PHOTO: STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERItems stolen during burglaries are largely predictable — jewellery, electronics, alcohol. They are usually not the fossilised bone of an extinct flightless bird. A couple of weeks later, Barnes was back, again using his sleeves to avoid leaving fingerprints at the crime scene. A minute later, CCTV showed him leave carrying a fossilised moa thigh bone. In a letter to the court, Barnes said he was "really sorry" for his actions, but Judge David Robinson questioned his remorse.

PHOTO: CRAIG BAXTERFirst Chris Rattue, now Stephen Jones. "Is it all right for Stephen Jones to belittle people? "Once again, Stephen Jones is struggling to write anything positive, and at the risk of calling him a name ... whatever he writes doesn't particularly bother me." "The haka has long been partly bonkers," Jones wrote in his column for The Times. ■ Hayden Meikle met Stephen Jones once.

Outgoing Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese addresses a roadshow meeting in Mosgiel in October last year. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHAlliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese is leaving after nearly three years in the role, temporarily replaced by his Irish counterpart. In a statement yesterday, Alliance said Dawn Meats group chief executive Niall Browne had been appointed Alliance’s acting chief executive. Mr Wiese has been with Alliance for eight years and was previously the co-operative’s general manager processing, before being appointed interim chief executive after the departure of David Surveyor and then later confirmed in the role. Mr Wiese said he had delivered all his goals for the company and now was the right time to leave.

Butcheries are quite often cheaper than supermarkets, and your specialist grocery stores are quite often cheaper than supermarkets. This effectively adopts the original supermarket model and Vickery believes integrity will be the key to success. I don’t think people are getting a fair deal, or people don’t believe they’re getting a fair deal with the supermarket. So, if you come out and you promise fairness, then it’s up to us to live up to that promise. Shane Vickery and his son Ethan prepare to open independent Christchurch supermarket Kai Co in the Northwood Supa Centre.

Sam Rowsell, programme manager at Lightyears Solar, and acting chief executive of MainPower, Damien Whiffen, at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new solar farm on Thongcaster Rd. PHOTO: SUPPLIEDWork has officially started on MainPower's new solar farm in North Canterbury. MainPower acting chief executive says the Thongcaster Rd site will be the first solar farm on the MainPower network. The MainPower board approved its construction and received the required consents for a 7.3MW solar farm on a 10-hectare site at Thongcaster Rd earlier this year. ‘‘We have built several solar farms in the area already and are close to completion on a 5 MW solar farm in Swannanoa, which is also on MainPower’s network.’’A site blessing and ground breaking ceremony was held to officially start construction of MainPower’s Thongcaster Road solar farm.

The spear-fisherman who discovered a number of dead fish near Great Barrier Island says there needs to be tighter limits for commercial and recreational fishing. A video posted to social media shows dead fish floating on top of the water. The spear-fisherman who took the video, Darren Shields, said it's not the first time he had seen something like that. Shields wanted to see a limit to fish added to the quota system. "Illegal discarding of fish from commercial vessels is relatively rare because of the prevalence of on-board cameras on many vessels and because we are able to track the movements of vessels in near real time.

Kazu told the Herald ransom demands were pitched at levels to encourage payment. The avatar used by hacker Kazu, taken from the computer game Cry of Fear. But it has admitted – and Kazu confirmed to the Herald – the breach occurred in the “health documents” section of its website. “The company reacted quickly to the data breach and did its best to calm users. Those hacks offered sample documents and claimed to have obtained health records, welfare records and – in the case of a Southeast Asian nation – its entire police database.

PHOTO: ODT FILESThe Ministry of Education has made minor tweaks to Queenstown school bus services from term 2 this year. Ms Dawe said the council expected to receive requests from schools not on public bus routes to redesign routes or introduce special school bus services. Wakatipu High School principal Oded Nathan said the ministry had recognised the council did not have the capacity to cope with the increased demand if it cut most of the school bus routes. Queenstown Primary School principal Fiona Cavanagh said he school would lose the Sunshine Bay/Fernhill bus route, but the Arthurs Point school bus route, which was shared with St Joseph’s School, would continue. She was also pushing for public buses carrying students to make drop-offs and pick-ups outside her school.

Photo: ReutersHeavy snowfall disrupted air, road and rail travel in France and the Netherlands, as hundreds of flights were cancelled in the countries' capitals, while trains around Amsterdam came to a standstill and bus services in Paris were suspended. Amsterdam Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest hubs, cancelled about 700 flights on Monday (local time) as the airport closed to incoming traffic until 1200GMT due to the snow, a spokesperson said. State-owned RATP, which operates Paris' public transportation, said it cancelled dozens of bus lines. AMSTERDAM TRAINS AT A STANDSTILLDutch railway company NS said no trains were operating in the region around Amsterdam and public transport was severely affected in many places. Ice and snow also caused many delays and accidents on the roads, even as authorities advised people to stay at home whenever possible.

Photo: RNZFewer than half of New Zealand's incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs) have registered under new legislation, with the deadline just 13 weeks away. The New Zealand Amateur Sport Association said Companies Office data showed just under half of the around 7000 ICSOs were registered under the 2022 Incorporated Societies Act. Before re-registering, clubs have to rewrite their constitutions and include additional procedures like dispute resolution processes and submit it with the Registrar of Incorporated Societies. The registrar will reject it if it is non-compliant and clubs would have to start over again. Lawn and indoor bowls had achieved the greatest compliance, with around three-quarters of all clubs registered.

Police are appealing for information on the whereabouts of Caleb Lynn. Photo: NZ PolicePolice say a man wanted for aggravated robbery is thought to be in Dunedin, and they are urging people not to approach him. Police this evening said they were appealing for information on the whereabouts of Caleb Lynn, who is wanted over aggravated robbery and other offences. "Lynn is avoiding arrest and anyone who sees him is urged not to approach and call 111 immediately." They said he was thought to be in Dunedin and was easily recognisable owing to a distinctive ‘$’ tattoo on one side of his face and lettering tattooed on the other side.

Coroner Michael Robb ruled the death was self-inflicted, though the legal threshold for suicide was not met. “This avoidable death represents an example of the dangers of open internet access,” Robb said, using the case to highlight concerns around unrestricted online exposure for young people, Nadine Roberts of Stuff has reported. When he did not return that evening, a search was launched, as reported by Nadine Roberts of Stuff. Instead, the coroner identified a direct correlation between the teenager’s actions and a pattern of disturbing internet searches. “In reviewing (the teenager’s) internet searches, the officer identified multiple searches for pornography in connection with various acts of bondage or violence, extending to torture, and death,” as quoted by Stuff.

Kevin Marlow with the group of stakeholders who signed an MOU late last year. PHOTO: GUY WILLIAMSIt will cost $40 for a car, truck or motorcycle to head in to a historic South Island goldmining ghost town from the end of this month - although Queenstown-Lakes residents can get an annual pass for $100. After a stakeholders’ meeting more than a year and a-half ago, Queenstown 4WD enthusiast Kevin Marlow was appointed by the Mahu Whenua Tracks Advisory Group to find a solution. The solution is a gateway, about 3km from Arrowtown, which vehicle users can pass through with a permit bought online. The Mahu Whenua Tracks Advisory Group is made of of representatives from the Shotover 4WD Club, Queenstown Trails Trust, Arrowtown Village Association, Queenstown’s council and pastoral lessee Soho Property Ltd.

EB Games is proposing to close its New Zealand stores. "This proposal includes the closure of all remaining EB Games New Zealand stores and the New Zealand Distribution Centre. EB Games is an Australian-based video game and pop culture merchandise retailer, owned by GameStop since 2005. It's uncertain how many jobs would be lost if the proposal went through and EB Games closed all its New Zealand stores. The company said there may be opportunities for New Zealand employees to relocate and take up work in the Australian EB Games operations.

That is deputy mayor Brendan Shefford’s reaction to Selwyn being folded into a super city with Christchurch and the Waimakariri District. The idea was refloated by Christchurch City Council staff in a recent briefing to city councillors. We are also open to exploring a greater Christchurch unitary model (super city), but have not considered the boundaries of a super city." The idea of a super city is not new, with it last gaining traction from in 2023. She said a lot of community voice was lost in the transition to a super city.