Latest News
Novak Djokovic plays Casper Ruud in Roland Garros men’s showpiece
Novak Djokovic says he is relishing the chance to make tennis history as he aims to become the first man to win 23 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic, 36, faces Norway’s Casper Ruud, 24, in the men’s singles final at the French Open today (11). A victory would take the Serb clear of Rafael Nadal’s total of 22 wins.
“I like the feeling, it’s an incredible privilege to be able to make history in the sport I truly love and has given me so much,” Djokovic said. “The motivation is very high, as you can imagine. There is one more to go to hopefully get my hands on the trophy. “I have put myself in another really ideal position to win a Grand Slam.
“That’s basically what still drives me when I wake up in the morning and think about things I want to achieve. The Grand Slams are what drives me the most.”
Another victory would give Djokovic his third French Open title and he would also become the first man to win each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least three times.
“I’ve been very fortunate that most of the matches in tournaments I’ve played in the last few years, there is history on the line,” Djokovic said. “As far as all the records that are on the line, again it’s flattering, it’s great, but I need to win. “I’m proud of all my achievements and I try to stay present and in the moment. I know the job is not finished and we have another match.”
Ruud reached the finals of the French Open and the US Open in 2022 but lost on both occasions, against Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz respectively.
At Roland Garros, Ruud won only six games in three sets as Nadal completed a routine 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 victory for his 22nd Grand Slam title.
“Obviously, I would like to try to do better than last year,” Ruud said. “Let’s see if I have learned something from the two previous ones that I played last year. “It’s going to be tough, for sure. He’s playing for his 23rd, I’m playing for my first. So I’m going to just try to play without pressure and just try to enjoy the moment. “That was my mentality last year as well, and it didn’t go my way. “It just feels great to be back in the final. I didn’t think or necessarily believe in the beginning of the tournament I was going to be in the final.”
Djokovic and Ruud have never played each other in a Grand Slam, but have met four times on the ATP Tour, with the Serb winning all the matches and not even dropping a set.
“It is going to be the toughest challenge of the year for me to play Novak,” Ruud added. “Novak has played great this tournament and in the Grand Slams he always raises his level. “I have never beaten him before, so I’m going to have to try to come up with a better game plan. “I know I’m going to have to play my ‘A’ game, my best level I’ve ever played if I want to have a chance against him.”
How they reached the final
Djokovic did not drop a set in the first four rounds, beating Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, 29th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain and Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru.
Russia’s Karen Khachanov, the 11th seed, became the first player to take a set off Djokovic in their quarter-final before the former world number one took the next three sets.
A match with current world number one Carlos Alcaraz followed in the semi-finals and it was set up to be a classic at one set all in a high quality encounter before the 20-year-old Spaniard struggled physically, with Djokovic winning 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1
Ruud began with a straight-set win over Swedish qualifier Elias Ymer but had to fight back from a set down against both Giulio Zeppieri of Italy in round two and then Zhizhen Zhang of China in the third round.
He saw off Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the last 16, with his first win over a seed coming with the four-set victory over Denmark’s Holger Rune, the sixth seed, in the quarter-finals.
Ruud made it back-to-back French Open final appearances thanks to a convincing 6-3 6-4 6-0 win over 22nd seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.
(BBC Sports)
A tiny possum with one extra-long finger on each hand is one of two species thought to have been extinct that have been discovered in West Papua, in what’s been called an “exceptional” scientific discovery.
The other is a a ring-tailed glider with a tail that can grasp branches. Both have been found living in remote rainforests after they were thought to have disappeared 6,000 years ago.
Finding living examples of a lost species is rare, but discovering two is “remarkable,” say scientists who published their findings in the Records of the Australian Museum journal on Friday.
Such discoveries are known as “lazarus taxon”, a term inspired by a biblical figure who was raised from the dead.
“The discovery of one lazarus taxon… is an exceptional discovery,” said Prof Tim Flannery, a prominent Australian scientist best known for his 2005 The Weather Makers book about climate change.
“But the discovery of two species, thought to have been extinct for thousands of years, is remarkable.”
The first rediscovered species was the pygmy long-fingered possum, a striped marsupial weighing about 200g, which is understood to have vanished from Australia during the Ice Age.
A distinguishing feature is that on each hand, the possum’s fourth finger is twice the length of other digits, which scientists say help it dig out wood-boring insect larvae, it’s main source of food.
The second species is the ring-tailed glider, and just like its Australian cousin the greater glider, it lives in the hollows of tall trees.
The discoveries were made by piecing together parts of a puzzle with scientists combing through decades-old fossils, rare photos and old specimens to gather clues before making visits to remote New Guinea locations.
Flannery, along with another of the paper’s co-authors Prof Kris Helgen and researchers from the University of Papau, spoke to local elders from the Tambrauw and Maybrat clans – some of whom have only had contact with the modern world since the 1960s.
Identification of the species would not have been possible without their help, according to Rika Korain, a Maybrat woman and another co-author.
“They’re very traditional people,” Flannery added, and regard the glider as so sacred that “not only won’t they hunt it, they won’t mention its name”.
But the gliders habitat was increasingly coming under threat from logging in the area, Flannery said.
This, in part, has prompted efforts by scientists and wildlife groups to try secure native title for the forests to ensure logging cannot be carried out without consent from locals, he said.
(BBC)
The death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon this week has risen to at least 123 people, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health says, as a new wave of strikes pounded the country and Hezbollah warned Israeli residents to evacuate towns within 5km (3 miles) of their northern border, in one of the fiercest fronts in the wider United States – Israel war on Iran.
“The toll from the Israeli aggression on Monday, increased to 123 martyrs and 683 wounded,” a ministry statement said on Thursday.
Lebanese state media said early on Friday that Israel had launched air strikes on several towns in southern Lebanon.
“Enemy warplanes launched nighttime strikes on the towns of Srifa, Aita al-Shaab, Touline, as-Sawana and Majdal Selem,” the official National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Another strike hit the eastern Lebanese town of Douris at dawn, the NNA said.
The Israeli army also reported a new attack on the suburb of Dahiyeh in Beirut.
It has also continued attacks in southern Lebanon with raids on the area’s biggest city Sidon, according to sources on the ground.
NNA also reported Israeli warplanes over the southern towns of Tyre and Bint Jbeil.
(Aljazeera)
Hungary’s tax authority has said it has arrested seven Ukrainians and two cash-transport vehicles on suspicion of money-laundering after Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Budapest of taking them hostage.
“The reasons are still unknown, as well as their current well-being,” Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. “We have already sent an official note demanding an immediate release of our citizens.”
According to Ukraine’s state savings bank, Oschadbank, the seven workers were in two vans carrying $80m (£60m) worth of cash and 9kg of gold in a regular transport between Austria and Ukraine. They were “unjustifiably detained” and GPS data showed their vehicles in Budapest, it said.
Hungary’s tax authority said on Friday that it was conducting criminal proceedings and added that one of the group was a former general of Ukraine’s intelligence service.
(BBC)
Tiny possum and glider thought extinct for 6,000 years found in remote West Papua
Maldives Coast Guard Ship Huravee departs island
Cost to US for war on Iran is $3.7bn in first 100 hours, says think tank
More than 120 killed in Israel’s Lebanon attacks as Beirut, south, east hit
Hungary confirms it is holding seven Ukrainian bank workers and $80m
US and Venezuela agree to resume diplomatic ties after Maduro capture
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features5 days agoBrilliant Navy officer no more
-
Opinion5 days agoSri Lanka – world’s worst facilities for cricket fans
-
Features5 days agoA life in colour and song: Rajika Gamage’s new bird guide captures Sri Lanka’s avian soul
-
Business2 days agoCabinet nod for the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported good
-
Features6 days agoOverseas visits to drum up foreign assistance for Sri Lanka
-
Features6 days agoSri Lanka to Host First-Ever World Congress on Snakes in Landmark Scientific Milestone
-
News2 days agoLegal experts decry move to demolish STC dining hall
-
Latest News2 days agoAround 140 people missing after Iranian navy ship sinks off coast of Sri Lanka