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At 9:30 p.m. on the 24th, episode 436 of ‘Correspondents Report: The World Now’ on KBS1 will report on the tense situation as a ‘tariff war’ fails to break out between the United States and the EU over Greenland. It will also examine the lives of manhole cleaners in Pakistan, where at least 84 people have died over the past five years and some have even faced treatment refusals.

■ The tariff bomb thrown by Trump: what future for Greenland and Europe?

Recently, the long-standing alliance between the United States and Europe has faced a crisis, shaking the global order. The spark was the explicit intention of President Trump to buy Greenland. Europe, which had previously pursued a conciliatory approach toward Trump, has begun to push back hard.

On the 17th, Trump used social media to target eight European countries, including Denmark and Norway, that had dispatched troops to Greenland, declaring, “From February, an additional 10 percent tariff, and from June, 25 percent,” and adding, “The measure will remain in effect until the purchase of Greenland is completed.”

In response, the European Union immediately signaled retaliatory tariffs on the United States worth 93 billion euros. Reports even emerged that it was considering invoking trade-restriction measures against America, heightening concerns about a possible tariff war. Across Europe, large-scale protests were held opposing the purchase of Greenland by Trump.

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In the capital of Greenland, citizens amounting to one quarter of the entire population took to the streets wearing red caps emblazoned with ‘Make America Go Away’.

Yet on the 21st, the mood suddenly reversed. Trump withdrew the plan to levy additional tariffs on the eight European countries. He said on social media that a framework had been created for a future agreement covering the entire Arctic region. Having attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he appears to have entered a negotiating phase after meeting with the NATO secretary-general.

Still, it cannot be said that the conflict between the United States and Europe has been completely resolved. The details of any agreement have not yet been clarified, and it has emerged that the issue of the ownership of Greenland was not discussed at the talks. Denmark and Greenland emphasized that they would not yield an inch on territorial ownership, saying, “the ambition of Trump remains unchanged.” This week, ‘Correspondents Report: The World Now’ takes a closer look at how the United States and Europe, after a hardline-versus-hardline confrontation, have shifted into negotiations.

■ A life blocked by a 60 cm opening, manhole cleaners in Pakistan

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Pakistan suffers severe flood damage every monsoon season. In August last year, floods triggered by torrential rains resulted in many casualties. Flood damage in Pakistan is not due only to abnormal climate phenomena; a chronic factor is the poor sewage system.

With drains that clog readily, rainwater and wastewater cannot escape. When contaminated water overflows, the risk increases not only of floods but also of the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, and skin ailments, posing serious danger to residents. To prevent this, there are people who go in and out of the sewers every day where wastewater and trash flow in: the manhole cleaners. A KBS crew visited Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, for an in-depth report on them.

A manhole opening roughly 60 cm in diameter. Beneath it, all sorts of trash, mud, and wastewater are pooled together. Before descending, the cleaners smoke cigarettes laced with drugs. They say that even veterans with more than ten years of experience find it hard to enter sober, so they smoke to numb the brain and focus on the job. Without overalls, helmets, or gloves, they rely only on a safety line, and once inside they must scoop out by hand the trash that blocks the sewer. Among the heaps are broken glass bottles, syringes, and knives. It is common for hands to be cut while handling the trash with bare hands.

Even more dangerous are the toxic gases that cannot be seen. Many workers die after being poisoned while working without masks. Over the past five years in Pakistan, at least 84 cleaners have died on the job. There are also instances in which doctors regard the cleaners as unclean and refuse treatment. Although their working environment harbors the risk of death every day, they say they ultimately have nowhere else to go.

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This week, ‘Correspondents Report: The World Now’ examines the reality facing manhole cleaners in Pakistan, who confront the threat of death daily yet cannot switch to other jobs, and explores what structural problems in society are at work.

Episode 436 of ‘Correspondents Report: The World Now’ features announcer Yoon Soo-Young; Professor Kim Jae-Cheon (Sogang University); division head Oh Geon-Young (Shinhan Bank); Professor Yoon Seok-Jun (Sungkonghoe University); and PD Noh Jun-Ho (KBS), and will be broadcast live on KBS1 at 9:30 p.m. on January 24.