The search for an effective vaccine against Covid-19 appears to have reached a breakthrough, but questions remain about when and where the virus that crippled the world started.
Working with China, the World Health Organisation this month has been given permission to send international experts to the country as part of the organisation's inquiry into the origins of the virus.
Ground zero is Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million people and a natural crossroads for transport, in central China on the banks of the Yangtze river.
The WHO-led investigation will look for answers to some questions that in reality may never be answered. Where did Covid-19 begin and who contracted it first? The so-called Patient Zero.
They are always here and something ignites them, maybe human density or environmental conditions
There were unconfirmed reports in Chinese media of a case on November 17, 2019, while the first reliable confirmation of cases was on December 1, 2019.
According to research by Chinese scientists published in The Lancet in late January, that date was when symptoms in the first 41 patients were recorded in a laboratory.
More details were given in a BBC Chinese Service report in February. After talking to doctors involved in the case, the possible first patient was identified as a man in his seventies, already suffering from Alzheimer's disease and "in very bad condition" when he was admitted to hospital, Dr Wu Wenjuan, director of the intensive care unit at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan told the BBC.
The man’s fate was not recorded, but the research is clear that he and his family had no connection with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, often identified as a probable source of Covid-19, along with the theory that it crossed into humans from animals sold there.
The next three cases to show symptoms in Wuhan also had no obvious link to the market, Dr Wu Wenjuan said.
As it turned out, the old man lived some distance from the market, which he had not visited and, in any case, because of Alzheimer's disease, he never went outdoors. To deepen the mystery, none of his family developed Covid-19.
When asked by the BBC about where he had possibly become infected, Dr Wu Wenjuan avoided the question, saying only "what you asked is the direction of our next research".
Of the 41 Covid-19 cases admitted to hospital last December that formed The Lancet paper, 27 had direct exposure to the seafood market, including the first fatal case, a trader whose wife also contracted the disease even though she had not been to the market.
By January 2, 2020, six of those patients – or about 15 per cent – had died. Yet on January 8, the WHO tweeted that the outbreak had caused no deaths and said six days later that, according to China, there was “no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission".
It is discrepancies such as these that raised questions about the origins of Covid-19.
The BBC Chinese Service report was among the first to point the finger of suspicion at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which faced claims that the disease may have been created there and escaped as a result of poor biosecurity.
This suggestion is strongly denied by China, while other international experts also defended the institute, noting there is no evidence the virus has been artificially modified.
In recent weeks, there was another twist.
More research claimed to have found traces of Covid-19 in Europe months before it was first reported in Wuhan.
An Italian study that later found antibodies to the virus in blood samples taken during a cancer survey last September has been quoted by Chinese authorities as evidence the virus may have several origins.
Other research detected Covid-19 in France on December 27 last year, while a study of wastewater at the University of Barcelona claimed it found traces of the virus in samples taken in March.
These examples led Dr Tom Jefferson, of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford, to suggest the virus may have been dormant in many countries, simply emerging when the conditions were right.
"They are always here and something ignites them, maybe human density or environmental conditions, and this is what we should look for," Dr Jefferson told the Daily Telegraph in July.
Other experts have disputed the reliability of these tests, saying some are likely the result of laboratory cross contamination.
Only six out of 111 of the Italian samples had enough antibodies to kill Covid-19, while using the same test as a control on different blood samples known to contain viruses failed to detect any antibodies.
Part of the problem is that Covid-19 is frequently asymptomatic, meaning people could have carried the disease undetected before the first hospital cases were observed.
The current WHO inquiry states that its work is “not bound to any location and may evolve geographically as evidence is being generated, and hypotheses evolve".
But it will begin by looking at Wuhan and the now closed seafood market, which at the time sold a variety of farmed and wild animals.
“Research … has shown that a range of animals – including wild and farmed species – are susceptible to infection, but when and where Covid-19 spilled over to humans, and from which animal, remains unknown," the WHO reported on November 5.
It also found no trace of Covid-19 on any animal samples taken from the market but did find it in 69 of 842 environmental samples from drains and sewage on the site.
The WHO admits “very little is currently known about how, where and when the virus started circulation in Wuhan".
The route from a house-bound old man with Alzheimer's disease to 63 million cases worldwide and 1.47 million dead, so far, is no clearer than it was a year ago.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The results of the first round are as follows:
Qais Saied (Independent): 18.4 per cent
Nabil Karoui (Qalb Tounes): 15.58 per cent
Abdelfattah Mourou (Ennahdha party): 12.88 per cent
Abdelkarim Zbidi (two-time defence minister backed by Nidaa Tounes party): 10.7 per cent
Youssef Chahed (former prime minister, leader of Long Live Tunisia): 7.3 per cent
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
The%20specs
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ENGLAND TEAM
Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
AL%20BOOM
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The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
THURSDAY'S FIXTURES
4pm Maratha Arabians v Northern Warriors
6.15pm Deccan Gladiators v Pune Devils
8.30pm Delhi Bulls v Bangla Tigers
Race card
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,200m.
2.45pm: Handicap Dh95,000 1,200m.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh120,000 1,400m.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,800m.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,950m.
The National selections:
1.45pm: Galaxy Road – So Hi Speed
2.15pm: Majestic Thunder – Daltrey
2.45pm: Call To War – Taamol
3.15pm: Eqtiraan - Bochart
3.45pm: Kidd Malibu – Initial
4.15pm: Arroway – Arch Gold
4.35pm: Compliance - Muqaatil
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SUCCESSION%20SEASON%204%20EPISODE%201
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreated%20by%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJesse%20Armstrong%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Brian%20Cox%2C%20Jeremy%20Strong%2C%20Kieran%20Culkin%2C%20Sarah%20Snook%2C%20Nicholas%20Braun%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
RESULT
Chelsea 2
Willian 13'
Ross Barkley 64'
Liverpool 0
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
