New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received parenting tips from Barack Obama when she met the former US president in Auckland today.
Ardern, who is expecting her first child in June, held discussions with Obama after he received a traditional Maori welcome at Government House.
"I asked him about parenthood and he had tips that I will probably long remember," the centre-left leader told reporters, without giving further details.
Obama and his wife Michelle have two children, Malia and Sasha.
Ardern said they also discussed the state of progressive climate change and engaging young people in politics.
Obama is in New Zealand for a three-day trip centred on a corporate speaking function on Thursday night organised by the NZ-US Council.
He has also played golf with former prime minister John Key.
Obama's corporate-sponsored speech, for which is reportedly being paid NZ$400,000 (US$290,000), is being held behind closed doors and he has largely avoided the media during his trip.

Obama shares parenting tips with New Zealand PM Ardern

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North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament will hold an annual session next month, state media said today, with all eyes on whether it will move to bolster a diplomatic thaw with the US and South Korea.
A rapid rapprochement that kicked off during last month's Winter Olympics has seen US President Donald Trump agree to hold a summit with the North's leader Kim Jong Un.
The hermit state's legislative body meets only once or twice a year, mostly for day-long sessions to approve budgets and other routine business of the ruling Workers' Party.
However, it occasionally announces major news: a session in 2012 approved a revision of the constitution to formally declare the country a nuclear state.
"The sixth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be convened in Pyongyang on April 11," the official KCNA news agency said.
It gave no other details, including the session's agenda.
But Cheong Seong-Chang from the Sejong Institute think tank said 

N Korea's parliament to hold annual meeting amid diplomatic thaw

At least 18 people were killed and dozens wounded when a bus travelling in northeastern Thailand veered off the road and smashed into a tree, authorities said today.
The accident occured Wednesday evening in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province with the double decker bus carrying around 50 people returning home from a holiday.
"There are 18 people killed, of these 12 women and six men including one boy," Suthep Ruenthawil, chief of the Nakhon Ratchasima provincial disaster prevention and mitigation unit told AFP.
He added that 28 people are receiving treatment for injuries.
Photos in local media of the accident's aftermath showed part of the bus lying on its side and officials standing beside a row of body bags.
Suthep said the bus driver lost control while the vehicle was going downhill, before it veered off the road and jumped a traffic island then smashed into a large tree.
"The bus was torn into two parts," he said.
Lieutenant Colonel Pornpattana Pisitkarn from the Udomsap police 

18 killed in Thai bus crash

Britain will today mark the one year anniversary of the terror attack on Westminster Bridge, the first in a series of jihadist assaults in the UK in 2017 that killed dozens of people and left scores injured.
On March 22 last year, Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old British convert to Islam, mowed down with a car pedestrians on the bridge over the River Thames in the heart of the London, before fatally stabbing a policeman on guard outside parliament.
The attack killed five people and injured around 50, and only ended when Masood was shot dead by police.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, but investigators have said they found no evidence of an association.
The incident mirrored truck attacks in Europe, including the 2016 Bastille Day assault in Nice that killed 86 people, and a similar attack months later on a Christmas market in Berlin that claimed 12 lives.
Britain endured a tumultuous period following the March 22 rampage, with four further terror attacks, including three in 

UK to mark first anniversary of Westminster Bridge attack

England midfielder Jack Wilshere has played down World Cup expectations but believes the Russian showpiece could be a stepping stone towards a brighter future for Gareth Southgate's inexperienced team.
The Arsenal player is hoping to win his first cap in nearly two years in warm-up friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy after battling back to recover his place in Arsene Wenger's team this season.
The squad Wilshere has rejoined is a far cry from the one he first broke into as a highly promising 18-year-old in 2010.
Shorn of talismanic striker Harry Kane through injury, Southgate's 27-man group is desperately thin on players performing regularly at the highest level.
"It's completely different. I remember the first time I walked into an England squad, I went for dinner the first time and there was (Wayne) Rooney, (Frank) Lampard, (Steven) Gerrard, (Rio) Ferdinand, (John) Terry -- big players who I had watched growing up," Wilshere said at England's training base.
"It's a ...

Wilshere cautious over England World Cup hopes

Germany forward Thomas Mueller expects revenge to be a factor when his side take on Brazil for the first time since humiliating the South Americans 7-1 in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.
Joachim Loew's Germany start fine-tuning preparations for their World Cup defence in Russia with high-profile friendlies against Spain in Duesseldorf on Friday and Brazil in Berlin next Tuesday.
Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners, have the first chance to break Germany's 21-match unbeaten run, dating back to their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat by France.
However, the clash four days later at Berlin's Olympic Stadium offers Brazil a rare chance to beat Germany in their own backyard and avenge the hammering in Belo Horizonte almost four years ago.
"Of course, you can imagine that the humiliation was great after losing a semi-final of a World Cup at home," said Mueller, who scored the first goal in that game.
"Brazil is really a football-mad country and the pressure on them was huge. However, our journey ...

Germany factor in revenge for Brazil friendly

Lionel Messi begins his road to World Cup redemption on Friday as Argentina take on Italy in a glamour friendly, desperate to win a major international prize to crown his glorious career.
In Barcelona's colours, Messi has experienced nothing but success, winning eight La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns, while earning FIFA's Ballon d'Or award five times.
But pulling on Argentina's blue-and-white striped shirt has brought the forward some of the most painful moments of his career.
Rarely able to hit the same heights with Argentina that he routinely scales with Barcelona, Messi has endured stinging criticism from 'Albiceleste' fans at times.
Nobody would dispute Messi's status as one of the all-time greats, but many in Argentina believe he cannot be considered on the same level as Diego Maradona until he wins a major honour with his country, as his compatriot did at the 1986 World Cup.
Rubbing salt into those wounds, Messi has lost in three successive major finals with ...

Messi begins road to Russia as Argentina chase World Cup glory

Training between mounds of snow without Neymar, Brazil may be forgiven for feeling out of their element as they prepare to face hosts Russia in their penultimate World Cup warm-up.
The most expensive football player on the planet is back home, celebrating his sister's birthday with his famous right foot recovering from surgery in a protective boot.
But things are deadly serious in Moscow, where the Selecao play on Friday at the Luzhniki Stadium in which they will hope to lift a record sixth World Cup trophy on July 15.
Coach Tite will try to make sure his superstars have learned from the unmitigated disaster of their 7-1 drubbing by Germany, whom Brazil play on Tuesday, on home soil back in 2014.
That fateful World Cup semi-final four years ago was played without the injured Neymar or suspended centre-back Thiago Silva. Now, as then, Brazil are looking vulnerable in defence and missing their 26-year-old hero.
Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar "is a different player. He is one of the .

In the snow without Neymar, Brazil brace for Russia

World number one Dustin Johnson and in-form Rory McIlroy suffered shock losses as the World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play opened with a string of uspets on Wednesday.
Defending champion Johnson was spent spinning to a 3 & 1 defeat in his opening group game against Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, the world number 56, who is seeded 52nd for this week's tournament at the Austin Country Club in Texas.
Meanwhile McIlroy, who signaled his return to form on Sunday with a sensational victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, came back to Earth with a thud in his Group Six clash with Peter Uihlein.
Uihlein, the 57th seed, took control of the match over the front nine, notching three early birdies to reach the turn at 4-up.
A further birdie on the 10th took him 5 up, and although McIlroy staged a superb late rally with five straight birdies to trim Uihlein's lead to two heading to the 17th, the 28-year-old held on to claim a 2 & 1 win.
Uihlein later said he was relieved to ...

Johnson, McIlroy upset in WGC Match Play openers

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the sale of AC Milan to Chinese businessman Li Yonghong following claims of suspect financial dealings, according to reports on Wednesday.
It follows three "reports of suspicious transactions" transmitted in recent months by the Bank of Italy financial information unit to the Guardia di Finanza -- the Italian police force that deals with financial crimes -- Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported.
Milan deputy prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale, in charge of 'International Affairs-Transnational Financial Crimes', has opened a specific type of file that is without either criminal offence or suspects. The file contains information relating to last year's sale as reported to the Guardia di Finanza.
Milan were sold in April last year by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to a Chinese-led consortium for 740 million euros (USD 913m) with the use of off-shore funds.
Since then, there have been questions about the financial ...

Prosecutors investigate AC Milan's Chinese sale - reports

Serena Williams crashed out of the Miami Open in the first round here Wednesday, slumping to a straight-set defeat against Japan's Naomi Osaka in the latest setback to the former world number one's comeback.
Osaka, who won her first major title in Indian Wells last weekend, was superior throughout and fully deserved her 6-3, 6-2 win in just one hour and 17 minutes.
It was Williams' fourth match and second tournament appearance since returning from 13 months maternity leave yet the American's movement and inability to stay in the rallies suggested her comeback could be more arduous than expected.
The defeat was the first time Williams has lost her first match at an American hard court championship for 21 years.
Williams, 36, may have been unfairly unseeded here due to her lack of action over the past year could have no complaints with the defeat.
In her comeback in Indian Wells, she made it through to round three where she fell to sister Venus in straight sets.
Taking on Osaka was ...

Serena out in Miami as Osaka wins in straight sets

International pressure mounted on Russia's Vladimir Putin over the the Cold-War style poisoning of a spy on British soil, as an ugly war of words took a stinging new turn with comparisons to Hitler in the 1930s.
US President Donald Trump agreed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron "on the need to take action to hold Russia accountable" following the attempted murder of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Trump expressed "solidarity with the United Kingdom in the wake of Russia's use of chemical weapons against private citizens on British soil," the White House said Wednesday after a phone call between the pair.
However the comments came a day after Trump called Putin to congratulate him on his re-election to the Russian presidency, drawing criticism for failing to condemn the poisoning or even mention the scandal.
Britain and its allies say Russia was behind the attack on Skripal and his daughter, who remain in a critical condition after being poisoned in 

Pressure mounts on Putin over spy poisoning scandal

Scoreboard after England's first innings in the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday.
England first innings
A. Cook c Latham b Boult
5
M. Stoneman c Watling b Southee 11
J. Root b Boult
0
D. Malan c Watling b Boult
2
B. Stokes b Boult
0
J. Bairstow c and b Southee
0
M. Ali b Southee
0
C. Woakes b Boult
5
C. Overton not out
33
S. Broad c Williamson b Southee  0
J. Anderson c Nicholls b Boult
1
Extras: (lb-1)
1
Total: (All out in 20.4 overs)
58
Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-6, 3-16, 4-18, 5-18, 6-18, 7-23, 8-23, 9-27
Bowling: Boult 10.4-3-32-6, Southee 10-3-25-4.

Auckland, Mar 22 (AFP)  Scoreboard after England's first innings in the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday.

Visitors at the Commonwealth Games in Australia could have their Facebook data mined in exchange for free and fast wifi, although authorities Thursday insisted no private or personal information will be stored.
The local Gold Coast council is offering a service up to 10 times normal speed after laying new fibre cables to coincide with the multi-sport event next month, which is contested between nations that are members of the Commonwealth.
But there's a catch.
To use it, you must log on through a Facebook account, allowing the council to capture data, which it says will be used to help shape future tourism marketing campaigns.
"We will be able to monitor the people, where they come from, that is, the percentage of tourists coming from China, Japan, Southeast Asia and locals, and the timing of it as well," Mayor Tom Tate told ABC radio.
The move comes as Facebook is embroiled in a snowballing scandal over the hijacking of personal data from millions of its users. It erupted when a ...

Facebook data concern at Commonwealth Games

A destructive six-wicket haul by Trent Boult left England in tatters during a first innings that lasted just 20.4 overs in the opening session of the first Test in Auckland on Thursday.
At 23 for 8, England threatened New Zealand's most unwanted record of the lowest ever Test score, 26, before they recovered to be all out for 58.
At 27 for 9, England's lowest Test innings of 45 -- against Australia in 1887 -- was also in jeopardy.
But Craig Overton lashed out at the end to finish unbeaten on 33 to lift England to their sixth lowest total in Test cricket history.
Boult cleaned out the top order and had figures of five for nine after his first seven overs before finishing with six for 32. His new-ball partner Tim Southee took four wickets for 25. The pitch for the first day-night Test in New Zealand has a slight green tinge, but not enough to concern the batsmen.
Instead they were undone by precision swing and seam bowling that started in the fifth over when Alastair Cook prodded at a ..

Thunder Boult destroys England for 58 in first Test

US congressional budget negotiators said today they had reached a deal on federal spending for the remainder of fiscal 2018, two days before a deadline to fund the government or risk a shutdown.
The USD 1.3 trillion spending bill was hailed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, Congress's top Republican, as marking "the beginning of a new era for the United States military," while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it would fulfil Democratic goals.
"This critical funding bill fulfils our pledge to rebuild the nation's military," Ryan said.
"It also addresses many of our national priorities, such as school safety, infrastructure, and fighting the opioid epidemic."
The monster measure, backed by President Donald Trump thanks in part to a last-minute sales pitch by Ryan at the White House Wednesday, was introduced with precious little time to act.
Government funding expires at midnight Friday night, and the House of Representatives and Senate will need to scramble if both chambers are to ...

US spending deal clinched, could avert government shutdown

At least 17 people were killed and dozens of others wounded when a bus travelling in northeastern Thailand veered off the road and smashed into a tree, authorities said today.
The accident occurred last evening in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province with the double decker bus carrying around 50 people returning home from a holiday.
"The current death toll is 17, and 33 are injured," an official from the Nakhon Ratchasima provincial emergency medical service told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Photos in local media of the accident's aftermath showed part of the bus lying on its side and officials standing beside a row of body bags.
Among the injured, some 10 people are in critical condition and receiving care at a nearby hospital, the official added.
The head of the Nakhon Ratchasima disaster prevention and mitigation department said the bus driver lost control while the vehicle was going downhill, before it veered off the road and jumped a traffic island then smashed into .

At least 17 killed in Thai bus crash

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament will hold a rare session next month, state media said today, as a dramatic diplomatic thaw with South Korea and the US gains pace.
The hermit state's legislative body meets only once or twice a year, mostly for day-long sessions to approve budgets or other decisions deemed necessary by the ruling Workers' Party.
"The sixth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be convened in Pyongyang on April 11," the official KCNA news agency said.
It gave no other details, including the session's agenda. Such meetings are carefully monitored by observers for any changes to economic policy or a reshuffle of high-ranking officials.
The announcement comes after a rapid rapprochement on the Korean peninsula kicked off with the recent Winter Olympics.
Pyongyang has not confirmed or even directly mentioned two proposed summits -- North-South talks followed by a face-to-face meet between Donald Trump and Kim ...

North Korea's parliament to hold rare meeting: KCNA

Catalonia's parliament is to hold a debate and vote today on a new candidate for regional president, Jordi Turull, who risks being disqualified from holding office over his role in the region's separatist drive.
"I will propose to the chamber that Jordi Turull be candidate for president," Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent told reporters late yesterday, just hours after Turull was summoned to appear in court tomorrow.
Turull, a former Catalan government spokesman, is under investigation over Catalonia's secession drive but remains free under bail.
He was third on ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont's "Together for Catalonia" list in December elections which saw separatist parties retain their absolute majority.
A Supreme Court judge has summoned Turull and other Catalan separatist leaders under probe tomorrow to tell them exactly what they are charged with.
According to a court document seen yesterday by AFP, the judge will also decide whether or not to remand Turull and .

Catalan parliament to vote on new president: speaker

President Donald Trump is poised to unveil sanctions against China for the "theft" of US intellectual property tomorrow, a White House official said, teeing up a second potential trade war in as many months.
Spokesman Raj Shah told AFP that Trump will announce actions following an "investigation into China's state-led, market-distorting efforts to force, pressure, and steal US technologies and intellectual property."
Beijing has already warned the Trump administration against the move, urging him not act "emotionally."
It is just weeks since Trump short-circuited White House deliberations and announced a raft of sanctions on foreign-produced steel and aluminium off the cuff.
That move prompted the resignation of top economic adviser Gary Cohn, a stock market selloff, legal disputes and threats of retaliatory measures.
Today, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that the prospect of a trade war as a growing threat to the world's largest economy.
But the impulsive president is .

Trump to announce China trade sanctions tomorrow

The Federal Reserve today raised the key lending rate for the first time this year to its highest level in a decade, citing a stronger outlook for US economic growth.
Newly installed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell presided over his first meeting, which raised the federal funds rate to 1.5-1.75 percent, a move that will affect all types of loans, from homes to cars to student debt.
In his first press conference as Fed chief, Powell pointed to the factors that have boosted the economic outlook in recent months, including "more stimulative" fiscal policy, in the wake of the massive tax cuts Congress passed in December.
In addition, he said "ongoing job gains are boosting incomes and confidence (and) foreign growth is on a firm trajectory."
That likely caused Fed officials to signal they expect a slightly more aggressive path for rate increases next year.
Still, Powell told reporters that even with rising interest rates, the world's largest economy is "healthier than it has been since before .

AFP

AFP

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