Aman says it will take ‘all available measures’ to stop Russian authorities from recruiting its citizens to fight in war.
Published On 28 Nov 202528 Nov 2025
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Jordan has demanded that Russian authorities stop illegally recruiting its citizens after two Jordanians were killed fighting in the Russian military.
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the warning on Thursday against Moscow and external “entities” working online to recruit people on Moscow’s behalf.
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The ministry did not mention Russia’s almost four-year-long war on Ukraine, where thousands of paid foreign fighters have joined Moscow’s side.
In a statement shared on X, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said it would “take all available measures” to end the further recruitment of Jordanians and called for Moscow to terminate the contracts of its currently enlisted citizens.
The recruitment is a violation of both Jordanian domestic and international law, the ministry said, and “endangers the lives of [its] citizens”.
The statement did not provide any further identifying information or say where or when the two citizens were killed, though Russia has a track record of recruiting foreigners to fight in Ukraine.
Ukraine says Moscow has recruited at least 18,000 foreign fighters from 128 countries, according to figures shared by Brigadier General Dmytro Usov. In a post on the Telegram messaging app, he said another 3,388 foreigners have died fighting for Russia.
Usov did not provide a breakdown of the foreign soldiers fighting in Ukraine for Russia, but the vast majority were likely from North Korea.
The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations said Pyongyang sent between 14,000 and 15,000 soldiers to fight for Russia in 2024, citing Western officials.
Moscow has also recruited at least 1,400 Africans from more than 30 countries, using methods ranging from deception to duress, according to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.
Sybiha said previously that signing a contract with the Russian military was “equivalent to signing a death sentence” for foreign recruits.
“Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate. Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults,’ where they are quickly killed,” Sybiha said in a November 9 post on X.
“The Russian command understands that there will be no accountability for the killed foreigner, so they are treated as second-rate, expendable human material,” he said.
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and the premier of Canada’s oil rich province of Alberta agreed Thursday to work toward building a pipeline to the Pacific Coast to diversify the country’s oil exports beyond the United States.
The memorandum of understanding includes an adjustment of an oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast if a pipeline comes to fruition.
Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade, saying American tariffs are causing a chill in investment.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the agreement will lead to more than 1 million barrels per day for mainly Asian markets so “our province and our country are no longer dependent on just one customer to buy our most valuable resource.”
Carney reiterated that as the U.S. transforms all of its trading relationships, many of Canada’s strengths – based on those close ties to America – have become its vulnerabilities.
“Over 95% of all our energy exports went to the States. This tight interdependence – once a strength – is now a weakness,” Carney said.
Carney said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to U.S. markets.
He called the framework agreement the start of a process.
“We have created some of the necessary conditions for this to happen but there is a lot more work to do,” he said.
Carney said if there is not a private sector proponent there won’t be a pipeline.
The agreement calls on Ottawa and Alberta to engage with British Columbia, where there is fierce opposition to oil tankers off the coast, to advance that province’s economic interests.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved one controversial pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the British Columbia coast in 2016 but the federal government had to build and finish construction of it as it faced opposition from environmental and aboriginal groups.
Trudeau at the same time rejected the Northern Gateway project to northwest British Columbia which would have passed through the Great Bear Rainforest. Northern Gateway would have transported 525,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific to deliver oil to Asia, mainly energy-hungry China.
The northern Alberta region has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with about 164 billion barrels of proven reserves.
Carney’s announcement comes after British Columbia Premier David Eby said lifting the tanker ban would threaten projects already in development in the region and consensus among coastal First Nations.
“The pipeline proposal has no project proponent,” he said. “Not only does it have no permits, it doesn’t even have a route.”
Eby said the agreement is a “distraction” to real projects and does not have the support of coastal First Nations.
“We have zero interest in co-ownership or economic benefits of a project that has the potential to destroy our way of life and everything we have built on the coast,” Coastal First Nations President Marilyn Slett said.
The agreement pairs the pipeline project a proposed carbon capture project and government officials say the two projects must be built in tandem.
The agreement says Ottawa and Alberta will with work with companies to identify by April 1 new emissions-reduction projects to be rolled out starting in 2027.
President Vladimir Putin has doubled down on his core demands for ending the war in Ukraine, saying Russia will lay down arms only if Kyiv’s troops withdraw from territory claimed by Moscow.
Putin has long pushed for legal recognition of the Ukrainian territories Russia has seized by force. They include the southern Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014, and the eastern Donbas region, which Moscow now occupies for the most part.
For Kyiv, which has ruled out relinquishing the parts of the Donbas it still holds, rewarding Russia for its aggression is a non-starter.
Speaking after Putin’s address, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia “scorned” efforts “to truly end the war”.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Kyrgyzstan, Putin accused Kyiv of wanting to fight “to the last Ukrainian” – which he said Russia was “in principle” also ready to do.
He repeated his view that Russia has the initiative on the battlefield and the fighting would only end when Ukrainian troops withdrew from Donbas, which is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
“If they don’t withdraw, we’ll achieve this by force of arms,” he said.
Yet Russia’s slow gains in eastern Ukraine have come at significant cost of manpower. According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War, at this rate it would take Moscow almost two more years to seize the rest of the Donetsk region.
Thursday’s remarks were the first time that Putin addressed the hectic diplomatic moves of the last week, which saw the US and Ukraine hold intense discussions over a peace plan reportedly drafted in October by American and Russian officials.
The plan, which was heavily slanted towards Moscow’s demands, was subsequently revised during talks between Ukrainian and US negotiators in Geneva. European representatives were also in the Swiss city.
But it is thought it does not address the issue of the occupied territories which – alongside security guarantees for Ukraine – is the biggest sticking point between Moscow and Kyiv.
Putin said that new draft plan has now been shown to Russia, and that it could become the “basis” for a future agreement to end the war.
However, he added it was “absolutely necessary” to discuss “certain specific points that need to be put in diplomatic language”.
Asked about the possibility of Crimea and the Donbas being recognised as under Russian de facto controlbut not legally, Putin said: “This is the point of our discussion with our American counterparts”.
A US delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow in the first half of next week, he confirmed. US President Donald Trump told reporters that Witkoff may be joined in Moscow by the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Zelensky said in a video address late on Thursday that Ukrainian and US delegations would meet “to translate the points we secured in Geneva into a form that puts us on the path to peace and security guarantees.”
The Ukrainian president did not mention any names, but his chief of staff Andriy Yermak had said US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll was due to visit Kyiv later in the week.
On Wednesday Trump said there were “only a few remaining points of disagreement” between Russia and Ukraine – indicating that any meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss these points was contingent on a peace deal being agreed upon.
During his comments to reporters Putin again expressed his contempt for the Ukrainian leadership, which he said he considered illegitimate. There was therefore “no use” signing any documents with them, he added.
Ukraine has been under martial law since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has therefore been unable to hold scheduled elections. Earlier this year, the Ukrainian parliament voted unanimously to affirm the legitimacy of President Zelensky, whose term in office ended in the spring.
Putin also dismissed warnings by European leaders that Russia could attack the European continent within the next decades.
“That sounds laughable to us, really,” he said.
The White House and Donald Trump have sounded optimistic about the recent diplomatic push for peace talks, but Europeans have repeatedly expressed their scepticism over whether Putin truly intended to end the war.
The estate of Johnny Cash has sued Coca-Cola, accusing the beverage giant of using an impersonator who mimicked the late singer’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign without permission.
The complaint, filed in US District Court in Nashville, alleges Coca-Cola hired a tribute singer to record vocals for a college football-themed commercial that started airing in August 2025.
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, which controls the singer’s publicity rights, is seeking damages and an injunction to stop Coca-Cola from “exploiting the infringing ad.”
The trust alleges in the lawsuit (read here) that Coca-Cola commissioned the Go the Distance commercial as part of its Fan Work Is Thirsty Work campaign for the NCAA football season.
The ad features fans drinking Coca-Cola products at college games and includes imagery from partner schools, including the University of Michigan, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Southern California, Louisiana State University and The Ohio State University.
The trust claims Coca-Cola’s ad agency hired a Johnny Cash tribute performer to ensure the vocal track “sounded as close as possible to the artist’s voice.
The lawsuit said the singer advertises himself as “The No. 1 Johnny Cash Tribute Show” and “The Man in Black — A Tribute to Johnny Cash.”
“The singing voice in the Infringing Ad is readily identifiable and attributable to Johnny Cash.”
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust’s lawsuit
The trust’s lawyers wrote: “On information and belief, the Sound-Alike Singer’s only entertainment talent as a singer is to impersonate Johnny Cash.”
The lawsuit added: “The singing voice in the Infringing Ad is readily identifiable and attributable to Johnny Cash,” and that some consumers “have actually been confused by Infringing Ad.”
Cash, who died in 2003, sold more than 90 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Country Music, Rock and Roll, and Gospel Music halls of fame. His estate has licensed his voice for commercial use, including Super Bowl ads, and operates the Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville.
The lawsuit invokes Tennessee’s ELVISAct, enacted in March 2024, which protects likeness, voice and image rights. The law defines voice as “a sound in a medium that is readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, regardless of whether the sound contains the actual voice or a simulation.”
The statute allows estates of deceased individuals to pursue civil action against unauthorized commercial use.
Coca-Cola, which reported revenue exceeding $47 billion in 2024 and has a market capitalization above $300 billion, has a history of celebrity endorsements, according to the lawsuit.
“Coca-Cola knows that it needs a license to exploit, for commercial advertising purposes, the name, image, likeness, and voice of artists and musicians. Coca-Cola has entered into such licenses in the past.”
The John R. Cash Revocable Trust’s lawsuit
The lawsuit said: “Coca-Cola touts such endorsements on its website as part of its ‘DNA.’ Coca-Cola emphasizes that its first celebrity endorsements were with singers”
The trust’s complaint noted that Coca-Cola has previously entered endorsement deals with artists including TaylorSwift to use their voices in ads.
“Coca-Cola knows that it needs a license to exploit, for commercial advertising purposes, the name, image, likeness, and voice of artists and musicians. Coca-Cola has entered into such licenses in the past.”
The lawsuit added: “Despite capitalizing on the intrinsic value of Johnny Cash’s legendary Voice, CocaCola never even bothered to ask the Trust for a license.”
The lawsuit marks the latest case against a brand over its commercial. In August, Sony Music Entertainmentsued US shoe retailer Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) over what SME claims to be “rampant infringement” of its sound recordings in social media ads.
Warner Music Group also sued DSW in May, claiming that DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and parent Designer Brands Inc “misappropriated over two hundred” of WMG’s recordings and compositions in TikTok and Instagram posts.
In October last year, Universal Music Groupsued the owner of US Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chili’s in October for allegedly infringing its copyrights in numerous social media posts.
That same month, Sony Musicsettled a lawsuit against Marriott Hotels over the alleged “rampant” infringement of copyrighted materials in social media posts.
In March, Sony Music sued the University of Southern California, alleging the school repeatedly and willfully used unauthorized copyrighted music in its social media posts.
Other complaints have been filed against companies including a lawsuit against Cookie giant Crumbl (sued by WMG), a lawsuit between the Associated Production Music — jointly owned bySony Music Publishing andUniversal Music Publishing Group — and the American Hockey League; the case between Sony Music and US cosmetics brand OFRA; and the lawsuit filed by Kobalt Music Publishing, Artist Publishing Group and others against 14 NBA teams.
new video loaded: Pope Leo Visits Mideast on First Foreign Trip as Pontiff
transcript
transcript
Pope Leo Visits Mideast on First Foreign Trip as Pontiff
Pope Leo XIV landed in Muslim-majority Turkey on Thursday, beginning the first international trip of his papacy. The voyage is aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation between Christian groups.
To the Americans here, happy Thanksgiving. In both Turkey and in Lebanon, we hope to also announce, transmit and proclaim how important peace is throughout the world and to invite all people to come together to search for greater unity, greater harmony, and to look for the ways that all men and women can truly be brothers and sisters, in spite of differences, in spite of different religions.
Pope Leo XIV landed in Muslim-majority Turkey on Thursday, beginning the first international trip of his papacy. The voyage is aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation between Christian groups.
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Voters in the Central American nation of Honduras are set to go to the polls for Sunday’s general election, as they weigh concerns ranging from corruption to national and economic security.
The current president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) party, is limited by law to one term in office.
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But the race to succeed Castro is slated to be a nail-biter. Three candidates have surged to the front of the race, but none has taken a definitive lead in the polls.
They include Rixi Moncada from the LIBRE party; Nasry Asfura from the right-wing National Party; and Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Party.
The race, however, has been marred by accusations of fraud and election-tampering.
Those allegations have raised tensions in Honduras, whose political system is still recovering from the legacy of a United States-backed 2009 military coup that was followed by a period of repression and contested elections.
“Honduras is heading into these elections amid mounting political pressure on electoral authorities, public accusations of fraud from across the political spectrum, and paralysis within key electoral bodies,” said Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas division at the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.
“These dynamics have created real uncertainty about the integrity of the process.”
Who are the candidates, what will voting look like, and what are the stakes of the election? We answer these questions and more in this brief explainer.
When is the election?
The election will take place in a single round of voting, held on November 30. The candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner and should take office on January 25, 2026.
How long is the presidential term?
Each president may serve a single four-year term in office.
Who is eligible to vote?
There are about 6.5 million Hondurans eligible to cast a ballot, including about 400,000 living abroad in the United States. That group, however, is restricted to voting on the presidential candidates.
Voting is obligatory in Honduras, but there are no penalties for those who do not participate.
Who are the candidates?
Three of the five presidential candidates have emerged as main challengers in the race.
Competing as the candidate for the left-leaning LIBRE Party is Rixi Moncada, a close confidant of President Castro who has served first as her finance minister, from 2022 to 2024, and later as her secretary of defence.
Moncada resigned that position in May to pursue her presidential bid.
If elected, she has pledged to “democratise the economy”, pushing back against efforts to privatise state services. Her platform also promises greater access to credit for small businesses and a crackdown on corporate corruption.
Another contender is Salvador Nasralla, a familiar face in Honduran politics. A candidate for the centrist Liberal Party, he is running for president for a fourth time.
A 72-year-old with a background in civil engineering, Nasralla formerly served as Castro’s vice president before resigning in April 2024.
Nasralla has said that he will streamline government functions while seeking to bring informal workers, who make up a large portion of the country’s labour force, into the formal economy.
Finally, running as the candidate for the right-leaning National Party is Nasry “Tito” Asfura.
Previously a mayor and representative for the capital of Tegucigalpa, Asfura has said he will run the country as an “administrator” and “executor”, promoting pro-business policies to attract investment.
Supporters of the Liberal Party cheer for presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla during his campaign’s closing event in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on November 23 [Delmer Martinez/AP Photo]
How have foreign relations played a role in the election?
On foreign relations, Moncada is expected to continue her predecessor’s pursuit of closer ties with countries such as China and support for other left-wing figures in the region.
Both Nasralla and Asfura have said they will orient Honduras towards the US and its allies, including Israel and Taiwan.
On Wednesday, in the waning days of the presidential race, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Asfura.
Trump also cast Honduras’s presidential race as part of his broader campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, blaming the South American leader for drug trafficking and the establishment of left-wing governments across the region.
“Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections in the beautiful country of Honduras on November 30th. Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
“The man who is standing up for Democracy, and fighting against Maduro, is Tito Asfura.”
What do the polls say?
Though pre-election surveys have shown Moncada, Nasralla and Asfura to be in the lead, no clear frontrunner has emerged.
In September, a poll released by the firm CID Gallup found that Nasralla had 27 percent support, Moncada 26 and Asfura 24. Those percentages separating the three candidates were within the poll’s margin of error.
An additional 18 percent of respondents in that survey indicated they were undecided.
Why has election integrity been a concern?
Questions of corruption have long dogged Honduras’s fragile democracy, and this election season has brought those fears back to the fore.
During the March primaries, for instance, there were “irregularities” in the distribution of election materials, and some polling stations reported delays, long lines and thin staffing that forced the vote to stretch late into the night.
There has also been discord between the two government agencies that handle Honduras’s elections: the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Electoral Justice Tribunal.
Congress elects the main leaders for each of the two agencies. But both the tribunal and the CNE have been targeted for investigation recently.
In October, prosecutors opened a criminal probe into CNE leader Cossette Lopez over alleged plans for an “electoral coup”.
The Joint Staff of the Armed Forces has also asked the CNE for a copy of a vote tally sheet for the presidential race on election day, prompting concerns over possible interference by the armed forces.
The Electoral Justice Tribunal, meanwhile, has faced an investigation into whether it has voted without all of its members present.
Both President Castro and members of the opposition have spoken about the potential for fraud in Sunday’s vote, heightening scrutiny on the vote.
Organisations such as Human Rights Watch and the Organization of American States (OAS) have expressed concern over the pressure facing election officials.
“What matters most now is that electoral institutions are allowed to operate independently, that the Armed Forces adhere strictly to their limited constitutional role, and that all political actors refrain from actions or statements that could inflame tensions or undermine public trust,” said Goebertus.
BBC on the scene of the Hong Kong apartment block blaze
A devastating fire has ripped through a high-rise public housing complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 83 people, making it the city’s deadliest in more than 60 years. More than 270 people have been reported missing and thousands of residents are in evacuation shelters.
Several of the high-rise blocks were still ablaze the day after the fire broke out, with thick smoke billowing into the air, dominating the Chinese territory’s skyline.
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter connected to the fire, according to local media reports, and an investigation has been launched.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed condolences to victims, including a “firefighter who died in the line of duty”, state media report.
What caused the blaze is still unclear, but here is what we do know, so far.
Where and when did the fire start?
The blaze broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a large housing complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, at 14:51 local time on Wednesday (06:51 GMT).
Wang Fuk Court consists of eight tower blocks, each 31 storeys high. Seven have been affected by the fire, Tai Po district councillor Mui Siu-fung told BBC Chinese. Built in 1983, the tower blocks were undergoing renovations when the fire broke out.
Tai Po is a residential district in the northern part of Hong Kong, near the city of Shenzhen on the Chinese mainland.
The complex provides 1,984 apartments for some 4,600 residents, according to a 2021 government census.
Nearly 40% of the people who lived in the Wang Fuk Court housing complex are at least 65, or older, according to the census.
Some of them have lived in the subsidised public housing estate since it was built.
What caused the fire?
The cause of the fire is unknown but a preliminary investigation found that the rapid speed at which it spread was unusual, Hong Kong’s security secretary said early on Thursday morning.
Police say a mesh material and plastic sheets were found on the outside of the buildings – both of which are not believed to be fireproof.
Styrofoam was also found on the building’s windows – and that, together with the other construction materials is likely to have caused the flames to spread so quickly, said police.
Police have arrested three men aged between 52 and 68 on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the deadly blaze – two of them are directors of a construction firm while the other is an engineering consultant.
A police spokesperson said investigators were looking into the alleged actions, or failure to act, of the firm’s top officials.
“We have reason to believe that those in charge at the company were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties,” said the spokesperson.
Local media reports also quote some residents who say the fire alarms in the building did not go off.
How serious is the fire?
This is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in at least 63 years and has been classified as a level five alarm – the highest in severity.
Within 40 minutes of first being reported, it was declared a level four, but by 18:22, about three and a half hours later, the level was raised again.
Local media had earlier reported that explosions could be heard inside the building and fire hoses could not easily reach the higher levels.
The ferocity of the heat had prevented firefighters from entering the buildings to conduct rescue operations, deputy director of fire services Derek Armstrong Chan told media.
As well as 767 firefighters, 128 fire engines, 57 ambulances and some 400 police officers were deployed.
What do we know about the victims?
Among the dead is firefighter Ho Wai-ho, 37, who was with the service at Sha Tin Fire Station for nine years.
The fire service says it lost contact with him at 15:30, and about half an hour later, found that he had collapsed. He was taken to hospital but declared dead shortly after.
“I am profoundly grieved at the loss of this dedicated and gallant fireman,” said Andy Yeung, director of the fire service.
At least one other firefighter is in hospital, the Hong Kong fire service said.
Police officers have been helping residents search for family members by using a loudspeaker, say local media reports.
Watch: Deadly fire engulfs Hong Kong apartment blocks
Where will evacuated residents stay?
Several emergency shelters have been set up to accommodate residents who were evacuated, the government said. The South China Morning Post reported that one of them – at Tung Cheong Street Sports Centre – was full, and residents were being directed to other shelters.
Another, the Kwong Fuk Community Hall, which is just over the road from the housing estate, was deemed unsafe. Evacuees were moved to another shelter, further away.
BBC Chinese reporter Gemini Cheng saw elderly residents, some using walking sticks or wheelchairs, arriving at some of the shelters.
At least 900 people are taking shelter in such temporary facilities, Agence France-Presse reports, quoting Lee.
An emergency monitoring and support centre is in operation to manage the impact of the fire, security secretary Tang Ping-keung said in a statement.
A hotline for the public to ask about casualties has been set up by Hong Kong police.
What could have exacerbated the fire?
Reuters
The tower blocks at Wang Fuk Court are covered in bamboo scaffolding and green construction netting, right up to the rooftops, because they are undergoing renovations.
As mentioned earlier, police have attributed the quick spread of the fire to materials used in the renovation, such as mesh netting, plastic sheeting and styrofoam.
It’s still unclear how the fire began, but no matter its cause, proper netting on the buildings’ exterior would have been key to preventing its spread, Jason Poon, chairman of construction NGO China Monitor, told news outlet Initium Medi. Substandard netting could cause the fire to spread rapidly, he added.
Another engineer told Initium Media he believes that the vast majority of mesh netting used in construction across Hong Kong is not made of fire-retardant material.
Cardboard, debris and paint thinner is also often found on the scaffolding, which along with dry weather could hasten the spread of fire, the engineer said.
One fire safety expert the BBC spoke to said the bamboo scaffolding – a common part of the city’s urban landscape – also played a part in fanning the flames.
Local media reports in March said the government’s development bureau had been trying to phase out the use of bamboo because of safety concerns.
The push towards using metal instead of bamboo came after a spate of scaffolding-related deaths in Hong Kong, although reports said these were caused by falls and other safety failures, rather than fires.
Professor Jiang Liming from Hong Kong Polytechnic University also noted that the blocks at Wang Fuk Court were “relatively old” – they were built in the 1980s – so “the glass windows are not that fire resilient”.
“The modern buildings have double pane glass windows, but for this one they perhaps used just a single pane… [which makes it] very easy to be broken by the flames and the flames can then penetrate through the facade.”
Additional reporting by Jack Lau, BBC Global China Unit and Gemini Cheng, BBC Chinese in Hong Kong.
The University of Virginia women prevailed over Michigan in the championship meet to win the inaugural CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge last weekend, with several nation-leading swims being produced over the course of the three-day meet in Tennessee.
One of the most exciting battles in the championship came in the women’s 100 back, where Claire Curzan and Bella Sims, who were separated by just one one-hundredth in the event in the 2025 NCAA final, locked horns in a rematch that came down to the wire once again.
At last season’s NCAAs, Curzan (49.11) edged out Sims (49.12) for the national title, and a similar scenario happened on Sunday in Knoxville.
Curzan put up a time of 49.12 to narrowly out-touch Sims (49.17) for the victory, coming just one one-hundredth shy of her personal best set in winning last year’s NCAA title.
Both women move to #1 and #2 in the country this season, and the performance from Sims also marks a new Big Ten and Michigan Record, with her lifetime best of 48.97 having been set last season while she was at the University of Florida.
The previous Big Ten Record stood at 49.18, set by former Wisconsin star Beata Nelson in 2019, while the previous Michigan Record was 49.76, set by Maggie MacNeil in 2021.
Curzan also won the 100 fly at the meet in 49.68, ranking her #2 in the nation, while Sims also placed 3rd in the 500 free in a season-best time of 4:39.76.
The Cavalier women ultimately beat the Wolverines, 40-17, while the Arizona State men prevailed over Tennessee, 37-19.
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