China warns against ‘manipulation’ of WHO virus probe

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry has warned against what it calls possible “political manipulation” of a renewed probe by the World Health Organization into the origins of the coronavirus. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry said Thursday Beijing would support the U.N. health agency’s efforts but it would “firmly oppose any forms of political manipulation.” The WHO on Wednesday released a proposed list of 25 experts to advise it on next steps in the search for the virus’ origins after its earlier efforts were attacked for going too easy on China. The first human cases of COVID-19 infections were detected in central China in late 2019.