Portside

The coronavirus will likely strike the Global South more viciously than it is currently hitting the United States and other well-off nations. The pandemic has the potential to devastate poorer nations with weak health care systems.

The Nov. 24 blaze in Bangladesh killed 112 garment workers and increased pressure on Wal-Mart and other Western retailers to help improve factory conditions and take more direct responsibility for their suppliers. Clothing bound for Wal-Mart and Sears was found in the charred ruins. Both companies have said suppliers used the Tazreen factory without their permission and were fired.