2025 Paragliding World Cup opens in China's Henan

The 2025 Paragliding World Cup kicked off in Linzhou City, central China's Henan Province on Saturday, drawing 130 elite athletes from 24 countries and regions for a week of high-altitude competition.

Pilots launched from mountain slopes in the opening round of the global tournament, executing precision maneuvers in the "race-to-goal" discipline.

Dubbed "Formula 1 of the sky", the event combines navigational skills, meteorological analysis and strategic flight planning as competitors navigate electronic waypoints.

The competition runs through June 14, with pilots accumulating points toward the World Cup championship.

Linzhou's unique topography creates consistent thermal updrafts ideal for paragliding. The city has hosted over 40 high-level international paragliding events since 1992, including four World Cup competitions.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had seized six more settlements in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, while Ukraine claimed the same day that its forces had attacked a Russian oil refinery.

In its latest report, the ministry said that over the past 24 hours, Russian forces had taken control of four settlements in the Donetsk region and two in the Zaporizhzhia region. It added that Russian forces struck energy facilities serving Ukraine's military-industrial enterprises and that the country's air defense systems shot down 370 Ukrainian drones.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a report issued at 20:00 Sunday that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces had carried out strikes on Russian targets, including assembly areas and command posts. It added that Ukrainian troops had repelled Russian offensives in the Slobozhansk, Kupyansk and Liman directions.

A total of 103 battles had taken place on the frontlines in six directions as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Ukrainian side.

The Ukrainian forces said they launched an attack on the Syzran oil refinery in Russia's Samara region early in the morning, sparking a fire.

In addition, the Ukrainian army struck other Russian targets, including a storage and maintenance facility for uncrewed boats, ferry crossings, and a site for UAV storage.