NEWS 1

Canada's Freeland strays from G20 economic script to warn Russia on

Ukraine

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stepped well beyond economic policy at a G20
finance meeting on Friday to issue an "impassioned" warning to her Russian counterparts not to
invade neighboring Ukraine, two sources familiar with her remarks said. During a contentious
G20 meeting hosted by Indonesia, Freeland directly addressed Russian Finance Minister Anton
Siluanov and central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina and warned them that Russia would face
"crushing" sanctions in the event of an invasion.
Freeland participated in the meeting on a web link from Ottawa. The source said that Freeland,
previously Canada's foreign minister, took an opportunity to speak directly to influential Russian
policy makers at a critical moment as tensions intensified on the Ukraine-Russian border, where
Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops. "Do not hurt yourselves in doing this," Freeland
said, according to the sources. "Let's not endanger the collective here, including economically. A
second source said that the Russian officials responded to Freeland's "impassioned" speech by
saying that reports on the threat of an invasion were "fake news." G20 finance officials on Friday
argued over communique language describing geopolitical risks to the global economy, deleting
a reference to "current" tensions in a final statement after objections by Russia and China.
The disagreements over this issue and treatment of debts for poor countries delayed the
communique for hours as markets fretted over the prospect of war in Ukraine. Freeland, a fluent
Russian speaker who once served as the Financial Times' Moscow bureau chief and whose
grandfather was born in Ukraine, delivered one line in Russian, according to the first source, but
said in English: "You may think that for a number of us like-minded democracies here, you may
think that democracies are weak. But do not doubt us and do not doubt our resolve."
NEWS 2
21 Indonesian seafarers stranded in Peru return home

Twenty-one Indonesian seafarers stranded in Peru for three months were repatriated over the
weekend, the Indonesian Embassy in Lima has announced, amid difficulties arising from the
COVID-19 pandemic that have put many livelihoods at stake. Indonesian Ambassador to Peru
Marina Estella Anwar Bey said in a statement that the men had arrived in Jakarta on Saturday on
connecting flights via Brazil and Qatar. They took the Lima–Sao Paulo–Doha–Jakarta route
home.
Marina said that the 21 crewmen worked aboard three separate ships, namely Cosario I,
Pescamaro I and Pescamaro VI on Tuesday, as quoted by tribunnews.com. The men had been
staying at the embassy in Lima since September after the shipowners employing their services
ran into financial troubles because of the pandemic.
Measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted domestic and international supply
chains in the global fisheries sector, especially following limitations or closures of food services,
tourism and transportation, as well as the introduction of trade controls. Read also: Indonesia
supports global push to combat illegal fishing Peru is no exception. The Latin American country
has limited the entry of foreigners as a COVID-19 precaution.
A strictly limited number of foreign nationals are allowed in on the basis of humanitarian need or
other critical cases, the Indonesian Embassy in Lima said in a statement in August. This has led
to dozens of Indonesian sailors, who make a living spending months aboard foreign fishing
vessels in the open sea, being stranded miles away from home. The embassy previously
repatriated at least five waves of stranded citizens. Since the outbreak, the Foreign Ministry has
put more emphasis on protecting Indonesian citizens overseas, particularly those considered
stranded. Marina said another 77 stranded sailors would be repatriated in the coming week in
three separate waves.
The envoy said that while the embassy had facilitated Saturday’s repatriation, expenses for the
remaining 77 sailors would be paid for by their employers. As of Tuesday, two Indonesian crew
members were staying at the embassy in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. As of
Tuesday, 2,144 Indonesians had tested positive for COVID-19 outside of the country, according
to data from the ministry’s directorate for the protection of Indonesian nationals and entities
aboard.
NEWS 3
Rooftop rescues in Australia as tens of thousands evacuated from floods

Tens of thousands of Australians were ordered to flee their homes Monday, as torrential rain sent
floodwaters to record levels, leaving residents stranded on the rooftops of their homes. Eight
people have died, and the country's weather bureau has warned further severe thunderstorms and
intense rainfall will cause "life-threatening flash flooding" across a swathe of the central Pacific
coastal region. In the country town of Lismore, resident Danika Hardiman woke Monday
morning to find mud-brown floodwaters had reached the balcony of her second-floor apartment.
She and her partner managed to climb up to the roof, where they were spotted by passing
kayakers, who flagged down a makeshift rescue boat.
With the town's levees already breached, 43,000 residents were ordered to leave by this morning.
Emergency services were overwhelmed by calls for aid, leading some locals -- including
Lismore's mayor Steve Krieg -- to turn to social media for help.
Emergency rescue services said they had also deployed a helicopter to pluck other stranded
residents from rooftops. More than 400 millimetres (16 inches) of rain has fallen in the past 24
hours around Lismore, with the town's Wilson River still rising, according to the weather bureau.
Water levels in Lismore have not yet reached their expected peak of 14 metres -- but they are
already the worst floods the town has experienced. A miraculous rescue Flooding across eastern
Australia has now killed eight people, after a man in his 50s died Monday when his car was
swept away by floodwaters in the northern state of Queensland. Millions of people have been
told to stay home and nearly 1,000 schools in Queensland remain closed because of the floods.
A 70-year-old man miraculously survived after his houseboat, swept along by the raging
Brisbane River, collided with a ferry terminal and quickly sank. Members of the public were able
to rescue the man, with one telling public broadcaster ABC they had linked arms to create a
human chain and fish the man from the river unharmed.
Rain has battered eastern Australia for the better part of a week as an extreme weather system --
the tail end of a wet summer fuelled by La Nina -- has moved south down the country's coast,
leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said
Monday that some regions of her tropical state had experienced a year's worth of rainfall in just
days. Australia has been on the sharp end of climate change, with droughts, deadly bushfires,
bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef and floods becoming more common and more intense
as global climate patterns change.
NEWS 4
Surabaya’s antidote to rise of concrete jungles

The East Java capital of Surabaya made public parks where others erected buildings. It is now
reaping the creative, economic and cooling benefits. Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, is
known for its oppressive heat. It is a reputation the city’s first female mayor, Tri Rismaharini, set
out to change more than a decade ago. Other cities, also beset by the urban heat island effect, are
now looking to Surabaya as the climate warms. As green spaces are replaced with concrete
jungles, the urban heat island effect pushes temperatures higher – by up to 5.3 degrees Celsius.
This adversely affects sleep quality and appetite, and has been associated with depression,
diabetes, heart disease and dementia. Urban heat stress also influences productivity and drives up
heat-related illnesses and death. Indonesia is a growing nation where 57 percent of the
population lives in urban areas.
The urban population is increasing by 2.2 percent a year, adding to heat stress. Indonesia has not
been keeping records on deaths due to heat hazards, but new evidence points to very strong heat
stress in Indonesia’s city centers. Urban residents around the world are increasingly forced to
reduce physical activity, stay in a shaded place, or spend most of their time indoors in an air-
conditioned environment. Awareness campaigns on the risks of heat stress have not yet been
implemented in Indonesia. In the future, without local government intervention, already hot areas
are expected to get hotter and expand into the neighboring regions. The cities of Medan and
Denpasar will shortly experience a heat stress index increase of 3.1 degrees. In contrast, in
Surabaya, the heat stress index will be reduced by 0.8 degrees in the near future.
The difference is the result of increased vegetation coverage in Surabaya. In the past decade,
Surabaya has built urban parks with a focus on public creative spaces. These have also brought
economic benefits. One, Bungkul Park, serves multiple purposes, including supporting street
vendors, sports and recreation and art activities. Surabaya’s Green and Clean (SGC) program
transformed the village of Margorukun, previously a slum area with a high crime rate. Today,
locals grow ornamental plants and produce handicrafts with recycled garbage, with the proceeds
providing an income or going toward ecotourism sustainability. Given climate change, urban
greening is a low-regret intervention that provides significant benefits at a low cost. Air
purification, flood control, recreational space, CO2 sequestration and food production are just a
few of the services urban vegetation can provide. Indonesian law mandates that at least 30
percent of urban areas be dedicated to open green spaces.
NEWS 5

Americans can order another round of free at-home Covid-19 tests next week

Americans can order additional free at-home Covid-19 tests supplied by the US government

starting next week. In January, the government launched its effort to provide free rapid antigen
tests to any household that requested them through that website or by calling 800-232-0233.
There was a limit of four tests per residential address.

The website now says every home in the US can order an additional set of four tests starting next
week.
The President had announced in December his plan to make half a billion tests available to
Americans by mail, as the Omicron variant was surging across the US.
The Biden administration initially made 500 million free tests available, but fewer than 300
million have been ordered, White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz said.
The White House previously said the tests were expected to ship about seven to 12 days after
they are requested.
Covid-19 has killed more than 952,000 people and infected about 79.1 million in the United
States since January 2020, according to data by Johns Hopkins University. The White House will
roll out a new strategy laying out the next phase of its response to the coronavirus pandemic on
Wednesday, two administration officials told CNN, outlining a vision that involves fewer
disruptions to daily life while preparing for the unpredictable potential of another game-changing
variant.