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Two more Filipino Paralympians get their Tokyo campaigns going

FILIPINO para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan competes in the men’s 200m individual medley SM6 event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games on Friday. — ERNIE GAWILAN FB PAGE

TWO more Filipino Paralympians get their respective campaigns going at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Friday.

Wheelchair racer Jerrold Mangliwan and para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan will be on tap in scheduled events of the sporting meet for the differently-abled.

Mr. Mangliwan will see action in the men’s 400m T52 event while Mr. Gawilan competes in the men’s 200m individual medley SM6.

The Tokyo Games will be the second Paralympics for Mr. Mangliwan, 41, who has paraplegia which he acquired from polio, and knows how tough the competition is.

But he remains undeterred, believing that they have trained well enough, and confident of his chances.

“Quitters don’t win. So we will not quit,” said Mr. Mangliwan in Filipino. “We have seen the records of my opponents and me and my coach feel I have a chance against them.”

He went on to say that the strategy for them is to take it a round at a time and do their best.

“My goal is to make it to the finals and take it from there.”

Mr. Gawilan, 30, also a veteran Paralympian, meanwhile, is sure of what he wants to achieve in Tokyo.

“We’re going there not just to play around, but to compete and do well,” said Mr. Gawilan, who is lacking both legs and has an underdeveloped left limb.

The Davao native is a decorated para-swimmer, having won medals, including gold, in the Asian Para Games and ASEAN Para Games.

He takes pride in being an inspiration to many differently abled individuals, and something he looks to continue doing at the Tokyo Games.

“Sports has helped me become the person that I am now. It was not easy, but if you have determination and you work hard you can achieve whatever you want in life,” he said in a recent media forum.

Meanwhile, para-swimmer Gary Bejino failed to advance to the finals of the men’s 200m IM SM6 event on Thursday at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre after finishing last in a field of 17, which was divided in three heats. He clocked in at 3:17.19.

He gets backs into action in the men’s 50m butterfly S6 and 400m freestyle S6 on Sept. 2 and men’s 100m backstroke S6 on Sept. 3. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PSC to name facilities after country’s sports heroes

DIFFERENT sport facilities in the country will be renamed after sport heroes as the Philippine Sports Commission approved the move. — PATRICK ROQUE

DIFFERENT sport facilities in the country will be renamed after sport heroes as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) approved the move.

In a statement on Thursday, the PSC said the renaming of selected sports facilities is in line with the push to give honor to athletes who did the Philippines proud with their achievements.

The sports heroes to be honored are already enshrined in the Philippine Sports Hall of Fame, save for weightlifter Hidilyn F. Diaz, the country’s first Olympic gold medalist.

The weightlifting gym at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC) in Malate, Manila, will be named as the Hidilyn Diaz Weightlifting Gym, the PSC said.

The PSC Board also approved the renaming of the Rizal Memorial Tennis Court to Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Court, RMSC Swimming Pool to Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Pool, and the Rizal Memorial Track Stadium to Simeon Toribio Track Stadium.

The originally named PSC Multi-Purpose Gym located in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex was reverted back to its original title.

“These athletes have given the honor to the country with their work in sports, we hope to keep their legacies alive for this and next generations. We want to pique the interest of the people who will read about or visit the facility. Who is Teofilo Yldefonso? What did Felicisimo Ampon do that this venue is named to him?” said PSC Chairman William I. Ramirez.

The PSC said this was just the first round of naming its venues to sports heroes just as it announced more facilities will rise under its watch, including a bigger, interactive and modern Philippine Sports Museum building in RMSC. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pagcor expresses continued support for sports development

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) expressed its continued commitment in doing its share in the country’s sports development even during this difficult time of the pandemic.

This was shared by Pagcor Chairman Andrea D. Domingo at the online “Pandesal Forum” on Thursday, where she briefly talked about their agency’s experience in helping Philippine sports’ growth during these trying times and plans for it moving forward.

Under Republic Act 6847, or the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Act, Pagcor is required to directly remit 5% of its gross income to the PSC for the latter’s programs. This is apart from other contributions it has been providing.

It is something Ms. Domingo said they are trying to fulfill even during this time of the pandemic, notwithstanding reduced revenues brought about by the limitations in their operations, which is now mostly relying on online mode of play like offshore gaming, online electronic games and online e-bingo.

“From 2016 up to last month, we’ve been able to remit to the PSC almost P7.3 billion. Even during this time of the pandemic, we continue to give them although last year it wasn’t really good as we gave them I think on the average P60 million. But this time it’s getting better,” said Ms. Domingo.

She went on to say that in July this year, she signed a check for the PSC worth P98 million as part of their mandatory contribution. Ms. Domingo, however, added that for August they got hit by the two-week Enhanced Community Quarantine closure which could affect their remittance.

“But we still try to do our best even during this time.”

Recently, the PSC acknowledged the key role that Pagcor played in the country’s historic finish in the recently concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the Philippines had its best-ever performance in nearly a century of participation, winning its first-ever gold medal to go along with two silvers and a bronze.

“Pagcor’s contributions funded the training and preparation of the Philippine team for the Olympics. With their help, our national athletes are able to show the world just how talented the Filipino athletes are,” said PSC Chairman William I. Ramirez during the Tokyo Olympians’ courtesy call on President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday, where the athletes, too, got their incentives and rewards from the government, P38.5 million coming from Pagcor.

The gaming regulatory body contributed, too, to the rehabilitation of major sports facilities, including the Rizal Memorial Coliseum and Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila, which were used during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Moving forward, Ms. Domingo said their commitment to support the national sports programs through “ample financial backing” stays.

Of course, she said, it is all dependent on their revenue performance, which for this year they see anywhere between P35 billion and P38 billion.

“Back in 2018 and 2019, we were remitting to PSC an average of P150 million a month because we are doing very well. But with the pandemic, it really dropped,” Ms. Domingo said.

“But we are steadily recovering and maybe by the latter part of 2022, if all the marketing efforts work out and the pandemic is under control, we can return to those levels of remittance all the way to 2023,” she added. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Paris St.-Germain rejects Real Madrid’s bid for Mbappé — Leonardo

PARIS — Paris St.-Germain (PSG) have rejected an offer from Real Madrid for France forward Kylian Mbappé, the French club’s sporting director Leonardo told BFM and RMC Sport, saying the offer was “not sufficient.”

Spanish and French media reported on Tuesday that Real Madrid had made a €160-million ($187.81-million) bid for the 22-year-old World Cup winner who scored 42 goals in all competitions for PSG last season and has reportedly said he wants to move to Spain.

Leonardo said that PSG, who have just signed Argentina forward Lionel Messi from Barcelona, did not plan to discuss the Mbappé matter again with Real Madrid and that if Mbappé wanted to leave, he would have to do so on PSG’s terms.

“Kylian Mbappé feels like leaving, this seems clear to me… Our goal is to extend and keep him. If a player wants to leave, it must be under our terms. This applies not just to Kylian, but to all players.”

Leonardo would not confirm the figure of 160 million euro, but said the bid was “around that.” “We consider the offer as being very far from what Kylian is worth today,” he added.

Mbappé joined PSG from AS Monaco in 2017, on loan initially and then permanently a year later in a deal valued at €180 million. — Reuters

Yankees visit A’s in key series for wild card contenders

TWO teams that have flip-flopped positions in the American League wild card race and currently are streaking in opposite directions open a critical four-game series when the Oakland Athletics host the New York Yankees on Thursday night.

The Yankees flew to Oakland after a two-game sweep at Atlanta that extended their winning streak to a season-best 11 games.

They currently lead the AL wild card race after having been in third place, four games behind Oakland, after a loss in the Field of Dreams Game on Aug. 12 left them at 63-52.

They haven’t lost since.

Meanwhile, the A’s have gone just 3-9 since that date, including a current four-game losing streak that has dropped them to third in the wild card race, with the Yankees having moved 4 1/2 games ahead.

Interestingly, both teams enter the series with bullpen issues. The difference has been that the Yankees have been able to overcome them.

New York closer Aroldis Chapman was pulled from each of his past two save opportunities, during which he faced 11 batters and allowed four hits and three walks.

He got bailed out of a two-on, two-out situation in a 5-2 game by Lucas Luetge on Aug. 18 against Boston before being asked to hand the ball to Wandy Peralta with the bases loaded in a 5-4 game on Tuesday at Atlanta.

Luetge and Peralta earned saves in those games.

“We gotta figure it out,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Chapman’s recent issues after the Tuesday win. “The bottom line is, a lot of people are doing some really good things down there, and Chappy is going to be one of them, too. We just have to continue to find ways to win games. It really is just a little bit of all hands on deck.”

The A’s have attempted a similar approach in their current losing streak, during which they led the San Francisco Giants 5-2 going to the seventh inning and 1-0 entering the eighth on consecutive days, only to see Andrew Chafin, Lou Trivino and A.J. Puk serve up a total of four home runs in what turned into one-run defeats.

Trivino was victimized again in the ninth Monday, blowing a 3-2 lead in a 5-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

The A’s fell in a more conventional manner, 5-1, to the Mariners on Tuesday, after which manager Bob Melvin labeled his team’s skid a full-roster problem, not merely a late-innings bullpen nightmare.

“We’re putting too much pressure on every facet that we have right now,” he said. “We’ve lost some close games. This is the wrong time to go into a slump, wrong time to go into a team slump. We have to flip the switch and play like we do… We’ll figure it out.”

Yankees right-hander Jameson Taillon (8-4, 3.94 ERA) and A’s righty James Kaprielian (7-4, 3.25) are the scheduled starters on Thursday in a rematch of the season series opener at New York on June 18, a game the A’s won 5-3.

In each pitcher’s first-ever head-to-head with the opponent, Kaprielian got the win, charged with three runs — including home runs by DJ LeMahieu and Rougned Odor — in 5 2/3 innings. Taillon didn’t get a decision after allowing two runs — including a Matt Olson homer — in 4 2/3 innings.

Kaprielian, a former Yankees farmhand, has won his past three home starts, limiting the Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Giants to three runs in 17 innings. Taillon hasn’t lost anywhere since May 31, going 7-0 with a 3.21 ERA in his past 14 starts. — Reuters

Shakhtar sinks Monaco to reach Champions League group stage

BELGRADE — Shakhtar Donetsk clinched a berth in the lucrative Champions League (CL) group stage with a dramatic 3-2 aggregate win over Monaco after fighting back from two goals down in their playoff round return leg on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian side joined RB Salzburg as the Austrian champions beat Danes Brøndby 4-2 on aggregate, and Sheriff Tiraspol, who became the first Moldovan side to reach the group stage with a 3-0 overall victory against Dinamo Zagreb.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg at home, Monaco turned the tide as a Wissam Ben Yedder brace gave them a 2-0 lead on the night in Kharkiv before second-half substitute Marlos leveled the tie with a 74th-minute strike.

With the away goals rule no longer in effect in European club competition as of this season, Shakhtar forced the final twist thanks to a 114th-minute own goal from Monaco captain Ruben Aguilar after the French side missed a string of chances.

Ben Yedder fired a dominant Monaco into an 18th-minute lead on the night and put the visitors in the driving seat in the 39th when he steered home a superb low cross from the left by Caio Henrique.

Ben Yedder then missed a pair of sitters either side of half time and Shakhtar goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov denied Kevin Volland with a superb stoppage-time save after Marlos had given Shakhtar a lifeline with a neat finish inside the near post.

Shakhtar were on the back foot in extra time too, but Monaco were ultimately punished for their misses when Aguilar stuck his foot out to block a pass and the looping clearance sailed over goalkeeper Alexander Nübel into the back of the net.

Salzburg raced into a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the return leg against Brondby as Benjamin Sesko struck with a clinical finish and Brenden Aaronson added the second when he slid the ball under goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

Brøndby defender Andreas Maxsoe pulled one back for the home side from close range in the 62nd minute, but it was scant consolation for the Danish side as Salzburg held out comfortably.

Having stunned Dinamo (3-0) at home in the first leg, Sheriff eased to a goalless draw in Croatia’s capital to defy the odds again after they knocked out 1991 European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade in the previous qualifying round. — Reuters

Venus joins sister Serena, Kenin in missing US Open

VENUS Williams will miss the upcoming US Open due to an injury, becoming the third US female after her sister Serena and Sofia Kenin to announce on Wednesday they would not take part in the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Two-time US Open champion and former world number one Venus made the announcement in a video posted on social media.

“Not the best news from Serena and I today,” she said.

“I, too, am unable to play the US Open. It’s super, super, super disappointing, having some issues with my leg all this summer and just couldn’t work through it.”

The 41-year-old Venus, who has seven Grand Slam titles to her name, said she would miss competing at her “favorite slam” and wished all the other players good luck.

Earlier in the day, younger sister Serena withdrew with a torn hamstring, making it the first time since 2003 that neither has appeared at the tournament in Flushing Meadows.

The siblings add their names to a long list of players who will miss the tournament due to injury including Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Simona Halep.

Fifth seed and 2020 Australian Open champion Kenin withdrew from the competition with a breakthrough coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection.

“I am writing with disappointing news,” Kenin wrote on Twitter.

“Recently, I tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, I am vaccinated and thus my symptoms have been fairly mild. However, I have continued to test positive and thus will not be able to compete at the US Open next week.

“I plan to spend the next several weeks getting healthy and preparing to play well this fall. Thank you all for supporting me. I want to wish all the players the best of luck in New York.”

The 22-year-old Kenin, who also goes by Sonya, is one of an impressive crop of young Americans in the game, along with Jennifer Brady, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins.

US Open main draw matches begin on Monday. — Reuters

Lingering leg injury

It’s a testament to Serena Williams’ accomplishments that she’s ranked 20th in the world despite a pronounced inability to perform with consistency. In the last five years, she has had to deal with a variety of ailments, advancing age, and the demands of motherhood while aiming to remain relevant on the court. For those from the outside looking in, however, it bears noting that she claimed her last two Grand Slam championships early in the period; her Australian Open victory in 2017 is the last of her professional-era-record 23 major titles.

The question, of course, is whether Williams can still add to her total, second only to Hall of Famer Margaret Court’s 24 all time. On surface, the answer would seem obvious; after all, she’s already 40, way beyond rocking chair eligibility by the standards of competitive sports. Needless to say, the detriment is not in the very number, but in its attendant handicaps. Certainly, it makes the body more susceptible to damage, and, just as importantly, less inclined to respond to treatment and recovery measures.

Which, in a nutshell, explains Williams’ withdrawal from the United States Open. As she explained in an Instagram post, her decision stems from a need to “allow my body to heal completely from a torn hamstring.” Tweeted longtime coach Patrick Mouratoglou, “we’ve done everything we could so that she could compete at the @usopen. But her body isn’t ready. It is heartbreaking, but this is the only possible decision.”

Significantly, Williams’ leg injury is a lingering one. When she competed in Wimbledon two months ago, she had heavy strapping on her right thigh and was forced to pull out in the middle of the first round after a slip seemed to aggravate her condition. Convalescence followed, but very slowly, and evidently not enough for her to feel confident trekking to Flushing Meadows. Outside of the risks of a premature comeback, her primary consideration is her to win: Is she healthy enough to make a run for the hardware? At this point, it’s all or nothing for her.

To be sure, Williams has nothing left to prove — at least to everybody else. She’s already the greatest player of all time, Court’s one-major advantage notwithstanding. And given her success and standing even with her racket in storage, she can exit the stage with her head held high. Clearly, though, she loves the game, and to the point where she wants to keep giving back to it until she has nothing left in the tank. As to when that is, she believes only she can tell.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Moderna withholds 1.63M COVID-19 vaccine doses in Japan due to contamination

MODERNA, INC. said on Wednesday it has withheld supply of about 1.63 million doses of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in Japan after a report of contamination of vials with particulate matter, which it suspects involves a production line in Spain.

Although Moderna said no safety or efficacy issues had been identified, the suspension is a fresh setback for the firm, whose partners had production delays last month that disrupted supplies to countries, including South Korea.

That has prompted some Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations planned for Thursday, as most of doses in question have been supplied to mass vaccination sites and workplaces in Japan. “Moderna confirms having been notified of cases of particulate matter being seen in drug product vials of its COVID-19 vaccine,” Moderna said in a statement.

“The company is investigating the reports and remains committed to working expeditiously with its partner, Takeda, and regulators to address this,” it added, referring to Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical.

It said the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain.

It was not immediately clear whether the issue impacted supplies to other countries.

Moderna did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. Spain’s Rovi, which bottles or “fills and finishes” Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, was not immediately available to comment.

The vaccine lot with complaints had 565,400 doses and Moderna said that “out of an abundance of caution” it had put the lot on hold and two adjacent ones.

Takeda said it conducted an emergency examination after particulate matter was found in a lot of vaccine vials at an inoculation site in Japan.

Japan’s health ministry has decided to withdraw some doses as a precaution after consultation with Takeda but it said it would strive to minimize the impact of the withdrawal on its inoculation plans.

Chief cabinet secretary Katsunobu Kato said there had been no cases reported of health issues related to contaminated shots administrated.

Between Aug. 6 and Aug. 20, vaccines from the lot in question were used at a mass public vaccination center in Osaka, according to the defense ministry, which operates the center. The ministry did not say how many people were affected.

Japan Airlines said it had canceled some COVID-19 vaccinations for its employees on Thursday after receiving Moderna vaccines with particulate matter.

Another Japanese carrier, ANA, also held off on its vaccinations on Thursday according to Kyodo news agency.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday that about 60% of the public will be fully vaccinated by end September and that the country had enough vaccines to provide booster doses if such a decision is taken. — Reuters

Facebook considers forming an election commission

FACEBOOK, INC. has approached academics and policy experts about forming a commission to advise it on issues relating to global elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing five people with knowledge of the matter.

The proposed body could decide on matters such as political ads and their viability and concerns around election-related misinformation, according to the report.

An announcement on the commission could come this fall in preparation for the 2022 US midterm elections, the report said, cautioning such efforts were preliminary and could still fall apart.

Facebook declined to comment.

Social media companies have grappled in recent years with how to handle world leaders and politicians who violate their guidelines.

The commission, if formed, would not be the first time Facebook has set up external groups to help it make major decisions. In 2018, the company created the Oversight Board, a panel that includes former politicians, academics and policy experts to rule on whether Facebook is right to remove certain content from its platform.

In May, the Oversight Board upheld Facebook’s suspension of former US President Donald Trump, but said the company was wrong to make the ban indefinite. — Reuters

US to work with Big Tech, finance sector on new cybersecurity guidelines

WASHINGTON — The US government on Wednesday said it would work with industry to hammer out new guidelines to improve the security of the technology supply chain, as President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., appealed to private sector executives to “raise the bar on cybersecurity.”  

At White House meetings with Mr. Biden and members of his Cabinet, executives from Big Tech, the finance industry, and infrastructure companies said they would do more about the growing threat of cyber attacks to the US economy.  

“The federal government can’t meet this challenge alone,” Mr. Biden told the masked executives in the East Room, telling them, “You have the power, the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.”  

After the meeting, the White House said the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) would work with industry and other partners on new guidelines for building secure technology and assessing the security of technology, including open source software.  

Microsoft, Google, Travelers, and Coalition, a cyber insurance provider, among others, committed to participating in the new NIST-led initiative.  

Cybersecurity has risen to the top of the agenda for the Biden administration after a series of high-profile attacks on network management company SolarWinds Corp, the Colonial Pipeline company, meat processing company JBS and software firm Kaseya. The attacks hurt the United States far beyond just the companies hacked, affecting fuel and food supplies.  

“We have a lot of work to do,” Mr. Biden said, citing both ransomware attacks and his push to get Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold Russian-based cyber gangs responsible, and the need to fill nearly half a million public and private cybersecurity jobs.  

The guest list included Amazon.com Inc. CEO Andy Jassy, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai, and IBM Chief Executive Arvind Krishna.  

After the meeting, Amazon said it would make its cybersecurity training available to the public for free, and it would give multi-factor authentication devices to some cloud computing customers, starting in October.  

Microsoft said it will invest $20 billion over five years, a four-fold increase from current rates, to speed up its cyber security work, and make available $150 million in technical services to help federal, state and local governments to help keep their security systems up to date.  

IBM said it will train more than 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over three years and will partner with historically black colleges and universities to create a more diverse cyber workforce.  

Google said it was devoting $10 billion to cybersecurity over the next five years, but it was not immediately clear what if any of the figure represented new spending. It also said it would help 100,000 Americans earn industry-recognized digital skills certificates that could lead to high-paying jobs.  

Vishaal Hariprasad, CEO of Resilience Cyber Insurance Solutions, told Reuters his company would work with the government on setting clear standards for cybersecurity, and would require policy holders to meet those standards.  

“So, if a company is willing to adhere to the minimum standards, they’ll have insurance, and if not, they’ll have to identify those gaps so they can get to that baseline,” he said.  

“It’s not just about getting our companies safer, but also ensuring that we’re doing something to address the bad guys.”  

Congress is weighing legislation on data breach notification laws and cybersecurity insurance industry regulation, historically viewed as two of the most consequential policy areas within the field.  

Executives for energy utility firm Southern Co and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also attended the event.  

The event featured top cybersecurity officials from the Biden administration, including National Cybersecurity Director Chris Inglis and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. — Andrea Shalal/Reuters

China criticizes US ‘scapegoating’ over COVID origin report 

REUTERS

BEIJING/WASHINGTON — China on Wednesday criticized the US “politicization” of efforts to trace the origin of the coronavirus, demanding without any evidence that American labs be investigated, ahead of the release of a US intelligence report on the virus.  

The US report is intended to resolve disputes among intelligence agencies considering different theories about how the coronavirus emerged, including a once-dismissed theory about a Chinese laboratory accident.  

“Scapegoating China cannot whitewash the US,” Fu Cong, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ arms control department, told a briefing.  

US President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., received a copy and was briefed on the classified report on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday.  

The intelligence community has been “working expeditiously” to prepare an unclassified version for the public, Ms. Psaki said without giving a timeline for its release.  

US officials say they do not expect the review to lead to firm conclusions after China stymied earlier international efforts to gather key information on the ground.  

China has said a laboratory leak was highly unlikely, and it has ridiculed a theory that coronavirus escaped from a lab in Wuhan, the city where coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections emerged in late 2019, setting off the pandemic.  

Beijing has instead suggested that the virus slipped out of a lab at the US Army’s Fort Detrick base in Maryland in 2019.  

“It is only fair that if the US insists that this is a valid hypothesis, they should do their turn and invite the investigation into their labs,” Mr. Fu said.  

Mr. Fu said China was not engaged in a disinformation campaign.  

The fringe idea once put forward by individual Chinese officials — which lacks any public evidence — has become a Chinese government talking point as it attempts to deflect criticism about its possible role in the origins of the virus.  

On Wednesday, the Chinese embassy in Washington posted the calls for World Health Organization investigations at Fort Detrick and at the University of North Carolina to its website after it said US media had rejected its editorial submissions.  

And on Tuesday, China’s envoy to the United Nations asked the head of the WHO for an investigation into US labs.  

A joint WHO-Chinese team visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology but the United States said it had concerns about the access granted to the investigation.  

“The early days of the pandemic were irrefutably in China, yet China continues to obfuscate and deny the international community the needed access,” a senior US administration official said, adding that if a future pandemic were to originate in the United States, it would insist on a “swift and transparent” evaluation.  

“If there were sound, technically credible reasons for a US investigation, we would of course support it. But there are none,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.  

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, who has argued a Chinese lab leak was plausible, in a statement urged the Biden administration to immediately declassify the report.  

“The American people deserve to know what our government does and does not know about the origins of COVID-19,” Rubio said.  

A key Congressional panel has been advised it may receive a copy of the classified report on Thursday, according to a Congressional official. — Gabriel Crossley and Michael Martina/Reuters

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