The top men’s seeds for the 2026 French Open, led by World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, are confirmed
French Open Tennis Womens’ Seedings
WOMEN’S SINGLES SEEDINGS
AI Overview
The official women’s singles seedings for the 2026 French Open feature world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as the top seed, with Elena Rybakina and Iga Świątek rounding out the top three. The tournament is currently underway at Roland Garros in Paris.
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SL Cricket Tour of West Indies: The Squads
Dhananjaya De Silva to captain Test Team & Kusal Mendis the Two Short-form Squads
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The Mount Mary Railway Fraternity in Colombo: Forgotten ‘Lore’
Ar Fernando …. whose prefferred title is “The Ghosts of Mount Mary: A Forgotten Railway Lega,cy”
Colombo’s history is not always found in grand landmarks. Sometimes, it exists quietly within the forgotten neighbourhoods—like Mount Mary in Dematagoda.
Built during the height of the railway era, these “Little English” bungalows were once the heartbeat of a community defined by routine, labour, and a shared culture. The Sri Lanka Railway—originally the Ceylon Government Railways (CGR)—was conceived in the 1850s, with service beginning in 1864. While it was initially built as an industrial artery to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to the port of Colombo, the railway soon became the lifeblood of the nation.
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Hanson’s Australia and the Rise of Populism
Vox Populi
TAKE IN THIS ITEM: ….https://www.abc.net.au/news/
One Nation inherits the right-wing throne …..
Australia faces a fractured, Americanised future…..
The Liberals are dead. One Nation is predicted to become the new opposition, resulting in the total destruction and annihilation of the Liberal Party. This is not surprising, as the Liberals have become a dysfunctional party divorced from reality.However, this shift also serves as a warning. One Nation is a populist party driven by a fear of outsiders, particularly immigrants from India, Sri Lanka, and China. It is also fuelled by ideological self-interest. Should they come to power in Australia—a scenario that is now conceivable—the country could be transformed into a Trump-like, egomaniacal society of division, governed by a radical white manifesto.Both the Liberals and One Nation hold anti-Asian sentiments, with One Nation being explicitly anti-Islam. Perhaps if Pauline Hanson becomes Prime Minister, she will wear her prized burqa to Parliament.
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An Erudite Appreciation of Female Beauty in Mid-Nineteenth Century British Ceylon
JP… that is John Prins [?] …. “FEMALE BEAUTY IN CEYLON”[1]
“Ladies! – Young ladies! Be advised; hear the warning voice of one, who although an ardent worshipper at the shrine of beauty, yet despises the false conceptions and grand-mistaken notions entertained of female beauty and elegance. Nothing can be beautiful which seeks for its perfection the destruction and perversion of nature’s laws – nothing elegant, which ascribes to itself the rules of art in opposition to the dictates of nature”……
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Australia’s Dictation Test as Hurdle for Asian Migrants in Colonial Era
In support of his revelatory essay on Asian migrants to Australia in the late 19th and early 20th century, Earlson Forbes has sent TPS examples of the DICTATION TEST that was deployed to keep out the unwanted illiterate.
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Anthropology in Depth … Far & Wide: Q & A with Bruce Kapferer
BRUCE KAPFERER Interviewed by Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, …. date not up front
Photo by Andy Lewis.
Moving at the margins to re-center anthropology. From having been supervised by Bruce Kapferer and having worked on and off with him since 1999, I knew that pinning him down long enough to interview him would be hard. After weeks of failed attempts, I finally became lucky in November 2010 when I managed to abduct him to my office. This strategic re-location was necessary to escape the constant ringing of telephones in his office as well as his office’s avalanche-prone ever-expanding piles of papers and books. All verbal encounters with Bruce are characterised by a direct, critical and engaging dialogue – as also documented in other interviews (see esp. Smedal 2000). This rang true also for the dynamic of the interview situation, so only after five minutes of discussing critically recent developments in anthropology did I succeed in posing my initial question.
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Alcaraz to Miss Wimbledon
NEWS ITEM at ??
Carlos Alcaraz‘s hopes of regaining his Wimbledon crown have been crushed after the World No.2 was forced to withdraw from the grass court grand slam due to an ongoing wrist injury. The Spaniard won back-to-back titles at the All England club before going down to World No.1 Jannik Sinner in last year’s decider, and his absence leaves the Italian as a massive favourite to retain his title this year.
Alcaraz has been plagued by the wrist injury since last month’s Barcelona Open, causing him to withdraw from subsequent events in Madrid and Rome. Alcaraz was already set to miss the upcoming French Open – where he is the reigning two-time champion. And he’s been forced to pull out of the upcoming grass court swing, in news that has left the tennis world shattered.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz (L) has been forced to withdraw from this year’s grass court grand slam due to an ongoing wrist injury. Pic: Getty
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Amira Cader’s Appraisal of the Gratiaen Award Short-List
Amira Cader: “Diverse voices and compelling storytelling define this year’s finalists [for the GRATIAEN PRIZE]” ** … DAILY MIRROR
The Gratiaen Trust, in partnership with the John Keells Foundation and with the support of the British Council announced the shortlist for the 33rd Gratiaen Prize, underscoring the continued vitality of Sri Lanka’s English literary scene at the British Council Colombo last week.
The winner of the 33rd Gratiaen Prize will be announced on 6 June 2026, at a ceremony celebrating the country’s literary talent and cultural expression.
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