Primary Country (Mandatory)

United States

Other Country (Optional)

Set News Language for United States

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language[s] (Optional)
No other language available

Set News Language for World

Primary Language (Mandatory)
English
Other Language(s) (Optional)

Set News Source for United States

Primary Source (Mandatory)
CNN
Other Source[s] (Optional)

Set News Source for World

Primary Source (Mandatory)
AajTak
Other Source(s) (Optional)
  • Countries
    • India
    • United States
    • Qatar
    • Germany
    • China
    • Canada
    • World
  • Categories
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Special
    • All Categories
  • Available Languages for United States
    • English
  • All Languages
    • English
    • Hindi
    • Arabic
    • German
    • Chinese
    • French
  • Sources
    • India
      • AajTak
      • NDTV India
      • The Hindu
      • India Today
      • Zee News
      • NDTV
      • BBC
      • The Wire
      • News18
      • News 24
      • The Quint
      • ABP News
      • Zee News
      • News 24
    • United States
      • CNN
      • Fox News
      • Al Jazeera
      • CBSN
      • NY Post
      • Voice of America
      • The New York Times
      • HuffPost
      • ABC News
      • Newsy
    • Qatar
      • Al Jazeera
      • Al Arab
      • The Peninsula
      • Gulf Times
      • Al Sharq
      • Qatar Tribune
      • Al Raya
      • Lusail
    • Germany
      • DW
      • ZDF
      • ProSieben
      • RTL
      • n-tv
      • Die Welt
      • Süddeutsche Zeitung
      • Frankfurter Rundschau
    • China
      • China Daily
      • BBC
      • The New York Times
      • Voice of America
      • Beijing Daily
      • The Epoch Times
      • Ta Kung Pao
      • Xinmin Evening News
    • Canada
      • CBC
      • Radio-Canada
      • CTV
      • TVA Nouvelles
      • Le Journal de Montréal
      • Global News
      • BNN Bloomberg
      • Métro
MoreBack to News Headlines
CIA assesses lab leak most plausible source of Covid-19, though with low confidence

CIA assesses lab leak most plausible source of Covid-19, though with low confidence

CNN
Saturday, January 25, 2025 9:01 PM GMT

The CIA now assesses the virus that causes Covid-19 more likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, rather than occurring naturally, according to a statement from the agency Saturday, just days after Director John Ratcliffe took the reins.

The CIA now assesses the virus that causes Covid-19 more likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, rather than occurring naturally, according to a statement from the agency Saturday, just days after Director John Ratcliffe took the reins. The agency has for years said it did not have enough information to determine which origin theory was more likely — and its new assessment is only a “low confidence” judgment. It still deems that a natural-origin scenario remains possible. But the determination to declassify and make that assessment public represents one of the first major moves by Ratcliffe, who has long favored the theory that the pandemic originated from research being done in China and vowed in an interview published in Breitbart on Thursday that he would make the issue a Day 1 priority. “I’ve been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictates that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Ratcliffe told Breitbart. “But the CIA has not made that assessment or at least not made that assessment publicly. So I’m going to focus on that and look at the intelligence and make sure that the public is aware that the agency is going to get off the sidelines.” A US official emphasized the new assessment predates the Trump administration. The agency’s director under former President Joe Biden, Bill Burns, had pushed analysts to take a position on the origins of the pandemic, and this assessment was made and published within the US government before Trump took office Monday, the official said. It was not made based on new intelligence gathered by the US government — officials have long said such intelligence is unlikely to surface so many years later — and instead was reached after a review of existing information.

Read full story on CNN
Share this story on:-
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running GamePlay Run 3, the ultimate space tunnel running game with 300+ challenging levels!Adv.
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing GameTraffic Jam 3D is a game where you’ll be driving through heavy traffic.Adv.
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic GamePlay the classic 1984 light gun shooter game Duck Hunt on your browser.Adv.
More Related News
Parking Slot | Free Parking GamePlay Parking Slot, the best online 3D car driving and parking game.Adv.
Slope Ball Run - Play OnlineSlope Game takes you on an exciting journey of a ball on special paths.Adv.
ICE targets migrants for arrest at courthouses as Trump administration intensifies deportation push

Migrants are being detained by immigration agents in courthouse hallways nationwide, sometimes moments after pleading their cases, raising alarm among attorneys and advocates.

Fire in a drug rehabilitation center in violence-plagued Mexican state kills 12, authorities say

A fire in a drug rehabilitation center in the violence-plagued Mexican state of Guanajuato killed 12 people and injured at least three others, authorities said Sunday.

FBI investigating incident in Colorado as ‘act of terror’ with multiple injuries reported

The FBI is responding to a targeted terror attack in Boulder, Colorado

2025 MIT class president banned from graduation ceremony after pro-Palestinian speech

The 2025 class president of MIT was barred from attending her graduation ceremony on Friday after delivering a speech denouncing the war in Gaza at a commencement event the day before.

Start your week smart: Hurricane season, NASA nomination, Pacers defeat Knicks, United Airlines, Hajj

CNN’s 5 Things Sunday brings you all the news you need to start your week smart.

‘We are under a dictatorship.’ Six years into his rule, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele tightens his grip

Nayib Bukele, the self-declared “world’s coolest dictator,” will mark six years as El Salvador’s president on Sunday, a period defined by contentious reforms, which critics say have brought peace to the streets at an incredibly high price.

Trans high school athlete competes in California finals in shadow of protests, Trump funding threats

The transgender high school athlete whose participation in this weekend’s California track and field championships prompted President Trump’s threat to remove state funding is competing in the finals on Saturday after she placed first in three events.

Trump withdraws Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA ‘after a thorough review of prior associations’

President Donald Trump on Saturday rescinded his nomination of tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, citing a “thorough review of prior associations.”

Joni Ernst’s ‘Well, we all are going to die,’ and the GOP’s flippant defenses of Trump’s agenda

One of the reasons politicians don’t often engage in massive overhauls of the American economy is that it’s very difficult to defend a massive overhaul of the American economy. However good any given plan is, it often produces losers and – even in the best of cases – some short-term pain.

Trump’s foreign policy frustrations are piling up

World leaders are pursuing their own versions of national interest on different historical and actual timelines than the transactional aspirations of American presidents.

© 2008 - 2025 Webjosh  |  News Archive  |  Privacy Policy  |  Contact Us