The Skies Fill with Color at a Chinese Kite Festival

 A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
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The Skies Fill with Color at a Chinese Kite Festival

 A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)
A dragon-shaped kite flies in the air at the 41st International Kite Festival in Weifang, Shandong Province of China, Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP)

More than 1,000 kites filled the skies of Weifang, an eastern Chinese coastal city that touts itself as the “kite capital of the world,” on Saturday. Locals say there is nothing that can’t sail the skies of Weifang.

From dragons to pandas, modern cars to mythical characters from a canonical Chinese novel, kite craftsmen and aficionados showcased their latest art at the Weifang International Kite Festival.

Kite-makers say the craftsmanship has evolved over the years, with nylon fabrics becoming more common at the expense of traditional materials such as paper and silk.

Modern craftsmanship also means kite-makers are boasting more elaborate, complex and bigger designs, among them a centipede kite measuring 70 meters (230 feet) in length.



Three Hikers Killed by Lightning Strike in Austrian Alps 

Picture shows a downhill slope, covered with conserved snow, at the Resterhoehe of Kitzbuehel ski resort, near Mittersill, Austria on October 20, 2019. (AFP)
Picture shows a downhill slope, covered with conserved snow, at the Resterhoehe of Kitzbuehel ski resort, near Mittersill, Austria on October 20, 2019. (AFP)
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Three Hikers Killed by Lightning Strike in Austrian Alps 

Picture shows a downhill slope, covered with conserved snow, at the Resterhoehe of Kitzbuehel ski resort, near Mittersill, Austria on October 20, 2019. (AFP)
Picture shows a downhill slope, covered with conserved snow, at the Resterhoehe of Kitzbuehel ski resort, near Mittersill, Austria on October 20, 2019. (AFP)

Three hikers, including two brothers and the wife of one of the men, were killed by a lightning strike during a thunderstorm in Austria's Tyrolean Alps over the weekend, police said on Monday.

A spokesperson for Alpine police in the western town of Landeck said it was likely the couple, both 60, and the 62-year-old brother, died from the same lightning strike.

Police said the rare incident occurred on Sunday afternoon as the trio were descending the Mittagsspitze mountain near the village of Flirsch, and that a rescue helicopter found their bodies near a path at an altitude of around 2,268 meters (7,440 feet).