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A bus carrying young athletes crashes in Hungary, killing the driver and injuring 23

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A bus carrying young athletes to a competition in Hungary early Saturday veered into the opposing lane and then collided with a tree, killing the driver and injuring nearly two dozen, police said.

The accident occurred near the town of Hird in southwestern Hungary at around 5:20 a.m. local time, Baranya County Police said in a statement, adding that the cause of the accident had not yet been determined.

There were 28 people on the bus including 19 youth competitors from the aerobics division of the nearby Pécs Sports School, as well as three coaches, six parents and the driver. The bus was taking the students to the second round of a competition in the capital Budapest, around 120 miles to the north, when the crash occurred.

Of the 28 passengers, 23 suffered injuries, police said.

According to a statement published online by the Pécs Sports School, all passengers on the bus were transferred to hospitals by paramedics. One youth athlete suffered a broken femur “in addition to several broken fingers, concussions, bruises and abrasions.”

Two coaches were also more seriously injured in the accident, and their condition is being continuously monitored, the statement said.

In a post on Facebook, Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok called the accident “heartbreaking,” and offered his “sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and wish those who were injured a speedy recovery!”

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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