US presses Russia for official details on Siberian plague lab death

The United States has formally pressed Russia to provide official information about the death of a researcher at a Siberian laboratory studying pneumonic plague and subsequent quarantine measures, according to the Wall Street Journal. Washington issued a diplomatic note urging Moscow to meet international health reporting obligations. The US State Department warned that Russia's failure to disclose details about the researcher's death violates international health rules. US officials say Moscow has shared scant information about the incident, which occurred four days ago and has been attributed to pneumonia without a confirmed cause. The diplomatic tension comes as President Donald Trump seeks to improve relations with Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Russia to be transparent, noting the situation could be either minor or more serious than believed.