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India Today
23-05-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Doping-Enhanced Games to launch in 2026, bucking global anti-doping norms
The Enhanced Games have set their inaugural competition for May 2026 in Las Vegas, with swimming, athletics and weightlifting on the agenda for athletes using substances banned in official competition to the consternation of anti-doping in Las Vegas' neon glow at the launch, founder Aron D'Souza on Wednesday urged athletes to take a gamble on the novel competition that he believes can transform sports science but critics deride as a freak touted what they believe to be their biggest success story so far: Kristian Gkolomeev, a Greek swimmer who never made the podium in four Olympics but surpassed one of his sport's great achievements under the Enhanced Games program. Gkolomeev swam two hundredths of a second faster than the 50m freestyle official world record that has stood for more than 15 years, clocking 20.89 in February with an inline full-body open water suit that falls outside World Aquatics standards."I'm kind of like the driver in the car, but I need the team behind me," Gkolomeev, who finished fifth in the event at the Paris Games, said ahead of the Las Vegas Games have held the 31-year-old up as an example of what can be possible under their regime while declining to disclose which "performance enhancements" he used, citing medical should be retired, but in fact, he's swimming faster than any human being has ever done so. Why? Because he used technology and science to enhance his performance," said D'Souza."Once the world realizes that, I think everyone is going to want it. Every middle-aged guy who once played competitive sport and is now suffering from back pain is going to say, 'What is he on and how do I get it?'"The Enhanced Games operate under the principle that banning performance-enhancing drugs in major competition does not protect athletes but rather stifles their performance."Our project is a lot like Formula One because the research that happens to make Formula One cars drive faster eventually percolates out onto the road," the Australian entrepreneur told Reuters."And in the same way, the science and medicine that is used to make athletes achieve world record performances at increasingly older ages will allow all humans, all of our society to age more healthily and gracefully."'ROMAN CIRCUS'?Participants could earn prize money totalling up to $500,000 per event plus bonuses for surpassing a world record swimming, the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly are on the agenda. Athletics has the 100m sprint along with the 110m and 100m hurdles, while weightlifting will feature the snatch and clean and World Anti-Doping Agency staunchly opposes the project, warning athletes that they risk bans and their International Federation of Sports Medicine said the project could lead to exploitation of young athletes."Thinking that because you do medical checks on the spot is going to give you a good idea of the health risks of abuse of doping substances, again, is medical and scientific nonsense," said World Anti-Doping Agency science director Olivier Rabin."It's like the Roman circus, you know, you sacrifice the lives of people purely for entertainment. What's the value of this? I don't think any responsible society should move in that direction."D'Souza argues that doping in professional and amateur sport is rampant despite efforts to eliminate the use of banned substances, leading to it being done secretly and unsafely."Instead, at Enhanced Games, we're reversing that, making it a fair, level, transparent field so that innovation can be illustrated in a very public way to support technological progress," he said.D'Souza announced last year that he had attracted big-name investors in Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel, tech investor Christian Angermayer and former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji year he also signed the first Enhanced Games athlete, retired Australian world champion swimmer James Magnussen, who agreed to take banned performance-enhancing drugs in an attempt to surpass Cesar Cielo's 50m freestyle Govorov, the Ukrainian 50m butterfly world record holder and world bronze medallist, and 21-year-old Bulgarian swimmer Josif Miladinov, a European silver medallist, joined the Enhanced Games program last who had retired from competition in 2019, told reporters that training with Enhanced Games reignited his passion for the sport and that the response from his fellow athletes had been "overwhelmingly positive"."I was waking up each day with an enthusiasm to train, to compete. I felt so healthy, so motivated," he said. "It's honestly the happiest I've been in seven years," he said."As athletes we have a greater risk appetite than the general population and see an event like the Enhanced Games as an opportunity."The 2026 Enhanced Games are set for Las Vegas from May 21-24.
India Today
22-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
India's Russian crude imports surge to 10-month high on strong ESPO demand
India's imports of Russian crude oil are set to reach nearly 1.8 million barrels per day in May—the highest level in ten months, according to ship tracking data from Kpler. The surge is driven largely by increased purchases of lighter grades like the ESPO Blend, as Indian refiners respond to favorable market strong appetite for ESPO crude, a light sweet variety exported from Russia's Far East port of Kozmino, is likely to persist into July. Traders report that Indian refiners recently booked over 10 cargoes of the grade for June the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, has contributed to a recovery in ESPO spot premiums, which had weakened amid reduced Chinese demand. With Chinese state-owned refiners avoiding sanctioned crudes and independent refiners facing tight crude import quotas, more ESPO volumes are being offered to India.'ESPO is readily available in the market,' a source at an Indian refining company that recently purchased the grade was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters."Traders are currently charging a premium of about 50 cents per barrel over Dubai prices." Another industry source noted premiums for India-bound ESPO are currently ranging between 50 cents and USD 1 per READ: Power out, trees uprooted, banners toppled after massive storm hits DelhiAs Indian demand strengthens, it has also begun pushing up ESPO prices for China. Offers for July-loading cargoes bound for Chinese ports have risen to around USD 2 per barrel above Dubai prices, up from the USD 1.50–USD 1.70 range seen for June loadings, traders distillation unit (CDU) maintenance at major Indian refiners—including Reliance Industries and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL)—has further fueled demand for feedstock suitable for fluid catalytic cracking Shah, a senior oil analyst at Rystad Energy, noted that some of these ESPO cargoes are being delivered under a long-term supply deal between Reliance and Russia's Rosneft. He added that deliveries to Reliance's western Sikka port have increased noticeably since the start of the year.(With inputs from Reuters)Must Watch
The Star
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Wolfspeed prepares to file for bankruptcy within weeks, WSJ reports
FILE PHOTO: U.S. power chip maker Wolfspeed's silicon carbide 200mm wafer is seen on display at Wolfspeed's Mohawk Valley Fab in Marcy, New York, U.S., Courtesy of Wolfspeed/Handout via Reuters./File Photo (Reuters) -Semiconductor supplier Wolfspeed is preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks, as it struggles to address its debt pile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Shares of the company fell over 57% in extended trading. Wolfspeed has been grappling with sluggish demand in industrial and automotive markets and tariff-induced uncertainty. The company is looking to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy that would have the support of a majority of its creditors, after rejecting several out-of-court debt restructuring proposals from creditors, the report said. Wolfspeed declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. The company, which manufactures chips using silicon carbide, raised going-concern doubts and forecast weaker-than-expected annual revenue earlier this month. The company expects revenue of $850 million in 2026, below analysts' estimate of $958.7 million. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
India Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Russia, Ukraine to immediately start ceasefire talks: Trump after call with Putin
US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday for two hours and announced that Russia and Ukraine would begin immediate negotiations toward a ceasefire. However, the Kremlin said that any agreement would take time, and Trump signalled he was not prepared to join Europe in imposing new sanctions to pressure said he had a "little conversation with a nice gentleman named Vladimir Putin". He claimed that progress was being made, stating that around 5,000 young soldiers are being killed every week on average, possibly more, along with civilians in trying to stop it. It's an absolute bloodbath," he said, adding that he had seen satellite images that were "so bad, so horrible". Trump added, "We're doing the best we can. This was not our war. This was not me. We're doing something from the last administration. How did they allow that to happen? It wouldn't have happened."On Truth Social he wrote, "Just completed my two-hour call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. I believe it went very well. Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War."Trump added that Russia was interested in engaging in large-scale trade with the United States once the ongoing "catastrophic bloodbath" comes to an end. He wrote there was a tremendous opportunity for Russia to generate significant jobs and wealth, calling the country's potential "unlimited". He added that Ukraine, too, could greatly benefit through trade during its reconstruction further about the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said he had conveyed this development to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb during a group call held right after his conversation with President also mentioned that the Vatican, represented by the Pope, had expressed strong interest in hosting the PUTIN SAIDAfter his conversation with Trump, Putin said that efforts to end the war were "generally on the right track" and added that Moscow was willing to work with Ukraine on a possible peace agreement."We have agreed with the President of the United States that Russia will propose and is ready to work with the Ukrainian side on a memorandum on a possible future peace accord," he told reporters near the Black Sea resort of Sochi, as per Reuters."The main thing for us is to eliminate the root causes of this crisis," Putin said. "We just need to determine the most effective ways to move towards peace," he ZELENSKYY SAIDAfter his conversation with Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv and its partners were considering a high-level meeting involving Ukraine, Russia, the United States, EU countries, and Britain as part of efforts to end the expressed hope that the meeting could take place soon, possibly hosted by Turkey, the Vatican, or Switzerland. However, it remained unclear whether this would be part of the negotiations that Trump said would begin Watch
Economic Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
India offered US a deal, basically zero tariffs, says Donald Trump
President Trump announced in Doha that India has proposed a trade agreement to the US, potentially eliminating tariffs on a wide array of American products. This development follows positive discussions on trade tariffs, with Trump expressing optimism about reaching a deal soon. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In a major development from Doha on Thursday, US President Donald Trump revealed that India has offered a trade deal to the United States which would see "basically zero tariffs " on a broad range of American goods, reported Reuters."India offered US a deal, basically zero tariffs," the Republican leader said during the second leg of his three-nation West Asia latest comments follow his earlier remarks on April 30, when he said that talks with India on tariff issues were 'going great' and expressed confidence in reaching a final deal soon. Speaking at an event in Michigan, he noted, 'India tariff talks are going great, think we'll have a deal soon.'Washington and New Delhi have been engaged in a flurry of ongoing high-level trade negotiations to resolve tariff and market access to a report by Reuters on May 9, India had proposed to reduce its average tariff differential with the US from around 13% to under 4%—a 9-percentage-point drops. This would be among the most comprehensive moves by India to align its trade policies with major global the proposed deal, India has offered to bring duties down to zero on 60% of tariff lines in the first phase. The news agency had further reported that the PM Modi-led government had offered preferential access to nearly 90% of goods imported from the US, according to two Indian officials involved in the exchange, India is seeking a full exemption from both existing and potential future U.S. tariff hikes—something that has not been fully granted even in Washington's recent agreement with the United April 10, the United States temporarily suspended additional tariffs on Indian exports for a 90-day period, effective until July 9. The pause was seen as a goodwill gesture and an effort to build momentum in trade development followed a broader tariff overhaul on April 2, when the US imposed universal duties on imports from nearly 60 countries in a bid to reduce the American trade deficit and strengthen domestic part of that move, Indian exports were slapped with an additional 26% duty—covering sectors ranging from seafood to industrial metals like steel.
