Khaled Abdul-Wahab … A Silent Saviour of Jews in Tunisia

Nimal Dias Jayasinha … in Facebook and …. etosnpSdor7l2a1m05g6gh7fg07h60hc65ltui0t19h093g2fu7t68m81341 ·…. with highlights imposed by the Editor Thuppahi

” In 1942, a drunk German officer sat at dinner and bragged about a Jewish woman he had selected from a brothel the Nazis had opened in town. He said her name out loud. The Tunisian Arab sitting across from him stayed calm, smiled, poured more wine, and finished the meal. Then he drove the officer home, sped through the dark streets, and knocked on a door close to midnight. That night, he hid 25 people for four months. He never spoke about it again.

His name was Khaled Abdul-Wahab. He was 31 years old, a wealthy Muslim Tunisian who had studied art and architecture in New York and spoke fluent German. Nazi officers trusted him and invited him to their dinners.

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A Lesson For Life Etched Out in Soccer … Yamal re Messi

Lorenz Pereira:  “Lamine Yamal’s INCREDIBLE speech about Lionel Messi after Spain’s FIFA World Cup victory over Argentina…*

Yamal: “Tonight I lifted the World Cup for Spain, but at the same time, I experienced something that will one day inspire my children. The man who held me in his arms when I was a baby was on the opposing side of the field, fighting for the same dream. Football has this magnificent way of turning stories into a full circle.”

“When I looked at Messi after the final whistle blew, I didn’t just see an opponent. I saw the player who made millions of children, including me, believe that football could be an art. I saw that man from the videos I watched endlessly, trying to copy the things no one else could do.”

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An Indelible Vale For Sobers From Michael Tissera

Michael Tissera**

It is with deep sadness that I received the news of Sir Garfield’s passing away and joined the cricketing world that knew of his legendary contribution to the game, to mourn his demise.

Much has and will be written of his amazing performances  whether it be with bat or ball or as an outstanding fielder but  what will be remembered most for is his humility and how he   upheld the true value of the game while excelling in it at the highest levels.

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Fathering & Furthering Brilliance: Remembering Ramsay Wettimuny

Michael Roberts

An AI NOTE which cropped up when I searched for information on the father of the Wettimuny cricketing brothers whose house, down Park  Road between Thurstan Road and Duplication Road in Colombo, I had visited way back in the past  … and whose hospitality in typical Lankan manner remains deeply etched in mind. 

I was not aware of Wettimuny Senior’s passion for cricket and his work in establishing an indoor cricketing school. 

I remain astonished by AI’s reach: 

THE ANSWER From AI

The father of the three famous Wettimuny opening batsmen (Sunil, Mithra, and Sidath) was Ramsay Gregory de Silva Wettimuny (often referred to as Ramsey Wettimuny). [1, 2] He was a prominent engineer who served as the Chief Engineer of the Ceylon Transport Board. [1, 2]

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SOBERS: Such a Superman ….. !!!

Gideon Haigh

In Cricket In The Leagues, John Kay describes a match in which Garry Sobers represented Norton and was hit back over his head. Sobers reportedly turned, ran towards the boundary shouting “leave it to me” and took the catch just in front of the sightscreen.

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McCullum Falls On His Cricketing Sword ……..

Vithushan EhantharajahVithushan Ehantharajah
….. at ESPNcricinfo,  !4 July 2026 … where the title runs thus: We just weren’t good enough – McCullum apologises for failures in marquee series”

McCullum admitted that results against India and Australia defined his tenure as Test coach and has apologised to England fans for failing to get the results he and they desired in marquee Test series, ….admitting the time is right for someone else to take over as Test head coach.

McCullum was officially removed as Test coach on Sunday, bringing an end to a four-year tenure of 27 wins, 20 losses and two draws. ECB chief executive Richard Gould stated the 2-1 series defeat to New Zealand, which culminated in the shock retirement of Test captain Ben Stokes, was a deciding factor in standing down McCullum, who continues as limited overs coach for the time being having assumed that role alongside his Test commitments at the start of 2025.

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Capitalist Dirt and the Rajapaksa Family

A CAUTIONARY NOTE From Michael Roberts as Editor, Thuppahi

This Item came from an anonymous source. I am not a political economist  and do not have the skills or means of ascertaining the truth or falehoods in the  alleged “facts’ presented below. But it  appears that the dealings referred to here are not uncommon in the world at large …whether today or yesterday.

The Rajapaksa clan have thier roots in the southern outback district of Hambantota. But the  present generations had their schooling in the fee-paying elite school known as S. Thomas’ College.  The school’s historians and stalwarts may face have some difficulties in addressing the capacities & legacies of the Rajapaksa clan if the claims presented below have solid foundations.

Note the IF.

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Wikipedia Note on Australian Tour of Sri Lanka, March 1983

From WIKIPEDIA

The Australian cricket team had a short tour of Sri Lanka during the 1982–83 season. The two countries played their first ever Test together, which Australia won.[1] Sri Lanka defeated Australia in the rain affected ODI series 2–0.

Squad

The squad was announced in March 1983. Regular players Rod MarshJeff ThomsonGeoff Lawson and Kim Hughes elected not to tour. Australia picked the following squad:

Five of the players had not toured for Australia before: Smith, Maguire, Hogan, Wessels and Woolley. Woolley was chosen over two other Sheffield Shield wicketkeepers who had represented Australia in Test cricket, Kevin Wright and Steve Rixon.[2] John Dyson, who had been an Australian regular over the home summer, was a surprise omission. Graham Yallop earned an international recall after a very strong domestic season. Tom Hogan was considered a surprise selection.[3]

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Surviving Killing Mayhem and Enduring Migration

Sharmala Kanagasundaram … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

Sharmala Kanagasundram’s ‘Portrait of a Colombo Tamil Family’ launched in Colombo, 43 years after ‘Black July’

A deeply personal account of loss, resilience and renewal, ‘Portrait of a Colombo Tamil Family’ by Sri Lanka-born Sharmala Kanagasundram has been launched in Colombo, coinciding with the 43rd anniversary of the events of July 1983, remembered as ‘Black July.’

The book offers an intimate narrative that mirrors the experiences of many Tamil families whose lives were irrevocably altered during that period. Through the story of her own family, Mrs Kanagasundram presents a vivid chronicle of a way of life that was abruptly dismantled, and the long journey towards rebuilding in a new land.

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LTTE and the Tamil People …. Revisited

Michael Roberts reproducing an article that appeared initially in  Groundviews in April 2009 [when the LTTE was on its last legs]; and was then reprinted in Roberts, FIRE and STORM, Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo, 2010, pp.239-62

This set of essays on “LTTE and Tamil People” submitted to Groundviews is a sequel to the four articles on “Suicidal Political Action” reproduced in http://www.transcurrents.com from 2 April  onwards. Both sets of essays are interconnected and involve a measure of repetition because they are set out as separate articles. All of them are a product of a comparative survey that I embarked on about five years ago: namely, reviewing the cultural ingredients which have motivated the projects of the jihadists (holy warriorsand mujahideen (fighters for cause) on the one hand and, on the other, the kamikaze and the karumpuli (Black Tigers) after – and this point has to be stressed — these forces had been generated by specific politico-military situations in particular contexts.

 

 

Pirapaharan hnours the Tamil Tiger dead

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