New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said those are the things she has obsessed over the most as a new parent, and that the experience of focusing on such basic needs for her baby girl has helped her appreciate why people with young families may not find time for politics. "So it's our job to make sure that we are serving the needs of people, regardless of whether they have time to engage with what we're doing or not," she said. "That's something that's been really amplified for me." Ardern spoke on Thursday at her bungalow in Auckland as she prepared to return to the capital, Wellington, after six weeks of leave following the birth of her daughter, Neve. Ardern, 38, is just the second elected world leader in recent history to give birth while holding office, and her story has provided inspiration for working mothers around the world.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday the world is watching closely to see if recent optimism over North Korea leads to the elimination of its nuclear weapons program. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ardern also said New Zealand is among many nations concerned about the tit-for-tat trade war between China and the U.S. She said the idea of New Zealand becoming a republic is not a priority for her government. Ardern spoke with the AP at her home in Auckland as she prepared to return to the capital, Wellington, after six weeks of leave following the birth of her daughter, Neve. Ardern, 38, is just the second elected world leader in recent history to give birth while holding office.

Ten New Zealanders who downloaded an app on Facebook could have exposed up to 63,714 of their compatriots to the data mining tactics of Cambridge Analytica. Facebook has told the country's privacy commissioner that it is in the process of alerting New Zealanders who were affected by the breach, which occurred when ten users downloaded a personality quiz app. "For New Zealand, we estimate a total of 63,724 people may have been impacted – 10 are estimated to have downloaded the quiz app with 63,714 friends possibly impacted," said Antonia Sanda, head of communications for Facebook in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand's privacy commissioner, John Edwards, said he was urgently seeking further information from Facebook on how New Zealanders data was used by Cambridge Analytica, and is working closely with his counterparts in the US, UK Australia and Canada to establish the severity and ramifications of the privacy beach. "I think we have some real information deficits that I hope my colleagues in the UK and the US will uncover ... I am not sure New Zealanders were'targeted' but I think there is a level of complacency [in New Zealand]. And when you say we're so far away, we're only one click away really," Edwards said.