Kiwi PM, baby doing fine

– New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, 37, gave birth to her first child, a girl, yesterday, she said in a posting on Instagram.

Ardern became New Zealand’s youngest prime minister when she took office through a coalition deal last year after an inconclusive election. She now becomes the first woman in the country’s history to give birth while in office.

“Welcome to our village wee one,” Ardern wrote on Instagram.

“Feeling very lucky to have a healthy baby girl that arrived at 4.45pm weighing 3.31kg ... We’re all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital.”

She posted a picture of herself, smiling and holding the baby in a woollen blanket, with her partner, TV presenter Clarke Gayford.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has stepped in as acting prime minister and will run the country for the next six weeks while Ardern takes maternity leave, according to an agreement they published earlier.

Ardern is one of the few elected leaders to hold office while pregnant. Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990.

The public has generally been supportive of the popular Ardern. – Reuters

Wellington

Yulin

Residents of China’s southern city of Yulin defended eating dog meat to celebrate the summer solstice yesterday, as animal rights activists seek new ways to pressure organisers to cancel the yearly festival.

The 10-day event, dubbed the lychee and dog meat festival by residents, has become a lightning rod for dog lovers, who every year confront those who buy, sell and eat canines.

In recent years, animal rights activists have raided slaughterhouses