Thuppahi's Blog

 Compiled by Gp Capt Kumar Kirinde, SLAF [retd]

The land locked country that maintained ‘nuetrality’ inspite of being  surrounded by the Axis powers and Axis annexed / occupied territotries during the war

Switzerland during WWII (1)

Introduction

During the war, under the pan-Germanist Neuordnung doctrine**, detailed plans were drawn up by the German military command to invade Switzerland (and Liechtenstein); Operation Tannenbaum, on two occasions, one in 1940 and the other in 1944.   Switzerland during WWII (1)                                

German plans for the invasion, occupation, and/or annexation of Switzerland & Liechtenstein, dated 1940 and March 1944

  In August 1939, sensing Hitler’s intention to go to war in Europe,  the Parliament quickly selected the 61-year-old career soldier General Henri Guisan to be General (commander in chief) of the Swiss Armed Forces. He was given the directive to safeguard the independence of the country and to maintain the integrity of Swiss territory.

PIX ….. Guisan sworn in as general before the Federal Assembly, in the chamber of the National Council at the Federal Palace, in Bern, 30 August 1939

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ICC Test Rankings ….. https://www.cricinfo.com/rankings/icc-team-ranking

Last updated on 07 Jul 2026

Position	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	Australia	24	3138	131
2	South Africa	19	2256	119
3	New Zealand	22	2336	106
4	India	26	2714	104
5	England	32	3158	99
6	Sri Lanka	16	1222	76
7	Pakistan	16	1205	75
8	West Indies	24	1783	74
9	Bangladesh	21	1539	73
10	Zimbabwe	13	217	17

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Niranjan Selvadurai .…. May We Pass Brother? .…… Dæhæna – July 2026

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 Alan Gardner in ESPNcricinfo, 8 July 2026, where the title reads “Archer, Tongue hand India their biggest T20I defeat”

Josh Tongue and Jofra Archer shared seven wickets between them  •  Getty Images

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Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima …. from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (Japanese: 硫黄島の星条旗, Hepburn: Iōjima no Seijōki) is an iconic photograph of six United States Marines raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in the final stages of the Pacific War. Taken by Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press on February 23, 1945, the photograph was published in Sunday newspapers two days later and reprinted in thousands of publications. It won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography and has come to be regarded in the United States as one of the most recognizable images of World War II.

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Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, with highlights being her imprint…

The writer, Dr. Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake, is a Social and Medical Anthropologist, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is a cultural anthropologist with expertise in international development and political-economic analysis and Gospa News author since 2021. She was a member of the International Steering Group of the North-South Institute project: “Southern Perspectives on Reform of the International Aid Architecture”.

All Links to previous Gospa News articles have been added by our Editorial Staff

PART 1: The US Occupation of the Indian Ocean Zone of Peace and Priorities for the next UNSG ….

Anxieties of the American Empire: Buying Islands: From Greenland to Chagos to Sri Lanka

America’s war of choice on Iran has spread across the Indian Ocean World and maritime Silk Route. Starved of oil and gas South and Southeast Asia’s emerging economies have seen local currencies fall against the ‘exorbitantly privileged’ Petrodollar as public and private debt increased with soring energy costs.

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Madushka Balasuriya  in ESPNcricinfo, 3 July 2026, where the title reads: “High-scoring draw gives West Indies rare series win”

Brandon King scored an unbeaten fifty in the fourth innings  •  AFP/Getty Images

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Madushka Balasuriya, in ESPNcricinfo, 4 July 2026, where the title after Day One reads thus: “Lahiru Udara 188 carries the fight for Sri Lanka”  ………. Sri Lanka 338 for 5 (Udara 188, Kamindu 84, Shamar 2-60) vs West Indies …. and NOW the  Windies are 408 for 5 on Day Three …. A STALEMATE it seems

Kusal Mendis & Sonali Mendis during their stand

A pair of wickets in the final half hour play brought the West Indies back into the game, but prior to that it was Lahiru Udara who had led Sri Lanka‘s redemption arc as the opener fell 12 runs short of a maiden Test double-ton as day one of this second Test wound to a close at North Sound.

At 32 years of age, Udara has had to bide his time to make his way into the Test side, and it was just his luck that Sri Lanka’s Test schedule shrunk considerably just as he made his debut last June. Then in the Caribbean, he might not have got a look in, but an injury to Pathum Nissanka opened the door, and like Amir Jangoo in the first Test he took his chance with both hands.

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Michael Roberts

Chandra Schaffter discovered a short note of commendation provided as a school leaving certificate in 1902 by Warden Stone of S. Thomas College at Mutwal to young DS Senanayake. Apparently, DS had been “irreproachable” in his schooldays and had even been a Dormitory Prefect.

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