IOC praises warm Olympic diplomacy with Vance in Milan after fans boo at opening ceremony

MILAN (AP) — Though U.S. Vice President JD Vance was booed by some spectators at the Winter Games opening ceremony, there was warmth with Olympic leaders at a key point in diplomatic relations ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.

Vance and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry had “a very good chemistry” in meetings over two days in Milan, the IOC said Saturday.

Hosting Vance at a formal dinner Thursday before the Milan Cortina Olympics opening Friday was Coventry’s first direct contact with the United States government. The two-time swimming gold medalist and former sports minister of Zimbabwe was elected as the IOC's first female leader in March.

The anxiety of some IOC members, especially from Africa, over how welcome the world will be in the United States in 2½ years’ time was made clear Tuesday to leaders of the LA organizing team.

“With the next games coming up in Los Angeles we are super happy, very happy that the U.S. administration is so engaged with the games here and going forward,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Saturday at a news conference reflecting on the opening ceremony.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has a crucial role in planning for the next Summer Games with responsibility for federal security operations and processing visas for tens of thousands of athletes, officials and visitors from more than 200 national teams.

Pressed for details on discussions between Vance and Coventry, who sat together for the three-plus hour ceremony at San Siro stadium, Adams said: “I know it went incredibly well, there was a very good chemistry.”

“She was very pleased about the enthusiasm of the vice president and the whole administration for the games, which obviously for us is an important thing,” he said.

Vance, who attended ice hockey and figure skating events in Milan, was clearly booed and whistled at in the soccer stadium when he and his wife, Usha, were displayed on screens as U.S. athletes joined the ceremony parade. The athletes had been cheered moments earlier.

“We are largely a sports organization and seeing the U.S. team cheered as they were by the audience,” Adams said, “fair play, that was fantastic.”

The Italian chief executive of the Winter Games organizing committee deflected a question about how his country currently views the U.S.

“I heard incredible cheering when the U.S. team entered the stadium,” Andrea Varnier said. “Honestly, I didn’t hear anything else. I just read (in) the papers afterwards.”

Some protests in Milan’s streets flared since it was confirmed 10 days before the games opened that staff from ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department, are involved in American security planning for the Olympics.

The investigations unit within ICE involved in the Olympics is separate from the enforcement unit at the forefront of the immigration crackdown in the U.S. including deaths of protesters in Minneapolis.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, IOC President Kirsty Coventry, third from left, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, right, attend the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

IOC President Kirsty Coventry looks at Vice President JD Vance, as they pose for a group photo at the Heads of states dinner, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, Pool)

Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance cheer on team USA during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

HONG KONG (AP) — An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades on Thursday heard that a series of failures contributed to the blaze's burning seven buildings and killing 168 people as it opened its first hearing on the evidence.

Former residents and relatives of the dead have been waiting for answers since November 2025, when the fire shattered the close-knit community of Wang Fuk Court, which housed thousands of people in the suburban district of Tai Po.

In his opening remarks, committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes said the most likely cause of the fire was cigarettes that lit other materials on fire on a platform in a light well between two low-level units in Wang Cheong House. He said burned paper boxes and cigarette butts found at the site.

But Dawes cautioned that no direct proof suggested the blaze was caused by smoking, noting that workers had violated a rule against smoking outside of designated areas.

He said the evidence showed that multiple factors came together to produce the disaster, ranging from fire alarms and hose systems being shut off to the use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting and covering windows with foam boards. The windows at staircases were removed, causing plumes of smoke and fire got into the residents' escape routes, he said.

“On the day of the fire, nearly all fire safety systems meant to protect lives failed because of human factors,” he said.

The fire broke out on Nov. 26 and quickly engulfed seven of the apartment complex's eight buildings. A number of people have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, fraud or corruption.

The judge-led committee, set up in December, will also examine if systemic problems such as bid-rigging existed in large-scale building maintenance and renovation works. The government said at the time that the committee's work was expected to take nine months.

After listening to the opening remarks from lawyers, the committee will hear oral evidence from witnesses, including Wang Fuk Court residents. Various government departments are involved in hearings.

Before the hearing, Phyllis Lo, who lost her mother in the fire, said she hopes to listen to the findings from different sides to get a comprehensive understanding of the incident.

Another resident named Seneca Lee said she wanted to know what caused the deadly fire.

Many former occupants of the apartment complex are living in temporary housing scattered across the city. Hong Kong officials last month proposed to buy back the homeownership rights from the fire victims, citing results from a survey of residents' preferences. But that dashed the hopes of some who want to rebuild their homes at the site.

Hong Kong leader John Lee on Tuesday said the government is working on plans to allow the affected residents to visit their apartments and recover some of their belongings in April.

FILE - Firefighters work to extinguish a fire which broke out Wednesday at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, on Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei, File)