 New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that she plans to step down. Ardern became widely known as a liberal icon after leading New Zealand through a series of national crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadly White Island volcanic eruption, and the country's worst-ever mass shooting. More: - Ardern said she will step down by Feb. 7 but plans to remain a lawmaker until New Zealand holds its next general election, which is scheduled for Oct. 14 this year.
- Ardern became the world's youngest female head of government when she rose to power in 2017 at 37 years old.
- She was reelected in 2020 with a landslide victory, but the latest opinion polls show that her popularity has waned.
- On Thursday she said that her time in office has been "taxing" and that she no longer has "enough in the tank," to fulfill her role.
- Ardern, who gave birth while in office, said she wants to spend more time with her family and marry her fiance, television host Clarke Gayford.
Zoom Out: - Ardern's announcement came as a shock to New Zealand as she does not have an heir-apparent in the Labour Party ahead of the October general election.
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 Amazon said on Wednesday that it plans to shut down its AmazonSmile charity donation program. The discontinuation of the scheme comes as the e-commerce giant pursues sweeping cost-cutting measures in response to slowing online sales and a looming economic slowdown. More: - Amazon posted a notice on its website saying that it plans to shut down AmazonSmile by Feb. 20.
- The program donated a percentage of eligible purchases to charity organizations that could be chosen by the customer.
- Amazon said the program failed to "create the impact that we had originally hoped,” and noted that its "impact was often spread too thin.”
- The program raised about $500M for charities since its launch in 2013.
- Amazon said it remained committed to investing in projects that support "meaningful change,” such as affordable housing and disaster relief.
Zoom Out: - Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is undertaking a range of cost-cutting measures as the company grapples with slower online sales growth and macroeconomic headwinds affecting the wider tech sector.
- The measures have included a corporate hiring freeze, the cancellation of some experimental projects, and an unprecedented round of job cuts expected to affect 18,000 workers worldwide.
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 Peruvian protestors descended on the country's capital city of Lima on Thursday. The renewed bout of unrest comes as Peru continues to face its worst political violence in decades following the ousting of its previous leader, Pedro Castillo. More: - Many of the protestors traveled to Lima from rural regions to support Castillo, signal their opposition to Peru's current president Dina Boluarte, and demand early elections.
- Castillo was Peru's first leader from a rural background and most of the protests have so far centered on southern Andean regions.
- About 53 people have died in the unrest and many of the victims suffered bullet wounds following clashes with security forces.
- Alonso Cárdenas, a professor of public policies at the Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University in Lima, said that protests outside of the capital don't have high political repercussions. “The leaders have understood that and say, they can massacre us in Cusco, in Puno, and nothing happens, we need to take the protest to Lima,” he added.
Zoom Out: - Protests began when Peru's Congress ousted President Pedro Castillo on Dec. 7. He was later arrested and charged with rebellion.
- Castillo was impeached after he tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
- The protests have highlighted divisions between Peru's wealthier urban population and its poorer rural communities.
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GOOD NEWS: Two beavers were released in Hampshire, England as part of a rewilding project. After being hunted to extinction during the 16th century, beavers have successfully been introduced into several rivers and wetlands in England, Scotland, and Wales over the past two decades. More: - The two beavers, named Chompy and Hazel, were released at Ewhurst, a 925-acre former shooting estate in Hampshire.
- The estate was purchased by Malaysian-born entrepreneur Mandy Lieu, who hopes to turn it into an "edible mosaic" that produces food for humans and wildlife.
- Experts hope that the two beavers, which had not previously met, will breed to help form a sustainable beaver population in the area.
- Beavers have been called a "keystone species," a term used to describe organisms that support entire ecosystems.
- The animals provide "multiple benefits in terms of habitat creation and wetland creation which ultimately provides homes and habitats for other species," said Rob Needham, of the U.K.'s Beaver Trust.
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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the Russo-Ukrainian war for a deadly helicopter crash on Wednesday. Zelensky's statement to the World Economic Forum comes after 14 people died in the incident, including a high-ranking Ukrainian official. More: - In a video address to attendees of the World Economic Forum Zelensky said there are "no accidents at war time."
- Zelensky's speech drew a link between the victims of the crash and other unnecessary deaths caused by Russia's invasion but stopped short of directly blaming Moscow for the incident.
- Zelensky urged the West to boost its support for Ukraine's war effort, saying that “the time the free world uses to think is used by the terrorist state to kill.”
- The crash appears to have been an accident. However, Ukraine's SBU security service is investigating the tragedy and said it has not ruled out sabotage as a possible cause.
Zoom Out: - Wednesday's crash near Kyiv killed Ukraine's interior minister Denys Monastyrsky who was one of the country's top security officials.
- The helicopter crashed near a kindergarten, killing one child on the ground and injuring a total of 25 people, including 11 children.
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 Photo by REUTERS/David Gray. Apple has delayed the release of its lightweight augmented reality glasses due to technical challenges. The decision highlights the difficulty of breaking into the market for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices as several leading tech firms struggle to set a foothold in the nascent sector. More: - Apple initially intended to unveil its AR glasses about a year after the debut of its bulkier mixed reality headset, reports Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
- The plan was placed on hold as Apple opted instead to develop a less costly version of its mixed-reality device, which combines both AR and VR elements.
- Recent trademark filings indicate that Apple plans to complement its more expensive mixed-reality headset with a cheaper offering that could be named "Reality One."
Zoom Out: - Google and Meta are also developing their own AR glasses.
- Some people within Apple believe AR glasses may eventually replace iPhones, while others think Apple may never release the product.
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 |  | Gregory Bridgman is a writer and researcher with an academic background in politics and the philosophy of science and technology. He holds a BA from the University of Cape Town, an MS from University College London, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. He is interested in climate issues, technological changes, and the implications of the fourth industrial revolution. Please feel free to contact me at gregory@inside.com! | | | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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