Tag - cook-islands

 
 

COOK ISLANDS

Locals in the Cook Islands are cynical about the growing attention fixed on their small country, with many saying they don't necessarily trust either superpower to do the right thing by them.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 19, 2024
U.S.-China fight for one Pacific nation mirrors a regional battle
The success of Beijing’s strategy in the Pacific was reinforced just this week when Nauru became the latest island nation to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event in Pyongyang. Smuggling efforts could be directly linked to the North's military ambitions, analysts have said.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 8, 2023
North Korean smugglers disguised under Pacific island flags
With strict sanctions limiting Pyongyang's ability to import fuel, smugglers have adopted increasingly creative methods.
A member of the team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  checks fish samples at Hisanohama Port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, on Oct. 19.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2023
Pacific island nations express concern over Fukushima water release
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown noted "the significance of potential threats of contamination to the health and security of the blue Pacific."
Pacific Island Forum Secretary General Henry Puna
WORLD / Politics
Sep 19, 2023
Pacific island nations to hold second summit with Biden next week
Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum said the region had gone from a period of neglect to one of strategic interest, competition and "manipulation."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
Cook Islands paradise isn't plain sailing for all
They span an area the size of western Europe, but the Cook Islands may seem like the ends of the Earth when viewed from Japan — an 11-hour flight away south to New Zealand, followed by a four-hour "local hop" to the capital, Avarua, on the main island of Rarotonga.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 28, 2013
A Pacific idyll where some go to escape, others to connect
A woman from western Japan, who calls herself "Amy," couldn't find paradise in Thailand, Cuba, Brazil or French Polynesia, so with the last of her $300 savings she bought a one-way ticket from Tahiti to Rarotonga. Then, claiming to be penniless, she walked from the airport to the police station and asked them to shelter her.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on