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Swiss Alpine bar fire claims 41st victim, an 18-year-old Swiss national

ZURICH (AP) — An 18-year-old Swiss national has died in a Zurich hospital from injuries sustained in a Swiss Alpine bar fire, bringing the death toll to 41 a month after the tragedy.

The victim died on Saturday, according to the Swiss public prosecutor. The prosecutor said in a statement Sunday it would provide no further information on the status of the investigation.

Investigators have said they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fire when they came too close to the ceiling at the packed Le Constellation bar in the ski resort of Crans-Montana, less than two hours after midnight on Jan. 1. Authorities are looking into whether soundproofing material on the ceiling conformed with regulations and whether the candles were permitted for use in the bar. Fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out since 2019.

Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the owners — French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti — on suspicion of negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm and causing a fire by negligence. The court of compulsory measures in the southwestern Valais region on Jan. 12 ordered three months of pretrial detention for Jacques Moretti, but on Jan. 23 ordered his release on bail.

With high-altitude ski runs rising around 3,000 meters (nearly 9,850 feet) in the heart of the Valais region, Crans-Montana is a major destination for international alpine skiing competitions.

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

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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