Trump and Putin to Discuss Possible Pneumonic Plague Case in Russia
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday he has scheduled a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible case of pneumonic plague at a Siberian research institute, following the death of an employee from pneumonia of unknown cause. Trump told reporters the US is in "very deep discussions" on the topic and expects to report findings soon. The World Health Organisation assessed the risk outside Russia as "very low" and said it is in contact with Russian authorities about the incident at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute. The call comes ahead of an Oct. 18 deadline for the US to decide on sanctions against Russian entities under a law Trump signed in September. Ukraine has submitted a list of Russian companies and individuals it wants targeted.