AFP

Stocks up, oil steady on easing supply, inflation concerns

4 Apr 2022

Stock markets climbed and oil prices steadied Monday on easing concerns over tight crude supplies and decades-high inflation, traders said.

Turkey’s lira was stable against the dollar and euro after official data showed the country’s inflation had soared to a fresh record high.

Elsewhere, trading was halted on Sri Lanka’s stock exchange seconds after opening Monday as the island nation’s president offered to share power with the opposition.

Protests demanding the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa grew over unprecedented food and fuel shortages along with record inflation and crippling power cuts in the South Asian country.

Sri Lanka’s stock market slid more than the five percent in value — the threshold needed to trigger an automatic stop.

On the corporate front, Twitter’s stock soared by more than 25 percent in pre-market trade after Tesla boss Elon Musk took a major stake in the social media giant.

According to a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk acquired nearly 73.5 million Twitter shares — a 9.2-percent stake in the company. 

Ahead of Wall Street’s reopening, other major stock markets “continued their cautious grind higher, as investors took solace from a US economy which is showing increasing signs of being able to withstand the likely onslaught of interest rate rises to come”, noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

The world’s top economy added 431,000 jobs in March while the US unemployment rate fell to just slightly above pre-pandemic levels, official data showed Friday. 

Economists viewed the figures as reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s commitment to forcefully raising interest rates, perhaps by half a percentage point at its meeting next month, which would be double the increase it announced when it began hiking in March.

Stock markets Monday were helped by steadier oil prices after recent surges triggered by tight supply concerns, notably owing to the invasion of Ukraine by major crude producer Russia.

The 31-nation International Energy Agency on Friday agreed to tap its vast reserves to offset the removal of Russian exports.

There was some cheer also from news of a 60-day ceasefire in Yemen’s six-year civil war that has seen several attacks on Saudi facilities, in turn hitting output from the world’s biggest oil producer.

– Key figures around 1100 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,555.73 points

Frankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 14,450.49

Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 6,700.38

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,924.35

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,736.47 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 22,502.31 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,818.27 (close)

Brent North Sea crude: FLAT at $104.37 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $99.31 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1002 from $1.1049 late Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3098 from $1.3118

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.00 pence from 84.24 pence 

Dollar/yen: UP at 122.76 yen from 122.49 yen

Turkish inflation hits fresh record at 61.1 percent

5 Apr 2022

Turkey’s inflation has soared to a new record, official data showed Monday, as analysts see an impact from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox interest rate policy.

Exacerbating a cost of living crisis, consumer prices accelerated to 61.14 percent at an annual rate, up from 54.4 percent in February, according to the statistics agency.

The weakening lira and runaway inflation have become major sources of public discontent in Turkey as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces an election next year.

Turkey has recorded double digit inflation since early 2017 but the latest figure is the highest since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002.

The currency was stable following the latest inflation data, trading at 14.7 lira against the dollar and 16.2 lira against euro.

The war in Turkey’s Black Sea neighbourhood has had a major impact on the country as Russia is a key supplier of energy while Ukraine ships wheat. Turkish tourism industry also mainly relies on Russian tourists. 

On Friday, S&P global rating agency kept a negative outlook on Turkey and cut its credit rating. 

“The fallout of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, including rising food and energy prices, will further weaken Turkey’s already tenuous balance of payments and exacerbate inflation,” it said.

The biggest price increases in March were in transportation and food prices, according to the statistics agency.

-‘Be patient’-

While countries around the world are facing rising inflation as energy prices have soared while economies emerge Covid restrictions, Turkey’s problems have also been affected by Erdogan’s unorthodox economic approach. 

The Turkish leader rejects the idea that inflation should be fought by hiking the main interest rate, which he believes causes prices to grow even higher — the exact opposite of conventional economic thinking.

Turkish central bank “policies are just not working in countering inflation,” said Timothy Ash, emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. 

“Indeed, I think the overwhelming consensus is that the unorthodox policy settings of the CBRT (central bank) are a major cause of inflation,” he said in a note to clients.

“The war in Ukraine is just making things that much worse.”

On Saturday, Erdogan said increase in food and energy prices triggered by the war in Ukraine “is affecting us too.”

“We are fighting against those who are charging unreasonably high prices,” he said. 

“There are problems we need to address … I ask you to be patient and trust us,” in reference to people squeezed by the biting inflation. 

In January, Erdogan changed the head of the state statistics agency.

Turkish media reported that he was unhappy with the inflation figures it published while the opposition believes that the official figures grossly underestimate the reality.

Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at the London-based Capital Economics, said inflation was likely to rise further over the coming months and stay close to the current high rates for much of this year.

“But there is still little sign that the central bank and, crucially, President Erdogan are about to shift tack and hike interest rates,” he said. 

Markets mostly up on US jobs data but rate worries linger

4 Apr 2022

Asian markets mostly rose Monday as another strong jobs report provided some reassurance that the recovery in the US economy remained on track, though it also solidified expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The gains were helped by another recent drop in oil prices after the 31-nation International Energy Agency agreed to tap its vast reserves to offset the removal of Russian exports, while the start of a ceasefire in Yemen eased concerns over supplies from the region.

Officials said Friday that the world’s top economy added 431,000 positions in March while the unemployment rate fell to just slightly above pre-pandemic levels. 

The figures showed that while inflation has surged to a 40-year high and the Ukraine war has fanned uncertainty, the recovery continues.

The economy’s resilience will be taken as further evidence that it could withstand a sharper rise in interest rates to bring prices under control, with many observers now predicting a half-point hike in May.

However, expectations that rates will continue to go up have seen Treasury yields surge, with commentators saying there were warning signs that growth will slow as the year progresses.

“It would not be surprising to see yields rise further from here and it is very hard to know where they will land,” Angela Ashton, of Evergreen Consultants, noted.

“Markets are volatile and there is every chance they will overshoot.”

A positive close on Wall Street was followed by a broadly upbeat start to the week in Asia.

Hong Kong led gains, jumping more than two percent thanks to a rally in tech firms after Beijing removed a rule preventing US authorities from inspecting the audits of Chinese companies listed in New York.

The announcement came after a drawn-out row between the two countries with Washington saying Chinese firms could be delisted by 2024 if they do not comply with audit requirements. 

The demand put at risk more than 200 companies, including e-commerce titans Alibaba and JD.com and Tencent.

Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai, Seoul, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok also rose, though Wellington struggled.

London rose at the open, though Paris and Frankfurt dipped.

Shanghai and Taipei were closed for a holiday.

Crude bounced after Friday’s losses, responding to the IEA pledge to dip into stockpiles to shore up tight supplies caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The grouping made the promise at an emergency ministerial meeting, having already announced last week a plan to release more than 60 million barrels.

That came a day after US President Joe Biden said he would release a record 180 million barrels onto the market over six months.

Meanwhile, there was also some cheer from news of a 60-day ceasefire in Yemen’s six-year civil war, which has seen several attacks on Saudi facilities that have hit output from the world’s biggest producer.

Still, analysts said that while markets equity and crude markets have shown some stability after the wild swings seen at the start of the Ukraine war, uncertainty continued to act as a drag and traders remained nervous.

“Risk sentiment over the past week has been inconsistent,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

“Market signals could be characterised by a repetitive cat-and-mouse game whereby headlines initially emerge around the progress in ceasefire talks before being typically walked down by Russian officials who deny the odds of any close peace deal.”

– Key figures around 0810 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,736.47 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.1 percent at 22,502.31 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,557.60

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.1 percent at $105.51 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.1 percent at $100.33 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1028 from $1.1049 late Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3125 from $1.3118

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.02 pence from 84.24 pence 

Dollar/yen: UP at 122.58 yen from 122.49 yen

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,818.27 (close)

Markets mostly up on US jobs data but rate worries linger

4 Apr 2022

Asian markets mostly rose Monday as another strong jobs report provided some reassurance that the recovery in the US economy remained on track, though it also solidified expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The gains were helped by another recent drop in oil prices after the 31-nation International Energy Agency agreed to tap its vast reserves to offset the removal of Russian exports, while the start of a ceasefire in Yemen eased concerns over supplies from the region.

Officials said Friday that the world’s top economy added 431,000 positions in March while the unemployment rate fell to just slightly above pre-pandemic levels. 

The figures showed that while inflation has surged to a 40-year high and the Ukraine war has fanned uncertainty, the recovery continues.

The economy’s resilience will be taken as further evidence that it could withstand a sharper rise in interest rates to bring prices under control, with many observers now predicting a half-point hike in May.

However, expectations that rates will continue to go up have seen Treasury yields surge with commentators saying there were warning signs that growth will slow as the year progresses.

“It would not be surprising to see yields rise further from here and it is very hard to know where they will land,” Angela Ashton, of Evergreen Consultants, noted.

“Markets are volatile and there is every chance they will overshoot.”

A positive close on Wall Street was followed by a broadly upbeat start to the week in Asia.

Hong Kong led gains thanks to a rally in tech firms after Beijing removed a rule preventing US authorities from inspecting the audits of Chinese companies listed in New York.

The announcement came after a drawn-out row between the two countries with Washington saying Chinese firms could be delisted by 2024 if they do not comply with audit requirements. 

The demand put at risk more than 200 companies, including e-commerce titans Alibaba and JD.com and Tencent.

Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai, Seoul, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok also rose, though Wellington struggled.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose at the open.

Shanghai and Taipei were closed for a holiday.

Crude bounced after Friday’s losses, responding to the IEA pledge to dip into stockpiles to shore up tight supplies caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The grouping made the promise at an emergency ministerial meeting, having already announced last week a plan to release more than 60 million barrels.

That came a day after US President Joe Biden said he would release a record 180 million barrels onto the market over six months.

Meanwhile, there was also some cheer from news of a 60-day ceasefire in Yemen’s six-year civil war, which has seen several attacks on Saudi facilities that have hit output from the world’s biggest producer.

Still, analysts said that while markets equity and crude markets have shown some stability after the wild swings seen at the start of the Ukraine war, uncertainty continued to act as a drag and traders remained nervous.

“Risk sentiment over the past week has been inconsistent,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

“Market signals could be characterised by a repetitive cat-and-mouse game whereby headlines initially emerge around the progress in ceasefire talks before being typically walked down by Russian officials who deny the odds of any close peace deal.

– Key figures around 0720 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 27,736.47 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.8 percent at 22,443.36

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 7,566.36

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $105.37 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $100.20 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1039 from $1.1049 late Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3129 from $1.3118

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.08 pence from 84.24 pence 

Dollar/yen: UP at 122.67 yen from 122.49 yen

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,818.27 (close)

Viruses that could save millions of lives

5 Apr 2022

It may seem strange after a pandemic that has killed millions and turned the world upside down, but viruses could save just as many lives.

In a petri dish in a laboratory in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, a battle is going on between antibiotic resistant bacteria and “friendly” viruses.

This small nation in the Caucasus has pioneered research on a groundbreaking way to tackle the looming nightmare of bacteria becoming resistant to the antibiotics on which the world depends.

Long overlooked in the West, bacteriophages or bacteria-eating viruses are now being used on some of the most difficult medical cases, including a Belgian woman who developed a life-threatening infection after being injured in the 2016 Brussels airport bombing.

After two years of unsuccessful antibiotic treatment, bacteriophages sent from Tbilisi cured her infection in three months.

“We use those phages that kill harmful bacteria” to cure patients when antibiotics fail, Mzia Kutateladze of the Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages told AFP. 

Even a banal infection can “kill a patient because the pathogen has developed resistance to antibiotics,” Kutateladze said.

In such cases, phagotherapy “is one of the best alternatives”, she added.

Phages have been known about for a century, but were largely forgotten and dismissed after antibiotics revolutionised medicine in the 1930s.

– Stalin’s henchman –

It didn’t help that the man who did most to develop them, Georgian scientist Giorgi Eliava, was executed in 1937 on the orders of another Georgian, Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s most notorious henchman and the head of his secret police.

Eliava had worked in the Pasteur Institute in Paris with French-Canadian microbiologist Felix d’Herelle, one of the two men credited with discovering phages, and persuaded Stalin to invite him to Tbilisi in 1934. 

But their collaboration was cut short when Beria had Eliava killed, although his motive still remains a mystery. 

With the World Health Organization now declaring antimicrobial resistance a global health crisis, phages are making a comeback, especially as they can target bacteria while leaving human cells intact.

A recent study warned that superbugs could kill as many as 10 million people a year when antimicrobial resistance due to overuse of antibiotics reaches a tipping point. That could come within three decades.

– ‘Training’ viruses –

While phages-based medicines cannot completely replace antibiotics, researchers say they have major pluses in being cheap, not having side-effects nor damaging organs or gut flora.

“We produce six standard phages that are of wide spectrum and can heal multiple infectious diseases,” said Eliava Institute physician Lia Nadareishvili.

In some 10 to 15 percent of patients, however, standard phages don’t work and “we have to find ones capable of killing the particular bacterial strain,” she added.

Tailored phages to target rare infections can be selected from the institute’s massive collection — the world’s richest — or be found in sewage or polluted water or soil, Kutateladze said.

The institute can even “train” phages so that “they can kill more and more different harmful bacteria.”

“It is a cheap and easily accessible therapy,” she added.

– Last-resort treatment –

A 34-year-old American mechanical engineer suffering from a chronic bacterial disease for six years told AFP he “already felt improvement” after two weeks at the Tbilisi institute.

“I’ve tried every possible treatment in the United States,” said Andrew, who would only give his first name.

He is one of the hundreds of patients from around the globe who arrive in Georgia every year for last-resort treatment, said Nadareishvili.

With the traditional antimicrobial armoury depleting rapidly, more clinical studies are needed so that phagotherapy can be more widely approved, Kutateladze argued.

In 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised a clinical study on the use of bacteriophages to cure secondary infections in Covid patients.

Beyond medicine, phages are already being used to stop food going off, and they “can be used in agriculture to protect crops and animals from harmful bacteria,” Kutateladze said. 

The institute has already conducted research on bacteria targeting cotton and rice.

Bacteriophages also have potential to counter biological weapons and combat bioterrorism, with Canadian researchers publishing a 2017 study on using them to counter an anthrax attack on crowded public places.

UN to release handbook of climate change solutions

4 Apr 2022

UN climate experts are set to release what is expected to be the definitive guide to halting global warming on Monday, in a report that lays out how societies and economies must transform to ensure a “liveable” future.

With war in Ukraine spurring an urgent energy rethink in the West, analysts say the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will also be an important resource for nations seeking a rapid transition away from Russian oil and gas.

In recent months the IPCC has published the first two instalments in a trilogy of mammoth scientific assessments covering how greenhouse gas pollution is heating the planet and what that means for life on Earth.

This third report will outline what to do about it.

But that answer has sweeping political ramifications as climate solutions touch on virtually all aspects of modern life — and require significant investment. 

Two weeks of gruelling negotiations have seen nearly 200 nations struggling to thrash out line-by-line a high-level “summary for policymakers” that distils the hundreds of pages of underlying assessment. 

That meeting was supposed to wrap up on Friday, but dragged on through the weekend. The IPCC assessment was originally due to be published publicly on Monday at 0900 GMT, but will now be released at 1500GMT. 

“Everybody has something to lose and everybody has something to gain,” said one person close to the process.

Easy answers are unlikely, with the IPCC expected to detail the need for transformational changes to energy generation and industry, as well as to cities, transportation and food systems. 

To save the world from the worst ravages of climate change, the report is also expected to warn that slashing carbon dioxide pollution is no longer enough. 

And technologies that are not yet operating to scale will need to be ramped up enormously to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere.

A 1.5C cap on global warming — the aspirational goal of the 2015 Paris climate accord — has been embraced as a target by most of the world’s nations.

Barely 1.1C of warming so far has ushered in a devastating surge of deadly extreme weather across the globe.

– Fossil fuels –

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned last month that major economies are allowing carbon pollution to increase when drastic cuts are needed.

“We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe,” he said.

In February, the IPCC report on past, present and future climate change impacts and vulnerabilities detailed what Guterres called an “atlas of human suffering”. 

The report concluded that further delays in cutting carbon pollution and preparing for impacts already in the pipeline “will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”.

Current national carbon-cutting commitments still put the world on a catastrophic path toward 2.7C of warming by 2100.

“How much more destruction must we witness, and how many more scientific reports will it take, before governments finally acknowledge fossil fuels as the real culprits behind the human suffering being felt across the globe?”, said Namrata Chowdhary of 350.org. 

The main focus of the report is on weaning the global economy off fossil fuels and moving to low- or zero-carbon sources of energy, from solar and wind to nuclear, hydro and hydrogen.

Helping that transition is the fact that renewable energy is now cheaper than energy generated by fossil fuels in most markets.

The IPCC also details ways to reduce demand for oil, gas and coal, whether by making buildings more energy-efficient or encouraging shifts in lifestyle, such as eating less beef and not flying half-way around the world for a holiday or business meeting.

With intense political wrangling over the high-level policy summary, some fear the message will have been watered down.  

“The climate crisis is accelerating and fossil fuels are the overwhelming cause. Any report on mitigation that fails to emphasise that fact is denying the very science to which the IPCC is committed,” said Nikki Reisch of the Center for International Environmental Law. 

The report’s finding will feed into UN political negotiations, which resume in November in Egypt at COP 27.   

UN to release handbook of climate change solutions

4 Apr 2022

UN climate experts are set to release what is expected to be the definitive guide to halting global warming on Monday, in a report that lays out how societies and economies must transform to ensure a “liveable” future.

With war in Ukraine spurring an urgent energy rethink in the West, analysts say the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will also be an important resource for nations seeking a rapid transition away from Russian oil and gas.

In recent months the IPCC has published the first two instalments in a trilogy of mammoth scientific assessments covering how greenhouse gas pollution is heating the planet and what that means for life on Earth.

This third report will outline what to do about it.

But that answer has sweeping political ramifications as climate solutions touch on virtually all aspects of modern life — and require significant investment. 

Two weeks of gruelling negotiations have seen nearly 200 nations struggling to thrash out line-by-line a high-level “summary for policymakers” that distils the hundreds of pages of underlying assessment. 

That meeting was supposed to wrap up on Friday, but dragged on through the weekend. The IPCC assessment was originally due to be published publicly on Monday at 0900 GMT, but that is now likely to be delayed until later in the day. 

“Everybody has something to lose and everybody has something to gain,” said one person close to the process.

Easy answers are unlikely, with the IPCC expected to detail the need for transformational changes to energy generation and industry, as well as to cities, transportation and food systems. 

To save the world from the worst ravages of climate change, the report is also expected to warn that slashing carbon dioxide pollution is no longer enough. 

And technologies that are not yet operating to scale will need to be ramped up enormously to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere.

A 1.5C cap on global warming — the aspirational goal of the 2015 Paris climate accord — has been embraced as a target by most of the world’s nations.

Barely 1.1C of warming so far has ushered in a devastating surge of deadly extreme weather across the globe.

– Fossil fuels –

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned last month that major economies are allowing carbon pollution to increase when drastic cuts are needed.

“We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe,” he said.

In February, the IPCC report on past, present and future climate change impacts and vulnerabilities detailed what Guterres called an “atlas of human suffering”. 

The report concluded that further delays in cutting carbon pollution and preparing for impacts already in the pipeline “will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”.

Current national carbon-cutting commitments still put the world on a catastrophic path toward 2.7C of warming by 2100.

“How much more destruction must we witness, and how many more scientific reports will it take, before governments finally acknowledge fossil fuels as the real culprits behind the human suffering being felt across the globe?”, said Namrata Chowdhary of 350.org. 

The main focus of the report is on weaning the global economy off fossil fuels and moving to low- or zero-carbon sources of energy, from solar and wind to nuclear, hydro and hydrogen.

Helping that transition is the fact that renewable energy is now cheaper than energy generated by fossil fuels in most markets.

The IPCC also details ways to reduce demand for oil, gas and coal, whether by making buildings more energy-efficient or encouraging shifts in lifestyle, such as eating less beef and not flying half-way around the world for a holiday or business meeting.

With intense political wrangling over the high level policy summary, some fear the message will have been watered down.  

“The climate crisis is accelerating and fossil fuels are the overwhelming cause. Any report on mitigation that fails to emphasise that fact is denying the very science to which the IPCC is committed,” said Nikki Reisch of the Center for International Environmental Law. 

The report’s finding will feed into UN political negotiations, which resume in November in Egypt at COP 27.   

Pipe dreams: Pakistan sewage workers hope for better future

5 Apr 2022

Nearly naked and covered with a black, foul-smelling muck, Shafiq Masih struggles out of a sewer he has just cleaned by hand in an upmarket district of Lahore, Pakistan’s second biggest city.  

Every day the 44-year-old descends into the city’s sewers, braving toxic gases emitted by excrement, pollutants and other waste, to manually unblock the drains of the city.

“When someone goes down, they have to sacrifice all self-respect,” he told AFP.

“People go to the toilet, flush the toilet, and all the dirt gets dumped on us.”

Like the vast majority of sanitation workers in Pakistan, Shafiq is a Christian, and doing a job that comes with strong social stigma — one considered impure by many Muslims.

Even in death there is no dignity.

In 2017 Muslim doctors sparked outrage and protests in Umerkot when they refused to treat a Christian sewage worker overcome by toxic gases, saying they could not touch his soiled body because they had to remain pure during Ramadan.

– Caste discrimination –

Most Christians in Pakistan are descendants of lower-caste Hindus who converted during the British colonial era in the hope of escaping a system that frequently forced them into a life of toil almost from birth.

They make up less than two percent of the population, but occupy more than 80 percent of jobs involving refuse collection, sewage work and street sweeping, according to figures cited regularly by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The remainder are filled mostly by Hindus, another tiny community in the Muslim-majority nation.

Even though the caste system doesn’t officially exist in Pakistan, it persists in these occupations, experts say. 

The word “chuhra”, traditionally used to describe those working in the sanitation industry — and considered extremely derogatory — is now synonymous with being a Christian.

Institutionalised discrimination is also rampant: some job adverts from public bodies have specified menial cleaning jobs are reserved for “non-Muslims”, with the Centre for Law and Justice, a local NGO, identifying nearly 300 such announcements over the past decade.

The NCHR has recently launched a campaign to protest against this practice.

– Immense risks –

Like much of Pakistan, the drains in Lahore — a city of 11 million — are routinely unclogged with a long bamboo stick. If this doesn’t work, someone has to go in.

For doing this, and after 22 years of service, Shafiq receives just 44,000 rupees ($240) a month — still, almost double the salary of street sweepers and garbage collectors.

But the associated risks are immense with infections including tuberculosis and hepatitis common, as well as skin and eye diseases.

Accidents also happen frequently.

At least ten people have died since 2019 in Pakistani sewers, according to the Centre for Law and Justice (CLJ), a local NGO which says the figures are probably far higher than reported.

In October in Sargodha, two Christian sewage workers died rescuing a third who had been forced by his Muslim supervisors to enter a sewer he knew to be full of poisonous gas.

Their families filed a complaint of criminal negligence — a first in Pakistan — but agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

“When you go to work, you are never sure you will get home,” said Shahbaz Masih, 32, who was once overcome by fumes in the sewer before being revived in hospital.

– State exploitation –

Industry insiders say companies responsible for the city contracts take advantage of worker illiteracy and disorganisation to pay them monthly salaries of under 10,000 rupees (50 euros) — less than half the legal minimum.

“The state is directly responsible for this exploitation,” says Mary James Gill, a Pakistani lawyer and politician who heads the CLJ and received the 2021 Human Rights Award from France for her “Sweepers are Superheroes” campaign.

“From their recruitment to their death, we have clear and undeniable evidence that they are discriminated against by society and the state.”

Gill says there is a vicious circle, with poverty preventing many Christians from providing an education for their children, who have no choice but to turn to the same occupation.

Shafiq knows that he is not about to be promoted and leave the sewers.

Still, every day he “thanks God for another day to live”.

Pipe dreams: Pakistan sewage workers hope for better future

4 Apr 2022

Nearly naked and covered with a black, foul-smelling muck, Shafiq Masih struggles out of a sewer he has just cleaned by hand in an upmarket district of Lahore, Pakistan’s second biggest city.  

Every day the 44-year-old descends into the city’s sewers, braving toxic gases emitted by excrement, pollutants and other waste, to manually unblock the drains of the city.

“When someone goes down, they have to sacrifice all self-respect,” he told AFP.

“People go to the toilet, flush the toilet, and all the dirt gets dumped on us.”

Like the vast majority of sanitation workers in Pakistan, Shafiq is a Christian, and doing a job that comes with strong social stigma — one considered impure by many Muslims.

Even in death there is no dignity.

In 2017 Muslim doctors sparked outrage and protests in Umerkot when they refused to treat a Christian sewage worker overcome by toxic gases, saying they could not touch his soiled body because they had to remain pure during Ramadan.

– Caste discrimination –

Most Christians in Pakistan are descendants of lower-caste Hindus who converted during the British colonial era in the hope of escaping a system that frequently forced them into a life of toil almost from birth.

They make up less than two percent of the population, but occupy more than 80 percent of jobs involving refuse collection, sewage work and street sweeping, according to figures cited regularly by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The remainder are filled mostly by Hindus, another tiny community in the Muslim-majority nation.

Even though the caste system doesn’t officially exist in Pakistan, it persists in these occupations, experts say. 

The word “chuhra”, traditionally used to describe those working in the sanitation industry — and considered extremely derogatory — is now synonymous with being a Christian.

Institutionalised discrimination is also rampant: some job adverts from public bodies have specified menial cleaning jobs are reserved for “non-Muslims”, with the Centre for Law and Justice, a local NGO, identifying nearly 300 such announcements over the past decade.

The NCHR has recently launched a campaign to protest against this practice.

– Immense risks –

Like much of Pakistan, the drains in Lahore — a city of 11 million — are routinely unclogged with a long bamboo stick. If this doesn’t work, someone has to go in.

For doing this, and after 22 years of service, Shafiq receives just 44,000 rupees ($240) a month — still, almost double the salary of street sweepers and garbage collectors.

But the associated risks are immense with infections including tuberculosis and hepatitis common, as well as skin and eye diseases.

Accidents also happen frequently.

At least ten people have died since 2019 in Pakistani sewers, according to the Centre for Law and Justice (CLJ), a local NGO which says the figures are probably far higher than reported.

In October in Sargodha, two Christian sewage workers died rescuing a third who had been forced by his Muslim supervisors to enter a sewer he knew to be full of poisonous gas.

Their families filed a complaint of criminal negligence — a first in Pakistan — but agreed to an out-of-court settlement.

“When you go to work, you are never sure you will get home,” said Shahbaz Masih, 32, who was once overcome by fumes in the sewer before being revived in hospital.

– State exploitation –

Industry insiders say companies responsible for the city contracts take advantage of worker illiteracy and disorganisation to pay them monthly salaries of under 10,000 rupees (50 euros) — less than half the legal minimum.

“The state is directly responsible for this exploitation,” says Mary James Gill, a Pakistani lawyer and politician who heads the CLJ and received the 2021 Human Rights Award from France for her “Sweepers are Superheroes” campaign.

“From their recruitment to their death, we have clear and undeniable evidence that they are discriminated against by society and the state.”

Gill says there is a vicious circle, with poverty preventing many Christians from providing an education for their children, who have no choice but to turn to the same occupation.

Shafiq knows that he is not about to be promoted and leave the sewers.

Still, every day he “thanks God for another day to live”.

Asian markets mixed as strong US jobs data boosts rate hike bets

4 Apr 2022

Asian markets were mixed Monday as another strong jobs report provided some reassurance that the recovery in the US economy remained on track but also solidified expectations for more aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The gains were helped by another drop in oil prices after the 31-nation International Energy Agency agreed to tap its vast reserves to offset the removal of Russian exports, while the start of a ceasefire in Yemen eased concerns over supplies from the region.

Officials said Friday that the world’s top economy added 431,000 positions in March while the unemployment rate fell to just slightly above pre-pandemic levels. 

The figures showed that while inflation has surged to a 40-year high and the Ukraine war has fanned uncertainty, the recovery continues.

The economy’s resilience will be taken as further evidence that the economy could withstand a sharper rise in interest rates to bring prices under control, with many observers now predicting a half-point hike in May.

However, expectations that rates will continue to go up have seen Treasury yields surge with commentators saying there were warning signs that growth will slow as the year progresses.

“It would not be surprising to see yields rise further from here and it is very hard to know where they will land,” Angela Ashton, of Evergreen Consultants, noted.

“Markets are volatile and there is every chance they will overshoot.”

A positive close on Wall Street was followed by a broadly upbeat start to the week in Asia.

Hong Kong led gains thanks to a rally in tech firms after Beijing removed a rule preventing US authorities from inspecting the audits of Chinese companies listed in New York.

The announcement came after a drawn-out row between the two countries with Washington saying Chinese firms could be delisted by 2024 if they do not comply with audit requirements. 

The demand put at risk more than 200 companies including ecommerce titans Alibaba and JD.com and Tencent.

Singapore, Sydney and Seoul also rose, though Tokyo, Manila and Jakarta struggled.

Crude extended Friday’s losses — with WTI holding below $100 — after IEA members including the United States, Japan the European Union pledged to dip into stockpiles to shore up tight supplies caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The grouping made the promise at an emergency ministerial meeting, having already announced last week a plan to release more than 60 million barrels.

That came a day after Joe Biden said he would release a record 180 million barrels onto the market over six months.

Meanwhile, there was also some cheer from news of a 60-day ceasefire in Yemen’s six-year civil war, which has seen several attacks on Saudi facilities that have hit output from the world’s biggest producer.

Still, analysts said that while markets equity and crude markets have shown some stability after the wild swings seen at the start of the Ukraine war, uncertainty continued to act as a drag and traders remained nervous.

“Risk sentiment over the past week has been inconsistent,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes.

“Market signals could be characterised by a repetitive cat-and-mouse game whereby headlines initially emerge around the progress in ceasefire talks before being typically walked down by Russian officials who deny the odds of any close peace deal.

– Key figures around 0230 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 27,626.77 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.2 percent at 22,297.32

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $104.00 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $99.01 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1051 from $1.1049 late Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3112 from $1.3118

Euro/pound: UP at 84.28 pence at 84.24 pence 

Dollar/yen: UP at 122.61 yen from 122.49 yen

New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 34,818.27 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,537.90 (close)

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