US renews call for 'transparent' second investigation into origins of Covid

US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra has urged the WHO to ensure that the next phase of investigation into Covid-19's origins are more “transparent” and "science-based", amidst media reports here suggesting growing evidence that the virus could have emerged from a laboratory in China.
 
In March, the WHO issued a report written jointly with Chinese scientists on the origins of Covid-19, saying the chances of it having started in a lab were "extremely unlikely”. But the US and some other countries have raised concerns about the way the mission of the WHO experts was carried out in China, including in