50,000 casualties. Millions of refugees. Democracy in retreat. That’s what experts fear could be the deadly cost of Putin’s senseless invasion of Ukraine. Efforts to prevent war have failed, but efforts to end it must succeed. Fast. Civilians are being killed right now because Putin believes the world is too divided to hold him to account. Let's show him he's wrong, with a massive, urgent open letter from people everywhere calling on governments to impose far-reaching sanctions on Moscow. Add your name with one click and share everywhere to defend democracy and stand up for the people of Ukraine in their hour of need! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/stop_the_war_loc/?cWQxFdb

We are Maasai elders from Northern Tanzania. Any day now tens of thousands of our community could be forced off our ancestral lands to make way for elite tourism and trophy hunting. We urgently need your support. The last time we faced these threats, more than 2 million Avaaz members rallied behind our call! Together, we created such a storm that the President promised never to evict us from our lands. But now, there’s a new head of state and plans are being revived! President Samia Suluhu Hassan may not listen to us, but we know she’ll respond to media and public pressure – to all of you! She is in Europe right now ahead of a major Europe-Africa Summit, so we only have hours to deliver our global call. Join us now – and show her the world is standing with the Maasai! https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/stop_the_maasai_evictions/?cWQxFdb

Maria was just 12-years-old when she was raped by two of her relatives. She lives in Honduras - the only country in Latin America to ban emergency contraception - and was forced into becoming a mum to avoid jail. No one should have to go through this. But right now we have an unprecedented opportunity to help usher in a new era for Honduras' women and girls! Honduras' first woman president has just been sworn in and promised to repeal this cruel ban on the morning after pill. But she is facing a huge backlash and needs global support to stand with girls like Maria. https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/honduras_women_12/

Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy plans $3.9 billion renewables project in Iowa MidAmerican Energy says it’s also proposing “feasibility studies” centered around technologies such as energy storage, small modular nuclear reactors and carbon capture. According to the American Clean Power Association, wind was Iowa’s “largest source of electricity generation” in 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/21/buffetts-midamerican-energy-plans-3point9-billion-wind-solar-project.html

TezDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that supports Tezos governance, announced on 9 January that it would submit a report to Plenty DeFi, Objkt.com, QuipuSwap, Kalamint, Crunchy, Wrap Protocol, HicetNunc2000 The user delivered the TEZDAO Token to the air port. https://www.theblockbeats.info/en/flash/62982

Traditional martial arts can improve self-regulation in school children The report, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, details how researchers from the University of Surrey studied 240 primary school students aged 7 - 11 years across a period of 11 weeks. Self-regulation describes an individuals' ability to manage and alter their emotions, behavior and cognition. Good self-regulation is associated with positive mental health benefits and higher academic achievement in children. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220107/Traditional-martial-arts-can-improve-self-regulation-in-school-children.aspx

Report: Google is indeed working on AR smart glasses with a new project In recent years, Google has notoriously kept its work on augmented reality hardware secret. That has started to change recently, while a new report today provides explicit confirmation that “Google is working on a new iteration of smart glasses.” As part of a broader piece about the major tech companies working on AR hardware, the New York Times today explicitly said that Google is “nurturing a new project.” The Times suggests that this latest project was the result of last year’s North acquisition. That’s unfortunately the extent of details, with the company declining to comment. As such, it’s unclear whether Google plans to release a stopgap headset or whether it’s entirely focused on the smart glasses form factor. Apple’s first device next year is rumored to be a mixed reality headset that can be used for AR development in addition to virtual reality, through the use of a pass-through camera where users can view the real world through a video feed rather than directly. Meta is similarly working on Project Cambria for 2022. https://9to5google.com/2021/12/30/google-ar-smart-glasses/

Elon Musk said Neuralink hopes to start implanting its brain chips in humans in 2022, later than he anticipated Elon Musk said Neuralink hopes to start implanting its brain chips in humans in 2022. He said the first humans to receive the chips would be people with severe spinal-cord injuries. Musk has previously given earlier timeframes for Neuralink to implant its chips in humans. https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-neuralink-hopes-to-start-human-testing-2022-2021-12?r=US&IR=T

Inflation Is Near a 40-Year High. Here’s What It Looks Like. Price increases for fuel, cars, food, apparel and medical care vary widely U.S. inflation climbed to a 39-year high in November, as strong consumer demand collided with supply constraints. Overall, the level of consumer prices leapt 6.8% last month from a year earlier, the Labor Department said. But prices didn’t change at the same rate for all goods and services. A surge in prices for gasoline and other energy sources, along with prices for cars, have been the primary drivers of this year’s inflation burst. Meanwhile, prices for services like education and medical care rose just slightly. https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation-is-near-a-40-year-high-heres-what-it-looks-like-11639737004

Reasonable to hypothesise Covid virus is genetically engineered There is a possibility that the COVID-19 virus was "most likely" leaked from a lab in China, British MPs were informed on Thursday. Harvard scientist Dr Alina Chan, while testifying before the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, said that it was reasonable to hypothesise and investigate whether the Covid virus was modified in the lab. https://www.wionews.com/world/reasonable-to-hypothesise-covid-virus-is-genetically-engineered-expert-437263