New Zealand PM gives birth to baby girl
Wellington, June 21 : New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave birth to a baby girl on Thursday, the first world leader in nearly 30 years to have a child while in office.
In a post on her official Instagram account, Ardern said the baby arrived at 4.45 p.m. and weighed 3.31 kg, CNN reported.
"Thank you so much for your best wishes and your kindness. We're all doing really well thanks to the wonderful team at Auckland City Hospital," she said in her post.
Ardern, 37, was admitted to the hospital earlier in the day. Her expected due date had been June 17.
She was elected in October and had announced her pregnancy in January via Instagram.
"Clarke and I are really excited that in June our team will expand from two to three, and that we'll be joining the many parents out there who wear two hats," Ardern said in the post.
Excitement and anticipation had been building over the last few days, with many media outlets setting up live blogs to track the latest developments.
Jessie Chiang, a New Zealand Radio reporter, tweeted that she and other journalists had been at the hospital since 6 a.m. "No baby yet...but they are feeding the media," she wrote.
Another outlet even put together a baby-themed playlist to "help bring her bub into the world".
New Zealanders also speculated over the baby's gender and name. One Twitter user joked on Thursday: "If it's a boy I'm going with Winston Michael Joseph Peter Norman David David David Phillip Andrew Gayford Ardern."
However, the baby has a higher chance of being named Oliver or Jack -- the two most common baby boy names of 2017. If it's a girl, it might be Charlotte or Harper, the most common girl names, the CNN said.
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Cong cites Kangana's purported remarks to accuse BJP of wanting to bring back repealed farm laws
New Delhi, Sep 24: The Congress on Tuesday cited BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's purported remarks on farm laws to allege that the ruling party was making efforts to bring back the three laws that were repealed in 2021, and asserted that Haryana will give a befitting reply to it.
The Congress shared on X an undated video of Ranaut in which she is purportedly saying in Hindi, "Farm laws that have been repealed should be brought back. I think this may get controversial. The laws in farmers' interest be brought back. Farmers should themselves demand this (to bring farm laws back) so that there is no hindrance to their prosperity.
"Farmers are a pillar of strength in India's progress. Only in some states, they had objected to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers."
In a post in Hindi along with the video, the Congress said, "The three black laws imposed on farmers should be brought back: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has said this. More than 750 farmers of the country were martyred, only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn."
Now BJP MPs are planning to bring back these laws, the Congress alleged.
"The Congress is with the farmers. These black laws will never return, no matter how hard Narendra Modi and his MPs try," the opposition party said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also shared the video of Ranaut on X and said, "'All three farm laws should be brought back': BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. More than 750 farmers were martyred while protesting against the three black farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back."
"We will never let that happen. Haryana will answer first," she said in an apparent reference to the assembly polls in Haryana.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also shared the video on X and said it was the BJP's "real thinking".
"How many times will you deceive the farmers, you two-faced people?" Khera said in a post in Hindi.
The three laws -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- were repealed in November 2021.
The farmers' protest started at the fag-end of November 2020 and ended after Parliament repealed the three laws. The legislations came into force in June 2020 and were repealed in November 2021.
“तीनों किसान क़ानून वापस लाये जाने चाहिए” : BJP MP कंगना रनौत
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) September 24, 2024
जिन तीन काले किसान विरोधी क़ानूनों की मुख़ालिफ़त करते 750 से ज़्यादा किसान शहीद हो गए
उनको दोबारा से लाने की कोशिश की जा रही है. हम ऐसा कभी नहीं होने देंगे
सबसे पहला जवाब हरियाणा देगा pic.twitter.com/kRAkRuE2cc
