The US has banned the import of surgical gloves from two subsidiaries of Malaysia's Top Glove - the world's biggest manufacturer of the product - over forced labour concerns, despite soaring demand during the coronavirus pandemic.Countries worldwide have been scrambling to stock up on protective gear, from gloves to faces masks, since the pandemic began earlier this year.But US Customs and Border Protection said it decided to impose the ban on Top Glove "based on reasonable evi

Some of the Chinese government’s recent policies seem to make little practical sense, with its decision to impose a national-security law on Hong Kong being a prime example.

As COVID-19 spread from China to Europe and then the United States (US), pandemic-stricken countries found themselves in a mad scramble for medical supplies – masks, ventilators, protective garments. More often than not, it was to China that they had to turn.By the time the crisis erupted, China had become the world’s largest supplier of key products, accounting for half of all European and US imports of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The COVID-19 pandemic is entering its second phase as countries gradually reopen their economies and loosen or even revoke strict social-distancing measures. Yet, barring the arrival of an effective, universally available therapy or vaccine, the transition back to “normal” will be more aspirational than real.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday formally started the withdrawal of the United States (US) from the World Health Organization (WHO), making good on threats to deprive the United Nations (UN) body of its top funding source over its response to the coronavirus.Public health advocates and Trump's political opponents voiced outrage at the departure from the Geneva-based body, which leads the global fight on maladies from polio to measles to mental health - as well as COVID-19, at a time whe

COVID-19 infection rates are rising in much of the United States (US). Even if the US can prevent outbreaks in the South and Southwest from worsening during the summer, experience with other coronaviruses counsels the preparation for a potentially major onslaught during the fall.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries hit by serious coronavirus outbreaks to "wake up" to the realities on the ground instead of bickering, and to "take control"."People need to wake up. The data is not lying.

From remote Himalayan valleys to small tropical islands and tense Western capitals, an increasingly assertive China is taking on conflicts around the world like never before as the United States (US) retreats.China's imposition this week of a controversial security law in Hong Kong, defying a barrage of criticism from the West, offered another example of its rising confidence as a global superpower.The confrontations are seen as part of President Xi Jinping's nationalist drive to re

Widespread lockdowns and border closures aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic have interrupted global supply chains and largely paralysed the global economy.

European Union (EU) member states remained divided Friday over the partial reopening of Europe's border on 1 July, though the United States (US), where the coronavirus is still spreading, was to remain excluded, diplomats said.EU envoys have argued for days on drawing up a list of criteria for reopening borders, with some member states worried about the reliability of coronavirus data, notably from China.Sources said that the meeting ended with a tentative list of about 18 countries free