German spy agency rejects US claims COVID leaked from lab: report
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Germany‘s intelligence agency has cast doubt on US allegations that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese lab, saying the accusations are an attempt to distract attention from the US failure to control the pandemic, according to a report published in Der Spiegel magazine on Friday.

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In this April 29, 2020, file photo Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington. (Photo: AP)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has claimed that there was “a significant amount of evidence” that the coronavirus leaked from a Chinese lab but did not refute the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that the virus was not man-made.  

US President Donald Trump also backed the Wuhan lab theory at a White House briefing last week but did not elaborate on the matter. 

However, an intelligence report prepared for German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer concluded that the US accusations were made so that the US president can steer clear of the criticisms from the public for his “own failures,” according to a Reuters summary of the Der Spiegel article. 

As of 10 pm BJT on Friday, the coronavirus pandemic has infected 1,293,723 Americans and claimed the lives of 76,771, according to the 1Point3Acres virus tracker.