Domestic Shipping & Pa Enua Services: MV Tuitui Moana has been hailed as a “lifeline” delivering on the Cook Islands Domestic Shipping Roadmap promise for the Pa Enua, with Prime Minister Mark Brown and China’s ambassador featuring in coverage. Banking Reliability & Cyber Risk: Customers of a regional bank in the Cook Islands report online banking lockouts and security vulnerabilities after a manual password reset error; the bank says funds are safe, but the outage has sparked anger. Regional Governance & Security: Cook Islands PM Mark Brown says the Pacific needs action, not more promises, as Realm leaders (Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and New Zealand) meet in Auckland ahead of the Palau Pacific Islands Forum summit. Deep-sea Mining & Sovereignty: A new report warns Pacific governments, including the Cook Islands, could face investor-state lawsuits if they tighten or reverse deep-sea mining rules, creating a “chilling effect” on environmental protections. Local Business Support: The BTIB’s free Mangaia business workshop returns in September (Sept 15–17), focusing on soft loans, UCI branding, business planning, costing/pricing, forecasting and bookkeeping. Politics & Parliament: Mark Brown is set to return as Cook Islands PM after the 2026 election, with the Cook Islands Party winning 13 seats and support from six independents boosting his majority. Arts Funding Shock: Pacific arts organisation Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust says it has lost its main funding source beyond 2026, calling the decision “deeply disappointing.”