World Health Organization member states agreed to an independent probe into the UN agency's COVID-19 response as US criticism mounted over its handling of the pandemic.
Countries taking part in the WHO's annual assembly, held virtually for the first time, adopted a resolution by consensus calling for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the international response to the crisis, including a probe of WHO actions and "their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic", reports Al Jazeera.
None of the WHO's 194 member states - which include the United States - raised objections to the resolution brought by the European Union on behalf of more than 100 countries including Australia, China and Japan.