Smartie to showcase Pacific innovation at Europe’s largest tech expo in France

Smartie founder, Brett Baudinet – 25041608 Cook Islands-based tech company Smartie has been selected as one of only nine-start-up tech companies from across the Pacific to attend Viva Technology 2025 – Europe’s largest start-up and tech expo,...

Economist cautions Cook Islands amid US$467M net benefit findings

Professor Christopher Flemming - 24110119 Seabed mining may not yield the bonanza some are counting on, according to some commentators speaking at this week’s Deep Ocean Symposium. An Australian economist, Professor Christopher Flemming has...

Green climate fund direct access accreditation a milestone: Bank of the Cook Islands

UNSW Sydney has received a $25.9 million (US$16.98 million) donation from the Swire Group. The funds will allow Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney to screen thousands of women in seven Pacific countries for cervical cancer. UNSW Sydney has received...

Ticking Time Bomb: Beautiful Greek island teeming with tourists sits on volcanoes; scientists race to predict next eruption date

Santorini Island volcano eruption: Santorini, a tourist paradise in Greece, was created centuries ago by a volcanic eruption. Now, it is feared that another such underwater volcanic eruption could destroy it. Scientists have rushed to the island,...

Ship docks, scientists peer into waves, find ‘treasure’ in Pacific Ocean abyss

In 2024, a group of researchers discovered a rocky structure approximately 60 kilometers from Rarotonga Island, one of the 15 Cook Islands located in the South Pacific. Taking advantage of a situation where the research vessel M/V Anuanua Moana...

Researcher: Hybrid tactics likely spreading from Taiwan Strait to the Baltic Sea

Over the past 18 months, several pipelines and electricity and internet cables have been damaged in the Baltic Sea mostly connecting Finland with other countries in the region such as Estonia, Sweden and Germany. The most recent was on Christmas...

Pacific entrepreneurs honoured at awards for innovation, resilience

Pacific entrepreneurs were honoured at the 2025 Pacific Business Trust (PBT) Awards during a lavish event in Auckland on Wednesday. Auckland-based TROW Group took out the Frances Hartnell Supreme Award for its sustainable approach to demolition,...

PH drops to 79th place in global passport ranking

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine passport dropped to 79th place in the 2025 Henley Passport Index (HPI), six slots lower from last year's 73rd ranking The Philippines tied with Sierra Leone for the 79th place out of 199 passports reviewed for...

‘One year it could be bushfires and another year flood’ – what drew architect James Davidson to “unsexy” resilience work

Architect James Davidson managed the restoration of the Lamb House, now known as Home, cited as nationally significant by the Australian Institute of Architects. It was part of his radical switch from doing high end work for rich clients to...

Researcher: Finland's detention of Eagle S oil tanker sets legal precedent

The Finnish authorities' swift detention of a ship suspected of damaging cables in the Gulf of Finland sets a precedent that could clarify maritime law in similar cases, maritime law expert Alexander Lott believes. The Finnish authorities acted...

"Veterinary Orthopedic Guardian": European Veterinary Surgeon Dr. Hannah Partners With VEC Hong Kong

Bringing Extensive European Experience to Lead Advanced Orthopaedic Surgeries and Elevate Pet Surgical Care HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 16 October 2025 - Veterinary Emergency Centre, Hong Kong (VEC) today announces the enhancement of...

Celebrities: Death in September 2025

Dhimitër Anagnosti, 89, Albanian film director (The Return of the Dead Army, Përralle Nga e Kaluara) and politician, minister of culture (1992–1994) and MP (1991–1996). Jimmy Bone, 75, Scottish football player (Partick Thistle, St Mirren) and...

NZ official says Pacific threatened

New Zealand Minister for Defence Judith Collins yesterday warned in an interview that small countries in the South Pacific face growing pressure from great-power competition for their rare minerals and fisheries wealth, and that more action was...

Filipino teacher brings nine yearsof tech expertise to local students

Titikaveka College teacher Maria Bolanio, left, with students Maliana Matamusuka and Ngateina Taoke. TALAIA MIKA/25032015/25032016 A Filipino teacher in the Cook Islands brought her nine years of experience to enhance her students’ skills,...

Father shares traditions with daughter

WITH over 13 years of experience in traditional voyaging, Iva Nancy Vunikura was honoured to assume the title of matua, a role that entails mentorship and guidance, especially to the young crew on board the Uto Ni Yalo. The voyage from Fiji to the...

Solomon Islanders Call for Sustainable, Community-Driven Tourism

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), in partnership with Tourism Solomons (TSO) and Solomon Islands Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT), has released the results of the 2024 Community Attitude Survey (CAS)—the first nationwide study of its...

White House weighs executive order to fast-track deep-sea mining, sources say – Mining Engineering Online

The White House is weighing an executive order that would fast-track permitting for deep-sea mining in international waters and let mining companies bypass a United Nations-backed review process, according to two sources with direct knowledge of...

New Zealand official says Pacific nations threatened by great power contest over deep sea minerals

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s defense minister warned in an interview that small countries in the South Pacific face growing pressure from great power competition for their rare minerals and fisheries wealth, and that more action...

Capstone Unveils WQ Hotel Wellington – A fresh new bleisure brand for the capital

A new chapter in Wellington hospitality begins tomorrow as the city’s Atura Hotel officially becomes the WQ Hotel (Wellington Quarter Hotel). This event marks the property’s transformation under Capstone Hotel Management and the introduction of a...

When Does Coral Have Sex? Citizen Scientists Snorkel To Find Out

Snorkelers observe coral spawning in French Polynesia.Courtesy of Association Tama no te tairoto © Pauline Legrand I dove off the back of our sailboat into the warm waters of the South Pacific just after sunrise. My husband and 10 year-old son...