Latest news with #BALCO
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Fight figure Victor Conte diagnosed with cancer
Boxing figure Victor Conte has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to reports from within the US. Conte, who shot to infamy with his role in the BALCO doping scandal decades ago told Boxing Scene that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. However, he said that his prognosis appeared to be good. Catch all the latest boxing action on DAZN The course of treatment for Conte, reported Boxing Scene, would be three months of chemotherapy followed by surgery. Luckily, the cancer has reportedly not metastasised. Conte told Boxing Scene: 'The cancer's at an advanced stage locally but has not spread to any other organs in my body. I'll do chemo weekly for three months – maybe four – during which doctors hope to shrink the tumour enough to be able to go in and remove the tumour with NanoKnife surgery. That's the plan.' Conte said that his physicians were positive and that the cancer had not spread beyond his pancreas. He added: 'I've got a stint implanted in my bile duct. My appetite is back after losing the 40 pounds. It's been a very difficult time. I'm just glad to be able to continue to do what I do. None of this is about money. It's never been about making money for me. I've got a ton of money saved. I get to do what I love to do with the people I love to work with.' The BALCO scandal over two decades ago rocked professional sports in the US, with athletes from multiple disciplines including baseball and boxing being implemented in mass doping done through Conte's labs in San Francisco (BALCO stands for 'Bay Area Lab Company'). Athletes caught up in the scandal included Shane Mosley, who said despite video evidence that he had never been a steroid abuser or a cheat or sports; Barry Bonds, who similarly denied wrongdoing; and track and field athlete Marion Jones. For his role in the scandal, which was the subject of a Netflix documentary called Untold: Hall of Shame in 2023, Conte served four months in jail. Since his initial fall from grace, Conte has rehabilitated his image somewhat with his more-recent campaigning for clean sport, Following his release, Conte underwent a Damascene conversion and has worked on eradicating PEDs from use in sports, working closely with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Serentica Renewables secures over $100 million debt funding from Rabobank, Societe Generale
Serentica Renewables on Thursday said it has secured USD 100 million in debt financing from global financial institutions Rabobank and Societe Generale to support the development of a 300 MW solar power project in Rajasthan. Serentica Renewables, a leading Commercial & Industrial (C&I) focused renewable energy company in India, has announced the financial close of its second External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) financing, according to a company statement. This strategic project has been designed to supply green energy to Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), one of India's leading aluminum producers and a subsidiary of the Vedanta Group, marking another significant step in decarbonising India's industrial sector, it stated. Akshay Hiranandani, CEO of Serentica Renewables, said, "It's a crucial step in our mission to provide reliable, clean energy solutions that empower industrial giants like BALCO to decarbonise, driving a greener and more sustainable future for the nation." "We are proud to partner again with Serentica and bring our structuring expertise to a project that will deliver strong, long-term, sustainable impact," said Amardeep Parmar, Head of Project Finance Asia, Rabobank. Live Events The company has achieved a significant milestone by reaching 1,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, with ongoing projects across multiple states, leveraging a mix of solar, wind, energy storage, and advanced balancing solutions. Backed by a USD 650 million investment from KKR, Serentica aims to supply over 50 billion units of clean energy annually, enabling the displacement of 47 million tons of CO₂ emissions.
Express Tribune
26-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Roots of Indian rage
Over the past four decades, India's state apparatus has slowly been sold off to private capital. Consequently, economic anxiety defines the daily experience of ordinary citizens - the collective frustration of which the BJP strategically redirects towards Muslims. A national-level hero's journey of resurgence must, it turns out, have a villain. India's 1991 neoliberal economic reforms under Finance Minister Manmohan Singh entailed three primary initiatives: deregulation, privatisation, and trade liberalisation. The first involved slashing oversight on corporations: licensing requirements to set up industries were eliminated, production quotas were substantially eased, and firms were allowed to diversify and expand without needing government approvals. The second entailed divesting from state owned enterprises. Major entities - including BALCO, Hindustan Zinc, IPCL, VSNL (now Tata Communications Limited) and many more - were sold to private parties over the subsequent decade. The third involved discontinuing 'artificial' import restrictions and state-led export promotion initiatives in an effort to integrate into global 'free' markets. More broadly, corporate taxes were slashed, interest rates deregulated, and restrictions on foreign direct investment lifted. Collectively, these measures led to improvements in surface level economic indicators. GDP growth, a better managed fiscal account, and the strengthening of trade relations were all observed. On the other hand, however, inequalities surged. With fewer checks on corporations, collective bargaining via trade unions and farmer associations weakened - and workers were left to fend for themselves in a dog-eat-dog modality. Government funds were systematically redirected away from education, healthcare, and food/fertiliser subsidy programmes, especially under the BJP. With state support gutted, stable employment became the sole lifeline for most: making for a hyper-competitive job market with no room for slip-ups. Employers exploited this by demanding unpaid overtime, while some employees voluntarily extended their hours in the hopes of sustaining a 'respectable' lifestyle. All this, combined with rising average commute times to and from work, eroded space for leisure. The result was a declining public interest in art, literature, and intellectual engagement. Book reading was slowly replaced with mindless 'doom scrolling' on apps like Instagram, and academic/cultural conferences became less popular over time - in their stead appearing fleeting pastimes such as 'e-sports' (PC/console gaming) and the consumption of pornography, for which India ranked #3 in the world in 2024 with 30.75 billion views. Low self-esteem, rampant misogyny, and declining levels of critical thinking ability were all consequences. According to data from the World Inequality Index, India's top 1% increased its income share from 10.2% in 1991 to 22.6% in 2022, whereas its share of wealth shot up from 16.1% to a whopping 40.1% during the same period. Conversely, the bottom 50% saw income and wealth shares drop from 22.2% to 15%, and 8.8% to 6.5%, respectively. In effect, resources were painstakingly redistributed from lower and lower-middle classes to the upper echelons of society. This rapidly transforming economic landscape, combined with the rise of digital connectivity, led to the erosion of communal bonds. Extended families were replaced with nuclear ones. Social gatherings became less frequent, eventually being transposed to the virtual realm. Religious occasions such as Holi and Diwali were ironically less about the reinforcement of deep sacred values of equity, compassion, and spiritual renewal, and more about escapism from cutthroat capitalism via consumer excess: presents, dance parties, and mass indulgence in drugs and alcohol. Isolation, frustration, emptiness, and resentment defined the daily experience of most non-propertied citizens. It is in this general backdrop that two major ideologies slowly came to take centre stage in India. The first, hyper-nationalism, was fueled by the desperate desire for some sort of respect and belonging. This was represented by Hindutva - a belief that the nation belonged primarily to Hindus and existed to serve them. BJP was always its primary torchbearer, and its original 'moment of glory' was the destruction of the Babri Mosque in 1992, the intention behind which was to replace it with a temple dedicated to Rama, a Hindu deity. The event, led by RSS and BJP - triggered a particular kind of catharsis in both participants and observers, catapulting Hindutva to the political mainstream for subsequent years and decades. Sure enough, by 1998, BJP was able to form its first coalition government under AB Vajpayee. Over the years, and particularly following the 9/11 attacks, BJP presented the 'Muslim' as the source of all - or most - troubles - a convenient scapegoat to detract from rapidly expanding economic vulnerabilities. In 2002, the horrific Gujarat Massacre took place under the watch of Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of the state. Approximately 800 Muslims were slaughtered, demonstrating that the nascent Prime Minister was more than just talk: he was the 'strongman' that would revive past glories and show no mercy to his adversaries. All while continuing to push anti-poor policies, crippling the most vulnerable - Hindus included. The second ideology, which rose to global presence post 2010 alongside social media ubiquity, was postmodernism: the prioritisation of subjective experience over 'empirical' (quantifiable, verifiable) reality. The BJP's general communication is heavily reliant on precisely this. The unregulated Indian media's disinformation campaign on 9th May is an accurate recent manifestation. It is also why Indian authorities have continued to evade the demand on them to offer evidence for Pakistan's alleged involvement in Pahalgam, and why they have insisted on dragging the 'Muslim terrorist' trope from the War on Terror to this day despite its obvious irrelevance. For authoritarians like Modi, who rely exclusively on stoking myopic, hateful tribalism as a strategy to detract from worsening material conditions, postmodernism has been a godsend. With it, ruling elites can rest assured their economic exploitation is never brought into the limelight. Since 2014, Modi has made Indian Hindus feel a visceral animosity for Muslims that far exceeds that of bygone years. What was contempt yesterday is bloodlust today. And 'limited conflicts' scratch that itch unlike anything else. Voters in Bihar, scheduled for elections this year (what a coincidence!), must have watched the recent ordeal closely. In many ways, the India of 2025 represents a worst-case scenario and cautionary tale for countries in the Global South, including Pakistan, that have been experimenting with neoliberal ideology to shape economic policy. Democracies cannot survive runaway economic inequality.
Fox News
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Barry Bonds: Shohei Ohtani 'complete player' but 'game is way different'
Shohei Ohtani's greatness can't be overstated enough, but another all-time great hitter in baseball thinks the game is a bit easier for the Los Angeles Dodgers star compared to his time in MLB. Barry Bonds, arguably the greatest hitter of all time, appeared on the "All The Smoke" podcast where he shared his belief that ballplayers have it easier in the batter's box compared to his time in the league from 1986-2007. "The game has just changed," Bonds said. "The game is way different than it was when I played. The same way Michael (Jordan) talks about it or anybody does. Ohtani is not gonna hit two home runs without seeing one go (by his ear) in my generation. I don't care what he does. He's not gonna steal two bases without someone decapitating his kneecap to slow him down. It's a different game back then." Bonds has a point regarding intentional pitches thrown up and in on batters to give them a scare – the game has regressed in that aspect on the pitcher's mound. However, Bonds isn't trying to take away what Ohtani has been able to accomplish since Ohtani came over to the States from Japan. "The pitching and hitting have been outstanding for what he's done," Bonds said of Ohtani. "Baserunning. He's a complete player. There's no doubt about the type of player he is and what he's accomplished in his career." But the point still stands in Bonds' eyes: In a game where celebrating home runs is encouraged now instead of frowned upon, Ohtani doesn't have to worry about retaliation – at least not like he would have in the past. "They should be better than us hitting-wise, because they can hit a home run, throw their bat up in the air, run around, get a taco, come back down and have a limo drive them around," Bonds said, jokingly. "All these antics that we weren't allowed to do. "If I did anything like that, I'm gonna see a star. I'm gonna see a hospital, but I ain't gonna see baseball that day." Bonds, of course, is a polarizing former star within the game of baseball, owning the most home runs ever, breaking Hank Aaron's record with his own 762 over his illustrious career. Despite being considered arguably the greatest hitter of all time, Bonds remains out of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York due to being a central figure in MLB's steroids scandal. Bonds was indicted in 2007 on perjury charges as well as obstruction of justice for allegedly lying in front of a grand jury during the government's investigation into BALCO, a main manufacturer of an undetectable steroid that was running rampant in the league. The perjury charges were eventually dropped, but Bonds was convicted of obstruction of justice in 2011. He had to fight until he was exonerated on appeal in 2015. During that time, Bonds' 10 years of eligibility on the Hall of Fame ballot didn't see voters giving him the 75% acceptance rate to be an inductee, some of which stating they wouldn't vote for him due to the belief he used PEDs. Ohtani was caught up in his own scandal this past offseason, though he was the victim rather than the culprit. Ohtani's former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was found to be stealing millions from the Dodgers star's bank account to cover gambling losses. Federal prosecutors asked for a 57-month prison sentence while also asking Mizuhara to pay $16.9 million of restitution to Ohtani and another $1.1 million to the IRS. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
