New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern resigns

Ardern became a global icon and defined a new style of leadership. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern resigns [New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a joint press conference with Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney, Australia, July 8, 2022.] Credit: Rick Rycroft/AP/File photo New Zealand New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced that she is [resigning from her post](, ahead of October’s elections. She became a global icon and even defined a new style of leadership. Taking office at the age of 37, she was praised for her handling of the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 and the initial outbreak of COVID-19. But she also faces [growing domestic political pressure](, with some critics saying she hasn’t delivered the transformational government she promised. “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple,” Ardern said. Her last day will be Feb. 7, after five and a half years in office, with plans for a new Labor leader to be sworn in within weeks. France French unions are staging a day of mass strikes and protests in response to President Emmanuel Macron's reform program to [push back the age of retirement]( from 62 to 64 — which is still lower than much of the rest of Europe and the US. Many schools have been closed and public transport has been badly hit amid some 200-plus protests across the country, with the largest taking place in Paris. The government says the measure is important for safeguarding the nation’s [share-out pension system](, but has proved to be deeply unpopular among the public. United States The US State Department has rolled out a pilot program, known as Welcome Corps, that will allow groups of [everyday Americans to directly sponsor]( refugees from abroad and help them resettle in the United States. The move is meant to address the fact that refugee resettlement organizations have been stretched thin. The program is partly [modeled on previous similar efforts]( to resettle Afghans following the Taliban government takeover and Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country — with the approach now expanding to other refugees from around the world. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [What's behind the exodus of Cubans?]( [Cuban migrant Mario Perez holds his wife as they wait to be processed to seek asylum after crossing the border into the United States, Jan. 6, 2023, near Yuma, Arizona.]( Credit: Gregory Bull/AP Nearly a quarter of a million Cubans arrived in the US in the last year, the [largest single wave]( since former President Fidel Castro’s revolution in the 1950s. Many leave in boats, or take charter flights to Nicaragua, which is the only country in Central America that doesn’t require a visa for Cubans, and then travel north from there into Mexico toward the US border. [Afghan women say they are ‘dying in slow motion’ after killing of former female MP]( [A Taliban fighter stands guard as people wait to receive food rations distributed by a South Korean humanitarian aid group, in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 10, 2022.] Credit: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP/File photo Mursal Nabizada, who decided to remain in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over in 2021, [was killed by gunmen]( on Jan. 15. Her friend and former colleague, Fawzia Koofi, speaks with The World’s host Marco Werman about her memories of Nabizada and the ongoing plight of women in the country. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot At Motherly Love Orphanage in Ghana, children with HIV find hope and acceptance. Rev. John Azumah, who also has HIV, opened the home 14 years ago to fight against stigma and discrimination against children with HIV. At the home, children get their basic needs met along with educational, social and emotional needs. [Listen to the story]( by Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman. 🎧 [The Motherly Love Orphanage in the Kwabenya neighborhood on the outskirts of Accra, Ghana.] Credit: Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.