A millionaire member of the Russian parliament has drowned in the Dead Sea while on holiday in Israel.
Lifeguards pulled Vasily Tarasyuk from the water on Saturday and a paramedic tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His death was not reported until yesterday.
Mr Tarasyuk, 68, sat in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. He was a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, a far-right populist bloc. It is the third-largest party in the lower house, with 39 of 450 seats, and often votes with United Russia, the majority pro-Putin grouping.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, with a shoreline more than 1,400ft below sea level. It forms part of the border