World News for Students of English

12-10-2026 07:00

People in the Siberian city of Irkutsk are worried after a laboratory worker died from a suspected plague infection.

Russian authorities say the cause of death is not confirmed yet and there is no big danger. Some local people believe the government, while others fear the virus escaped from the research lab. Health experts explain that plague cases happen every year in places like Africa, but a lab incident naturally frightens people after the COVID-19 pandemic.

International leaders and the EU are trying to get clear information from the Russian government. Experts say that if no other people get sick in the next few days, this situation is likely a small, isolated event and not a dangerous new pandemic.

Difficult words: suspected (what people believe to be true but there is no evidence for it yet), plague (a serious infection which kills many people), isolated (when something happens only once or is separated from everything else).

You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.