Powerboat racing-DJ Aoki's team wins in Dubrovnik as Lebron claims first E1 podium
Former Formula 1 test driver Dani Clos, a new addition to Aoki Racing Team for 2025, took the chequered flag in a tight finish at the E1 Dubrovnik Grand Prix, with Team Brady securing second place and NBA superstar LeBron James celebrating his first podium finish with Team AlUla in third.
The victory unfolded against the backdrop of Dubrovnik's historic walls, where thousands gathered for Croatia's debut on the UIM E1 World Championship calendar, the series dedicated to all-electric powerboat racing.
The result intensified the rivalry between Aoki's team and Nadal's, which could only manage fourth place despite qualifying strongly. Both teams have emerged as the dominant forces in the 2025 season as they vie for the "Champions of the Water" title, to be decided in Miami in November.
The championship, which features teams owned by global celebrities including actor Will Smith and former footballer Didier Drogba, now heads to Italy's Lake Maggiore in late June for the midpoint of the season.
The E1 World Championship is the first all-electric raceboat series sanctioned by powerboating's global governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), and is designed to accelerate innovation in sustainable marine technology and coastal conservation.
(Reporting by Ossian Shine, Editing by Ed Osmond)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-PSG leave Donnarumma out of UEFA Super Cup squad amid exit rumours
FILE PHOTO: Jul 13, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (1) reacts during the final of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images/File Photo (Reuters) -Paris St Germain have left goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma out of their squad for Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur, amid media reports linking the Italy international with a move away from the French side. Donnarumma was PSG's first-choice keeper and played a key role as they won the Ligue 1 and the Champions League last season. The 26-year-old has won the French top-flight three times since joining from AC Milan in 2021. However, French media reports said Donnarumma, whose contract with PSG ends next year, may be on his way out this summer. PSG also signed Lucas Chevalier from Lille, who was named Ligue 1's goalkeeper of the year last season. Chevalier, Matvey Safonov and Renato Marin were the three keepers named in the squad on Tuesday for the match against Europa League champions Spurs. PSG squad: Achraf Hakimi, Lucas Beraldo, Marquinhos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Fabian Ruiz, Goncalo Ramos, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Vitinha, Lee Kang-In, Lucas Hernandez, Nuno Mendes, Bradley Barcola, Lucas Chevalier, Warren Zaire-Emery, Matvey Safonov, Noham Kamara, Ibrahim Mbaye, Willian Pacho, Renato Marin. (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
'Farm babe' versus 'food babe' influencer rivalry is a lopsided battle
(Reuters) -Michelle Miller stands in a field of corn, stalks stretching above her perfectly styled hair, holding a tiny microphone and addressing an audience online. She was farming genetically-modified corn in Iowa in 2017, she says, when a tornado hit. Now a social media influencer who goes by the name the "Farm Babe," Miller says the wind knocked her corn flat on the ground. But in a feat of botanical fortitude, the plantsbounced back. "So when you ask farmers: why are they growing these GMO seeds?" she says in the video, "it's because the genetics hold up." Millerhas starred in hundreds of videos, often set in fields and on farms, since she began her influencing career. She aims to debunk what she sees as misperceptions around farming perpetuated by another universe of influencers, many of whom are now closely aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, campaign. But unlike Miller's GMO corn, arguments in favor of the status quo in U.S. food and agriculture are increasingly falling flat, especially on social media. Among the most prominent of those MAHA influencers is Vani Hari, who blogs as "The Food Babe" -- Miller says her ownname is a self-conscious spin-off. Hari has gained millions of followers by railing against processed food, GMOs, pesticides and other mainstays of the U.S. food system. Although Miller partners with powerful interests in the food and agriculture industry with huge marketing budgets, her message is not gaining as much traction as Hari's. Her Instagram account, for example, had just over 43,000 followers in early August, to Hari's 2.3 million. The bloggers' uneven rivalry speaks to the ascendance of a movement that has put conventional food and farming in its crosshairs, and Big Agriculture's struggle to respond. Hari and Miller, both in their 40s, emerged as food commentators in the 2010s amid a boom in social media influencing, when a single post going viral could help rocket its author to fame and fortune. Their rise also coincided with growing national attention on the relationship between food, obesity and chronic illness, with then-First Lady Michelle Obama spearheading new regulations on school nutrition and promoting vegetable gardening and exercise through her "Let's Move!" campaign. Hari grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she said she was largely raised on ultra-processed foods, to which she attributes later chronic health conditions, from eczema to endometriosis. An appendectomy in 2002 launched her on a quest to understand the source of her health issues. She pored over books on nutrition at the library, from which she concluded that her diet was at the root of her diseases, and those of many other Americans. "I wanted to investigate: what was it about these foods that made me feel so bad?" Hari said. Hari began writing a blog in 2011 as The Food Babe, a name suggested by her husband, with the aim of educating her friends and family. The blog reached well beyond her immediate circle and led to book deals and the creation of Truvani, a line of supplements now sold at Target and Walmart. More recently, she has become a sort of mascot of the MAHA movement, though she is a registered Democrat, according to public voter registration records. At a press conference in April, at which Kennedy announced the administration's intention to phase out synthetic food dyes, Hari was an opening act, appearing in a bejeweled white suit before a room of press and MAHA supporters. When Kennedy took the stage, he called her an "extraordinary leader." She said she does not have a formal role in the administration. Miller wanted her own pulpit after she began noticing Hari's content in 2014. A commercial farmer of soybeans, corn and livestock in Iowa at the time, Miller said she posted a comment on Hari's Facebook page taking issue with her claims about the toxicity of GMO crops. After that, Miller said, she was blocked. So, she launched a rival blog. "I really took it upon myself to be a myth buster for the industry," she said. Hari did not respond to questions about blocking Miller or others who make critical comments. Hari has published books blasting corruption in the food industry as well as her own cookbooks, and sells subscriptions to her blog. The supplements, however, areher main business, Hari said. She declined to disclose the company's value. Miller, who said she is not registered with either political party, travels about 300 days a year, doing paid speaking engagements, farm visits and branded partnerships with companies like Tyson Foods, Domino's Pizza and the California Beef Council. She also writes a column for an agriculture industry trade publication. She declined to say exactly how much she earns, but her published fee for speeches ranges from $2,500 to $15,000. Mariah Wellman, a professor of advertising and public relations at Michigan State University who focuses on social media and wellness, said both women likely earn in the high six figures for their work. But they speak to different audiences. And the constraints of traditional public relations may hinder pro-agriculture messaging, while the MAHA crowd's comfort with social media helps propel its narrative. "When you think about large brands and large agricultural companies, they are headed by a demographic that's not super comfortable with influencer culture," said Wellman. She said that such companies often find it hard to keep up with fast-moving social media trends as they like to vet their partnerships carefully. Miller, for her part, is sometimes frustrated by the challenges of working with an industry that is less nimble on social media, noting that it skews older and male, and saying it is often "preaching to the choir."But she sees it as part of her mission to help agriculturebetter communicate about itself. Hari has gained traction as public skepticism of U.S. public health institutions grew during the Covid-19 crisis. And her profile exploded when Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic and environmental lawyer who was involved in suing companies like Bayer Monsanto over its pesticides, joined President Donald Trump's administration. Kennedy's MAHA zeal has already inspired corporate action and state legislation on food. In June, Kraft Heinz and General Mills announced they would phase out synthetic food dyes, which MAHA adherents believe cause problems ranging from hyperactivity in children to cancer, by 2027. Scientists say there is not yet a large enough body of evidence to show whether synthetic food dyes cause these problems. West Virginia in March banned some synthetic food dyes from being sold in the state, and Arizona and Utah have recently banned a list of synthetic food dyes in school meals. Communications firm Edelman found in a large, global public opinion survey taken in 2024 that people, especially those aged 18-34, are increasingly disregarding the advice of credentialed medical providers in favor of recommendations from friends, family and social media. As Lauri Baker, a professor of agricultural communication at the University of Florida, says:"In almost any study we've conducted, people are more likely to trust someone who looks like them, thinks like them, who they believe is like them." (Reporting by Renee Hickman. Editing by Emily Schmall and Claudia Parsons)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Poland manager says Lewandowski wants to return to national team
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - LaLiga - Athletic Bilbao v FC Barcelona - San Mames, Bilbao, Spain - May 25, 2025 FC Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski scores their first goal REUTERS/Pankra Nieto/File Photo WARSAW (Reuters) -Robert Lewandowski wants to play for his country again, Poland manager Jan Urban said on Tuesday, after the Barcelona striker quit the national team amid a row over the previous coach's decision to replace him as captain. Urban was named in July to replace Michal Probierz, who resigned in June amid the spat over his decision to take the captain's armband away from Poland's all-time top scorer and hand it to Inter Milan's Piotr Zielinski. Poland sit third in their World Cup qualifying group behind Finland and the Netherlands and Lewandowski is widely seen as vital to their hopes of reaching next year's tournament. "I spoke with Robert Lewandowski by phone and asked if he wanted to come back," Urban told private broadcaster RMF FM. "He said yes. So we've taken a step forward." Asked whether Lewandowski would become captain again, Urban said discussions on the topic were ongoing. "I wouldn't just like to talk to Robert, but also to those involved - Piotr Zielinski and the players on the team council. The decision will be mine, but I'd like to listen to the players and find out what they think." Poland's next World Cup qualifier is against the Netherlands away on September 4 before they host Finland three days later. Lewandowski, 36, has scored 85 goals in 158 appearances for Poland. (Reporting by Alan CharlishEditing by Christian Radnedge)
