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5 skiers killed in a pair of avalanches in Austria

VIENNA (AP) — Five skiers have been killed in a pair of avalanches in the Salzburg Pongau region of western Austria on Saturday, authorities said.

Four skiers were killed by a snow slide in the Gastein Valley, south of of the city of Salzburg, that swept away seven people. Two were injured — one seriously — and a third escaped unharmed, the APA news agency reported.

“This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is,” said Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, noting the “clear and repeated warnings” about the avalanche risk.

Four rescue helicopters, mountain rescue and Red Cross dog teams, and a crisis intervention team were rushed to the scene.

About 90 minutes earlier, a female skier died after being buried under an avalanche in the nearby Bad Hofgastein area, at an altitude of about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), APA said.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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