Latest news with #ITA
Express Tribune
a day ago
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
Capital widens vehicle emission drive
Excess diesel emissions are killing tens of thousands of people every year. PHOTO: AFP The Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) has expanded its vehicle emission testing initiative across the federal capital, urging citizens to ensure their cars meet environmental standards. The campaign aims to reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality by enforcing mandatory inspections and maintenance. According to the spokesman of ICT administration, the ITA is actively conducting vehicle inspections under its Vehicle Emission Testing System. A dedicated inspection camp was recently set up at D-Chowk, where a large number of citizens brought their vehicles for testing. According to ITA Chairman Irfan Memon, the inspection drive began with vehicles belonging to government departments. In the next phase, the initiative was extended to include private vehicles owned by citizens. He noted that participation from the public has been encouraging, with many residents acknowledging the importance of checking vehicle emissions to protect the environment. Vehicles that pass the emission test at the camp are issued clearance stickers. These stickers indicate that the vehicle meets the required environmental standards. Irfan Memon emphasised that this step is necessary to control pollution levels in the city, and it is being executed with the help of advanced machinery. "The inspection process isn't limited to one area. We plan to expand it throughout the city using modern equipment," he further said. The ITA chief urged all vehicle owners to voluntarily present their cars for inspection and warned that vehicles failing the inspection or not maintained properly after testing will face strict action. "The ITA will conduct joint operations with Islamabad Traffic Police to take action against vehicles without clearance stickers. This is a collective effort to improve the city's air quality and ensure that only compliant vehicles remain on the roads," Memon added. The ITA's initiative is part of broader efforts to address increasing environmental concerns, especially rising pollution from unregulated vehicle emissions. The campaign reflects the city's commitment to sustainable urban living and public health protection. To further raise awareness, the Islamabad Transport Authority plans to launch an outreach campaign through schools, community centres, and local media to educate the public about the health hazards of vehicular pollution. Informational pamphlets, social media messages, and public service announcements will emphasize the link between air quality and respiratory health, encouraging more citizens to take part in the emission testing drive.
Global News
2 days ago
- Sport
- Global News
Olympian Penny Oleksiak faces doping allegations, multi-year ban
Swim star Penny Oleksiak of Toronto has been notified of an apparent anti-doping rule violation by the International Testing Agency. According to the ITA, Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period between October 2024 and June 2025. She has been made aware of the case and has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension pending the resolution of the matter. She has the right to provide her explanations for each of the three whereabouts failures. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments from the ITA, World Aquatics or Oleksiak during the ongoing proceedings. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy That implies that the third missed test came after Oleksiak qualified for the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Story continues below advertisement In a now-deleted Instagram post, Oleksiak announced two weeks ago that she was withdrawing from the World Championship team and accepting a voluntary provisional suspension. Any eventual sanction would be reduced by the amount of time she was suspended under the voluntary provisional suspension. In the post, Oleksiak asserted 'I am and always have been a clean athlete' and that the case 'does not involve any banned substance; it's about whether I updated my information correctly.' Swimming Canada echoed the sentiment and said 'We support her decision and believe she is a clean athlete who made an administrative mistake.' A Whereabouts Case is an Anti-Doping rule violation that can affect athlete eligibility even if they have never taken a banned substance. The World Anti-Doping Code defines a Whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period. Athletes who are members of the 'Registered Testing Pool' which is the highest tier of athlete testing, are required to report an accurate and up-to-date filing of their whereabouts at all times. This is so they can be drug tested at any time and any place with no advance notice. According to World Aquatics, if an athlete in the testing pool submits 'late, inaccurate or incomplete whereabouts that lead to (them) being unavailable for testing, (they) may receive a Filing Failure.'
CBC
3 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak notified of anti-doping rules violation
Swim star Penny Oleksiak of Toronto has been notified of an apparent anti-doping rule violation by the International Testing Agency. According to the ITA, Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period between October 2024 and June 2025. The three-time Olympian has been made aware of the case and has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension pending the resolution of the matter. She has the right to provide her explanations for each of the three whereabouts failures. Given the case is underway, there will be no further comments from the ITA, World Aquatics or Oleksiak during the ongoing proceedings. That implies the third missed test came after Oleksiak qualified for the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Oleksiak announced two weeks ago she was withdrawing from the world championship team and accepting a voluntary provisional suspension. Any eventual sanction would be reduced by the amount of time she was suspended under the voluntary provisional suspension. In the post, Oleksiak asserted, "I am and always have been a clean athlete" and that the case "does not involve any banned substance; it's about whether I updated my information correctly." Swimming Canada echoed the sentiment and said, "We support her decision and believe she is a clean athlete who made an administrative mistake." A Whereabouts Case is an Anti-Doping rule violation that can affect athlete eligibility even if they have never taken a banned substance. The World Anti-Doping Code defines a Whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period. Athletes who are members of the "Registered Testing Pool" which is the highest tier of athlete testing, are required to report an accurate and up-to-date filing of their whereabouts at all times. This is so they can be drug tested at any time and any place with no advance notice.
The South African
4 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Gabriela Bryan and Connor O'Leary crowned Corona Cero Open J-Bay champs
Gabriela Bryan and Connor O'Leary won the Corona Cero Open J-Bay, stop No 10 on the World Surf League 2025 Championship Tour. It was all-time Supertubes conditions, with solid four-to-six-foot surf in offshore wind, with the world's best putting on a high-performance show in front of thousands of surf fans lining the beach. Molly Picklum (AUS) and Yago Dora (BRA) finished runners-up after producing some of the top performances throughout the week. The next stop on the 2025 CT will be the Lexus Tahiti Pro, the final regular-season event before the one-day, winner-take-all Lexus WSL Finals in Cloudbreak, Fiji. Only the Top 5 men and Top 5 women on the world rankings will compete in the event. Following today's competition, there are now four men's spots and two women's spots remaining. The seeding and final positions will all come down to the world-renowned Teahupo'o from August 7 through August 16, 2025. Japan's Connor O'Leary won his first-ever CT title at the 2025 Corona Cero Open J-Bay, a career-best result in his seven years on Tour. O'Leary burst onto the scene in his Rookie year in 2017, and his last Finals appearance was at the Fiji Pro of that year. This season, the 31-year-old from Cronulla had a run of ninth-place finishes and two Quarterfinal appearances, and has jumped to No. 11 on the rankings after his win, his best result for 2025. 'I don't have any words,' said O'Leary. 'I'm just so happy with how I performed today. [Richard] 'Dog' Marsh has been telling me that it's coming this year, but it's been hard to believe sometimes. All the stars aligned for this one, so I'm stoked. 'It felt good to have so many people cheering for me, and then to perform for them. I intended to do some of the best backhand surfing you've ever seen, and to compete with a fellow goofy in the final, hopefully it inspires other goofy-foot surfers that they can compete against the best in perfect right-hand point breaks.' O'Leary took the win over Yago Dora (BRA) in an all-goofy-foot battle at Supertubes. O'Leary's flawless backhand attack saw him earn the event's only 10-point ride (out of a possible 10) to knock out three-time J-Bay winner Filipe Toledo (BRA) in an exhilarating semi-final clash to advance to his first final for 2025. O'Leary had a massive challenge ahead, with Dora seemingly unstoppable in J-Bay and in his third Final for the season. Locking into a classic leg burner, O'Leary scored an excellent 8.17 and 7.50 for a total of 15.67 (out of a possible 20) for the win. On the hunt for his third CT win of the season, Dora showed his affinity for the long-running walls of Supertubes, finding excellent scores in almost every heat at the Corona Cero Open J-Bay. On his way to the final, Dora took out Griffin Colapinto (USA) in an exciting semi-final and defeated Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) in the quarter-finals. With this result, Dora clinched his spot in the WSL Final 5, marking his first appearance in the Lexus WSL finals to compete for the World Title. In her fourth Final appearance in 2025, world No 2 Gabriela Bryan earned her third CT win of the season and the fourth of her career in dramatic fashion, defeating world No 1 Molly Picklum (AUS) by the narrowest of margins. After an early exit at the VIVO Rio Pro, Bryan lost the Yellow Leader Jersey to Picklum and flew out to South Africa to reset and get in a few extra reps at Supertubes. 'I don't think it's sunk in yet,' said Bryan. 'I came here early, putting in a lot of time here, and it paid off. I'm so stoked. It's been a dream of mine to win here at J-Bay. It's an iconic wave and one of my favourites in the world. 'The Yellow Jersey comes with a lot of pressure, so I definitely had less pressure in that Final. I personally like chasing something that I want to go after. The only time I want to be wearing Yellow is the first event next year.' Bryan clinched her place in the WSL Final 5 and will compete for the world title in the Lexus WSL Finals Fiji. The 23-year-old dispatched two-time World Champion Tyler Wright (AUS) in the quarter-finals, before taking out the 2023 World Champion Caroline Marks (USA) in the semi-finals. 'I can't even believe it,' said Bryan. 'From last year, where I think I missed out by one heat, and now to do it with one event left in the regular season. I get to go back to Fiji, one of my favorite places in the world, to compete for a world title, it's mind-blowing. 'It's been a great day. I knew that waking up, that's it's going to be a huge day no matter what. I'm going to do everything I can to make it a great day. There are so many good things to take away, but I just tried to simplify things, because it's so exhausting out there today, so I just focused on getting two good waves.' World No 1 Picklum (AUS) will wear the Yellow Leader Jersey going into the last event of the regular season, the Lexus Tahiti Pro Presented by I-SEA. She overcame an in-form Isabella Nichols (AUS) in the semi-finals, getting one back after Nichols won their semi-final clash in El Salvador earlier this year. Picklum, runner-up in 2023 to Lakey Peterson (USA), defeated Peterson in the quarter-finals but had to settle for another runner-up in 2025 to Gabriela Bryan. 'It's a one-of-a-kind wave,' said Picklum. 'It definitely has a specific timing and rhythm to it. Last year I felt I could learn a lot about my surfing here, and this year I was just trying to hold the throttle down a bit more, and find that rhythm.' Heading into this event, Picklum had clinched her spot in the WSL Final 5 early. Leading the pack going into Tahiti, the 22-year-old will be one to watch as she's been known to charge waves of consequence, such as Teahupo'o and Cloudbreak, up next on the schedule. Caity Simmers also secured her spot in the WSL Finals with her result today and the results of her competitors. With only two spots remaining for the women, it will all come down to the Lexus Tahiti Pro, which holds a competition window starting 7 August 2025. 1 – Gabriela Bryan (HAW) 13.60 2 – Molly Picklum (AUS) 13.34 1 – Connor O'Leary (JPN) 15.67 2 – Yago Dora (BRA) 14.23 Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Canadian star swimmer Oleksiak notified of anti-doping rules violation
TORONTO - Swim star Penny Oleksiak of Toronto has been notified of an apparent anti-doping rule violation by the International Testing Agency. According to the ITA, Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period between October 2024 and June 2025. She has been made aware of the case and has accepted a voluntary provisional suspension pending the resolution of the matter. She has the right to provide her explanations for each of the three whereabouts failures. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments from the ITA, World Aquatics or Oleksiak during the ongoing proceedings. That implies that the third missed test came after Oleksiak qualified for the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Oleksiak announced two weeks ago that she was withdrawing from the World Championship team and accepting a voluntary provisional suspension . Any eventual sanction would be reduced by the amount of time she was suspended under the voluntary provisional suspension. In the post, Oleksiak asserted 'I am and always have been a clean athlete' and that the case 'does not involve any banned substance; it's about whether I updated my information correctly.' Swimming Canada echoed the sentiment and said 'We support her decision and believe she is a clean athlete who made an administrative mistake.' A Whereabouts Case is an Anti-Doping rule violation that can affect athlete eligibility even if they have never taken a banned substance. The World Anti-Doping Code defines a Whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period. Athletes who are members of the 'Registered Testing Pool' which is the highest tier of athlete testing, are required to report an accurate and up-to-date filing of their whereabouts at all times. This is so they can be drug tested at any time and any place with no advance notice. According to World Aquatics , if an athlete in the testing pool submits 'late, inaccurate or incomplete whereabouts that lead to (them) being unavailable for testing, (they) may receive a Filing Failure.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2025.
