Previously, the CIA did not take a position on where the virus - which is responsible for more than seven million deaths worldwide - came from.

The billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder thinks the world is poised to make the same mistakes from the last pandemic.

Bill Gates said in a recent interview that the chance of another pandemic in the next 4 years is between 10% and 15%.

The Central Intelligence Agency said the Covid-19 pandemic “more likely” originated from a lab leak than a natural source, shifting its stance after previously saying both scenarios were possible.

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 intelligence agency says it has a “low confidence” in its new finding, but this is further than it has ever gone in pinpointing the origin of a virus that killed millions worldwide.

The CIA says it has "low confidence" in its assessment that a "research-related origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is more likely."

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves needs output to pick up in order to drive higher tax revenues. However, private sector activity fell again in the three months to January, the Confederation of British Industry’s monthly growth indicator said, reaching its weakest level since February 2021 when lockdown rules were still in force.

An executive order is in the works that would halt U.S. funding for research that makes viruses that are more virulent or contagious.

The finding suggests the agency believes the totality of evidence makes a lab origin more likely than a natural origin, but the agency's assessment assigns a low degree of confidence to this conclusion.

The Central Intelligence Agency has assessed that the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have emerged from a lab rather than from nature, an agency spokesperson said on Saturday