A declassified US intelligence report saying it was plausible the COVID-19 pandemic originated in a laboratory is unscientific and has no credibility, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin says.
A senior US diplomat has urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and to resume nuclear diplomacy, days after the North fired its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years.
North Korea has accused the United States of raising military tensions with China through its "reckless" backing of Taiwan, and said the growing US military presence in the region constitutes a potential threat.
A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a US-based missionary group has demanded a $US17 million ($A23 million) ransom for them, according to Haiti's justice minister, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
At least three people have been killed and several more injured after an Amtrak train running between Seattle and Chicago derailed in north-central Montana.
A few hundred demonstrators have turned up for a rally, in the shadow of the fortified US Capitol, to support those charged in the January 6 riot but were vastly outnumbered by the media and a heavy police presence.
Some investors and campaigners have expressed dismay at revelations that World Bank leaders pressured staff to boost China's score in an influential report that ranks countries on how easy it is to do business there.
