Lahore, Pakistan
At least 11 people were killed this week at an annual kite-flying festival in eastern Pakistan. National authorities banned kite flying in 2005, after metal or glass-coated strings used by competitors to cut rival kites’ strings also cut the throats of at least nine people. Punjab state authorities this year defied Islamabad to allow the two-day festival to proceed, amid heightened security. Two of the deaths, both of children, were attributed to reinforced kite strings. The other victims were hit by celebratory gunfire or electrocuted while untangling kites from overhead power lines. Muslim religious parties oppose the festival, saying it springs from an ancient Hindu rite.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked againFeature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Loyalty tests: The purge at the FBIFeature Kash Patel is conducting polygraph tests on FBI agents to weed out anyone speaking badly about him
-
The all-seeing tech giantFeature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
