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8 skiers killed in avalanches in Austria

VIENNA (AP) — Three avalanches across Austria killed eight skiers, authorities said.

A female skier was fatally buried by an avalanche in the Bad Hofgastein area in western Austria, at an altitude of about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Pongau mountain rescue service.

Roughly 90 minutes later, an avalanche in nearby Gastein Valley, south of the city of Salzburg, swept away seven people. Four were killed, two seriously injured and one escaped unharmed.

In the town of Pusterwald in central Austria, three Czech skiers were killed in an avalanche shortly before 4:30 p.m., police said. Four of their companions were evacuated to safety.

“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 avalanche risk.

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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