more here If time feels like a luxury, the cure is island time: that unhurried rhythm where schedules dissolve...

Marine spatial planning 

For the Cook Islands, these Marine Spatial Planning methods offer valuable insights.25082403 The Cook Islands joined 21 other countries for a two-week Training Seminar on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Blue Economic Development, held in Xiamen...

Pacific Nations Split on Deep-Sea Mining as US Pushes to Curb China’s Critical Minerals Dominance

A photo taken on June 12, 2025, on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, shows polymetallic nodules, bulbous lumps of rock that are rich in battery metals such as cobalt and nickel which carpet huge tracts of Pacific Ocean seabed. WILLIAM WEST/AFP via...

Childhood obesity triples, overtakes underweight globally: UNICEF

Globally, obesity is likely now more prevalent among school-aged children and adolescents than being underweight, according to a new report from UNICEF, which blamed increasingly unhealthy food environments worldwide for the shift. The U.N....

Police Commissioner Joseph joins Pacific Chiefs

Commissioner Teokotai Joseph amongst Pacific chiefs of police at the PCIP annual meeting in Waitangi New Zealand – 25082217, 25082218, 25082219 Cook Islands Police Commissioner Teokotai Joseph joined other Pacific chiefs of police at the 52nd...

Uto sailors offer prayers

AS Pacific leaders meet in Honiara for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum, climate action is high on the agenda. On Wednesday, there will be a treaty signing ceremony to establish the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF). It’s a new regional fund that...

Seabed Mining Under the Microscope: A Techno-Economic Reality Check

Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with a global expert on minerals processing and battery minerals, Lyle Trytten. We were closing out an engagement to do a...

More children now obese than underweight for first time ever

Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...