Thuppahi's Blog

ITEM in NEW YORK TIMES, 15 January 2026…. “Chinese Universities Surge in Global Rankings as U.S. Schools Slip”

Harvard still dominates, though it fell to No. 3 on a list measuring academic output. Other American universities are falling farther behind their global peers. Until recently, Harvard was the most productive research university in the world, according to a global ranking that looks at academic publication.

Harvard …..

That position may be teetering, the most recent evidence of a troubling trend for American academia. Harvard recently dropped to No. 3 on the ranking. The schools racing up the list are not Harvard’s American peers, but Chinese universities that have been steadily climbing in rankings that emphasize the volume and quality of research they produce.

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ESPNcricinfo staff: “Vikram Rathour joins Sri Lanka as consultant batting coach till end of T20 World Cup”

The appointment is “with a primary focus on the team’s preparation for the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2026,” Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement on Thursday. Rathour will join the squad on January 18, four days before the start of Sri Lanka’s white-ball series at home against England, and remain with the team till March 10. The final of the T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is scheduled for March 8.

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An Observer in a Black Sea Resort

U.S. President Donald Trump wants countries to pay at least $1 billion to remain on the Gaza ‘Board of Peace’ beyond a three-year limit, according to the text of the body’s charter obtained by multiple media outlets (including the Times of Israel, Bloomberg and Reuters). Under the draft charter, participating nations are limited to three-year terms. To bypass these term limits and secure permanent membership, countries must contribute at least $1 billion in cash within the first year of the charter’s entry into force. While the White House has described reports of a ‘fee’ as misleading—stating the board simply offers permanent status to partners showing a ‘deep commitment’—the leaked charter specifically outlines the $1 billion threshold as the mechanism for earning that status.

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Dr NISHAN  DE MEL reviews the situation in Sri  Lanka today in his typical incisive and holistic manner. Listen. Then post critical comments and sharpen our reflections …Thuppahi Editor

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzQfBQJFrrFDQTTcLrBWhCThfklf?compose=new&projector=1

VERITE RESEARCH = https://www.veriteresearch.org/about-us/

Dr Minna Thaheer, in The Sunday Times, January 2026 Tour de Force

Yhe idea of discussing a book by an economist acknowledged as a masterly scholar and practitioner by his peers is quite unnerving for a non-economist. Hearing Dr Nimal Sanderatne’s book praised by other distinguished economists associated with the Gamani Corea Foundation—an institution founded by the legendary economist and statesman Dr Gamani Corea to promote research into economic development—makes me feel perhaps inadequate for the task.

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Shreshth Shah, a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx … in ESPNcricinfo ….

Oliver Peake (Australia)

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Abhijato Sensarma… in ESPNcricinfo where the title runs thus: “Under-19 World Cup 2026: Everything you wanted to know but didn’t know whom to ask”

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Item sent by Jeevananda Keerthisena

Venayagampillai Shanmuganayagam, aged 85, passed away peacefully in Markham, Ontario, on January 15, 2026. He was born on May 30, 1940, in Point Pedro, Sri Lanka.

A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and respected academic, Mr. Shanmuganayagam lived a life defined by intellect, principle, and quiet service. Raised in humble beginnings, he learned early the values of perseverance, selflessness, and responsibility, qualities that shaped both his character and his life’s path.

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Priyan Dias, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, presents a detailed assessment of THOMIA from an Old Boy’s point of view….. presentedin FACEBOOK, 9 January  2026 by Sandagomi Coperahewa

“By the time Reginald De Saram became warden, the school needed a “defender” against populist sentiment. With nationalist feeling running high, there were many who felt that British-public-school-style education, as offered at institutions like S. Thomas’, had at least outlived its time – if it was not actually inhibiting the establishment of a more ‘grassroots’ educational system for the country. Much of Volume II (covering the years 1948-2001) is devoted to this fascinating tension, which was heightened by feelings engendered by Ceylon’s independence from British rule. De Saram is portrayed as fulfilling his ‘defender’ role admirably, in some cases even ‘going on the offensive’ (to remain with the metaphor) and stealing a march on other nationalists. In particular, he responded to the official decree that ‘vernacular’ education be made compulsory at all schools by recruiting an enviable staff of Sinhala teachers from the activist “Hela havula” movement (which sought to ‘purify’ the Sinhala language), which thus found a home at the college. The son of one of the Hela teachers is today Professor of Sinhala at the University of Colombo, having studied at S. Thomas’ himself before gaining his doctorate from Cambridge University.

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Sukumar Shan in CEYLON Then …. & Now

Rukmani Devi an enchanted life of a Star ! On her 103rd Birthday . Rukmani Devi was born as Daisy Rasammah Daniels in Ramboda, Nuwara Eliya to a lower middle class family on the 15th of January 1923. She was the second child in a family of six which included an elder sister Mabel, and a brother named Fredrick (Freddy) and three younger sisters, namely Florence, Helen and Sarojini. She loved singing from a very young age and would always stand by the grammar phone and used to sing the songs played on it.

It is no doubt that she showed the signs of becoming a great singer from a very early age. She sang her first ever song “Siri Buddha gaya vihare” with Rupasinghe Master when she was only 13 years old. This was the stepping stone of a very prosperous singing career. A career which paved the way for her to become, the first Sri Lankan actress to grace the silver screen and also ultimately become an overnight star.

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