Briefly

RUSSIA

Daily COVID-19 death toll surpasses 1,000

Russia reported a record 1,002 deaths from coronavirus on Saturday, the first time the daily number has surpassed 1,000. There were 33,208 new COVID-19 cases, those confirmed in the previous 24 hours, setting a record for the fifth consecutive day, the Russian coronavirus task force said. Authorities blame a slow vaccination campaign for the sharp rise of infections and deaths. Russia estimates that 45 percent of its population may be immune to the novel coronavirus after receiving a vaccine or recovering from the illness, the task force said.

GERMANY

Helicopter crash leaves three dead

Three people were killed when a helicopter crashed in southwestern Germany on Sunday, police said. The aircraft crashed in a forested area near the small town of Buchen on Sunday afternoon, the news agency DPA reported. The crash left wreckage strewn over several hundred meters. Police in nearby Heilbronn could not immediately give any information on the victims or where the Robinson R44 helicopter took off from. There was also no word on a possible cause of the crash.

PAKISTAN

House fire kills seven family members

Police were investigating a fire in eastern Pakistan that killed seven family members, a rescue official said on Sunday. The fire ignited in a house in the Ali Pur area of Muzaffar Garh district in Punjab province, officials said. The bodies have been sent for autopsy and forensic examination. Firefighters had retrieved the charred bodies of a 65-year-old man, two women, 35 and 19, three boys, 3, 10 and 12, and a 2-month-old infant.

Agencies via Xinhua