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PSG with Luis Enrique abandons star centric days of Mbappe, Neymar Messi, to develop a French team with attack as the style, working as a team, and half the players French or from the Academy. Goals are spread out over many players rather than with one star. The result is a team that is now in the Champions League finals today in Budapest against Arsenal of  London, England. BBC looks at the details of this transformation under coach Luis Enrique of Spain.

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Joao Fonseca of Brazil in a 5 set win at Roland Garros French Open over Djokovic. The victory, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, after 4hr 53min almost 5 hours got to the point where Djokovic was utterly exhausted. Fonseca is 19 years old Djokovic 39 years and this showed as Fonseca took the last 3 sets to win. Fonseca's self-belief helped him and he said in a post match interview; “I just played. I just enjoyed being on court. What a pleasure it was.”

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Considering the 15 comments on the Penn Station Rebuild the public has lost interest in forever building project for the dinghy building that is the home of transportation in New York City. The latest is that the federal government has taken over at the urging of NY Governor Kathy Hochul who persuaded DJT to do it. This means state funds of $1.3 billion will be saved and DJT asserted federal authority over the project with Amtrak as owner of the Penn Station planning this out. Construction will begin in 18 months at a cost of $7 billion. The previous estimate was $6 billion. A similar situation is seen for the dilapidated bridge in Baltimore that took years to get the project off the ground as one plan was ditched for another 3 years after the bridge disaster. At this rate the bullet train projects between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will be repeated across many Indian cities before Penn Station is rebuilt, before Baltimore Bridge is rebuilt.

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Only teams from Spain France England Italy and Germany win in the Champions League that leaves out Portugal and Hungary with great sporting traditions. Philip Lamm looks at Hungary for The Guardian, a country that made it to the finals of World Cup twice 1938 and 1954. The Danube has great history going back to wins against Bayern Munich in July 1919 in Budapest winning praise in Germany.

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Heat wave at  2026 Roland Garros French Open tennis- 5 set matches lead to heat exhaustion. A player has to be carried out in a wheel chair. Calls for more matches at night.

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FIFA's $3 billion in revenue from ticket sales is 3 times what it was in Qatar, prices per game are double that in Qatar. What's going on? FIFIA is being accused of price gouging practices by the Attorney Generals of New Jersey and New York. Six games including the finals are to be played in the NY-NJ area. FIFA's Infantino says it will use $11 billion in soccer revenues (90% of tickets sold for the World Cup in the US/Mexico) for this nonprofit to do soccer projects around the world.  Fans are not happy with the way FIFA is extracting higher prices to put visiting the game beyond the reach of ordinary households. Shouldn't making  it possible to watch the game for ordinary income soccer fans also be part of FIFA's responsibility- instead of taking the opportunities for visiting soccer fields away from ordinary income people. 

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Institute for Climate Economics report showing how the middle class in Europe can afford EV's in 2026 and save over gas vehicles.

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Daniel Harding as LA Philharmonic conductor 2026 with parallel career as France Airbus pilot.  Having two rigorous careers is exceptional. Daniel Harding of Oxford, England, conducted the Swedish Philharmonic for many years. He now replaces Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel at LA Philharmonic. Gustavo Dudamel joins the NY Philharmonic as conductor. Of his career as pilot for Air France he says-

"[What] I love about going to work for Air France is that I put on my uniform … and I’m part of the team. And knowing another world, how other people work and having a completely different role is healthy. I’ve learned things about myself and conducting in a year that I didn’t learn in 29 years before as a conductor.”

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Many words and expressions from nature in Japan for the word doro or mud. 

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Japanese homes from 14th century declared national treasures. These homes belong to powerful farm families when most of Japan was an agricultural society. Also listed in a lighthouse made of steel from the Meiji era, in Sado, Niigata Prefecture. It is Japan's oldest operational lighthouse made of steel. 

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Okamoto Tao wins Best Actress award at Cannes 2026 for Hamaguchi Ryusuke's film "All of a Sudden."

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The British Council in Colombo, Ceylon, as far back as the 1960's, has shaped the founder of Lyrarc.com's knowledge of Britain in shaping the ideas of the Modern World we know today, knowledge of its parliament and democracy, that are vital in shaping society in China, India, and other nations in Asia, Latin America and Africa to this day. For this reason the closing of the British Council facilities around the world to pay a loan it had taken years ago under the Conservatives during Covid, is to be seen as a major blow. This report in The Guardian is about fears the world's leading soft power agency, which is more than that a transmitter of ideas that shape the Modern World and all our democracies in Europe and America, Asia, other parts of the world, will disappear in a decade. The Madrid building which houses the British Council in Madrid at 13 Paseo del Martinez Campos in Madrid's Chamberi district, has been put up for sale to pay Covid era debt. About 5000 Spanish students attend classes in English and prepare for exams in 35 classrooms. Over the years hundreds of thousands of Spanish people passed through this building. 320 jobs will be lost, employees with passionate dedication who it will be difficult to replace. Another center in Barcelona also is expected to close. This comes at the wrong time when Britain needs to make its voice heard in the world, when a mediocre level of British parliamentarians and leaders since Blair and David Cameron have allowed this to happen. English language classes in Italy at the British Council are also being shut down. Paris building may also be sold, and shrinking operations in the Baltic Republics, Croatia and Austria. This will be a major blow to helping spread knowledge of British parliamentary traditions, its history and participation in shaping the Modern World we know today.  It is now hoped and this is a message to Labour's Andy Burnham who studied English at Cambridge, to restore Britain's image and the value of its parliamentary and other lasting contributions to the Modern World, to the benefit of all nations, to cancel this debt and give the British Council new leadership for the next 2 decades. Neil Kinnock, a Labour leader, and a chair of the British Council says- “The British Council does not want to make these cuts. They are being forced into it by the conditions required by the Treasury." “I sympathise very much with the staff, so does the leadership,” he said. The British Council had “camped out” in the Foreign Office for last three or four years and put up a “hell of a fight”. Kinnock said: “What the government should do is either find a way of cancelling the debt, or even rescheduling the debt. Because it’s to absolutely nobody’s advantage to lose the British Council.” A desperate effort to pay an outstanding £197m debt from a Covid-era Conservative government emergency loan on commercial terms, with interest to be repaid by September, is what is causing this massive destruction of a century old institution that belongs to Europeans, to Asians, and to the world at large for better societies through knowledge. Who runs Treasury in Britain? Rachel Reeves, who has no concept of the role constructive Britons have played for two hundred years from the time the British agent at Rajkot encouraged Mohandas Gandhi (Gandhiji) to study in London in 1888, a role that the British Council has played since its founding. His name Sir Frederick Souter, who wrote the letter of recommendation for Gandhi to enter the University College, London. Sir Dingle Foot, Solicitor General of the UK, another Labour leader, played that role for a youngster of 22 years at the University of Baroda in India, for Law School at the University of London in 1969, after years of educational experience at the British Council in Colombo, Ceylon. Now the founder of Lyrarc.com. We call upon Andy Burnham to make this one of is first priorities to put Britain First, and India, other European nations, the US, to assist in this effort, to preserve one of Britain's brightest contributions in throwing light on the brave scientific, educational and industrial endeavors that built the Modern World. ...

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Greater Melbourne lost 60000 people in year ending September 2021-Melbourne overtaken by Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in housing prices by 2026. By 2019 Melbourne housing prices were rising so rapidly it was expected to surpass Sydney. In 2026 Australia's average home is about 900,000 and Sydney at 1.3 million Australian dollars, Melbourne below national average at 800,000. Toorak, South Yarra, and Armadale, Brighton, Hawthorn, Kew are some of the suburbs of Melbourne that are popular.

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A stunning World Cup 2026 stadium in Monterrey, Mexico, Mexico's business capital in the mountainous north. It is called the Estadio BBVA after the name of the Spanish bank that sponsors it. It overlooks the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains around the city, giving it a nice background. It is 144 miles from the US border and with sweeping vistas of the Cerro de la Silla mountain. Four games will be played here- one of 16 venues for World Cup 2026.  Gills in its futuristic steel exterior enable it to let air in from breezes that blow in so that fans can be cool when it is hot 82-93 degrees F. Local team Rayados play here and  multinational drinks company FEMSA funded the $200 million to build the stadium. Rayados has asked Sergio Ramos of Spain to join and it plays another local team Tigres every year with about 51,000 fans in the stadium. Women's soccer is also popular in Mexico.

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PM of Sweden Ulf Kristersson on the Joint Statement of the Nordic nations with India. Joint Statement: 3rd India-Nordic Summit, Oslo, 19 May 2026 Published 19 May 2026 1.  Today in Oslo, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, the Acting Prime Minister of Denmark, Ms. Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Finland, Mr. Petteri Orpo, the Prime Minister of Iceland Ms. Kristrún Mjöll Frostadóttir, and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr. Ulf Kristersson, held the 3rd India-Nordic Summit hosted by the Norwegian Prime Minister. This Summit builds upon the previous two Summits held in Copenhagen in 2022 and Stockholm in 2018. 2. The Prime Ministers noted that they are meeting at a time of global geopolitical flux and rapid economic and technological transformation and agreed on the need to deepen the partnership between India and the Nordics for mutual benefit based upon shared interests and values and to cooperate in addressing global challenges. In this context, they decided to elevate the India-Nordic relationship to a trusted Green Technology and Innovation Strategic Partnership. 3.  As leaders of vibrant democracies and large open market economies, they underscored their shared interest in fostering a robust and resilient global order based on international law that promotes peace, stability, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.  4. They reaffirmed their commitment to upholding international law, shared values and obligations including democracy, freedom, human rights, gender equality, rule of law, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and international peace and security in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Charter. 5.  The Leaders discussed international peace and security including the conflicts in Europe and the West Asia/Middle East. 6. They discussed opportunities for collaboration in trade and investment, blue economy, circular economy, digital infrastructure, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, climate action and energy security, fighting pollution, water, research and education, talent mobility, healthcare, space & geospatial sectors and defence. UN, multilateralism and international cooperation 7.   The leaders reiterated the importance of an effective multilateral system, with the United Nations at its core. They confirmed their commitment to work towards reforming the UN, including the UN Security Council, to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, accountable, effective and reflective of the contemporary geopolitical realities. The Nordic Prime Ministers reiterated the support of the Nordic countries for permanent membership for India in a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. The Nordic leaders welcomed India’s application to the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG), and emphasized the importance of the international multilateral export control regimes in upholding non-proliferation and international peace and security. Trade, investment and economic cooperation 8.  The leaders emphasised the importance of a continued central role for the World Trade Organization in the multilateral trading system and global trade governance. They underscored the importance of a fair, open, transparent, equitable, non-discriminatory, inclusive and rules-based multilateral trading system, with WTO at its core. 9.   They acknowledged the significant economic exchanges in the form of trade and investments between India and the Nordic countries in promoting sustainable economic growth, prosperity, circular economy, bioeconomy, sustainable development and supply chain resilience. 10. To facilitate trade and investments and contribute to the objective of sustainable development, they particularly welcomed the entry into force of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership agreement and the conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. The leaders also welcomed the active business exchanges in the margins of the Summit and highlighted the need of continued business exchanges to identify opportunities. The leaders stressed that in addition to the economic benefits by enhancing market access and removing trade barriers, the India-EU FTA and India-EFTA TEPA could support economic security and resilience through diversifying critical value chains and opening new markets. They welcomed the shared objectives under TEPA that EFTA states shall aim for investment of USD 100 billion leading to creation of one million direct jobs in India. 11.   The leaders further emphasized the need of undertaking initiatives to improve connectivity between the Nordic and the Indo-Pacific regions, including in line with the continued development of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. ...