* 2005 – Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is fatally shot by an LTTE sniper at his home.

The repetition of the same caste hierarchy even as recently as the 18th century, in the British / Kandyan period Kadayimpoth-Boundary books as well, indicates the continuation of the tradition right up to the end of Sri Lanka's monarchy.

The devil dances of Sri Lanka or " yakun natima " are a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist past.

* 1998 – A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka's Temple of the Tooth kills 8 people and injures 25 others.

The vessel was taken to Tiger-held territory in Sri Lanka's north instead of transporting it to its intended destination.

The youthful Muralitharan went from strength to strength, playing a major part in Sri Lanka's back-to-back Test victories against England and New Zealand in 1992 – 93.

Ranatunga was thoroughly convinced that Muralitharan's precocious talent would signal a new era in Sri Lanka's short Test history.

In Sri Lanka's humiliating drubbing at the hands of India in 1993 – 94, where all three Tests were innings defeats, Muralitharan was the sole success, with 12 wickets in the rubber.

In Sri Lanka's first triumph on foreign soil, Muralitharan confused the crease-bound New Zealanders on a grassy pitch in Dunedin.

Musharraf had left for a weekend trip to take part in Sri Lanka's Army's 50th-anniversary celebrations.

Sri Lanka's rich culture can be attributed to the many different communities on the island.

Sri Lanka's irrigation system was extensively expanded during the reign of Parākramabāhu the Great (

But on 14 February 1815, Kandy was occupied by the British, in the second Kandyan War, finally ending Sri Lanka's independence.

Sri Lanka's coastline is 1, 585 km long.

* Judicial: Sri Lanka's judiciary consists of a Supreme Court – the highest and final superior court of record, a Court of Appeal, High Courts and a number of subordinate courts.

Sri Lanka's climate includes tropical monsoons: the northeast monsoon ( December to March ), and the southwest monsoon ( June to October ).

More than 90 % of Sri Lanka's surface lies on Precambrian strata, some of it dating back 2 billion years.

This area includes Sri Lanka's highest mountains.

Sri Lanka's rivers rise in the Central Highlands and flow in a radial pattern toward the sea.

Sri Lanka's climate can be described as tropical, and quite hot.

Sri Lanka's two major political parties – the United National Party ( UNP ) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( SLFP ) – embrace democratic values, international nonalignment, and encouragement of Sinhalese culture.

Sri Lanka's Human Development Index and literacy rate are among the highest in the South Asian region, and infant mortality is among the lowest.

Transportation in Sri Lanka is based mainly on the road network which is centered on Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.

On the other hand, the covert operations of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol ( LRRP ) of Sri Lanka Army had a profound impact of the Tiger command structure.

Other units known as LRRPs can be found in international militaries, such as the LRRP unit trained and used by the Military Intelligence in Sri Lanka.

The LRRP has been very successful in covert operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( LTTE ) terrorists in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

The former Sri Lanka Army commander General Sarath Fonseka had recently acknowledged that LRRP units were used to beat the LTTE at their own game. It was later revealed that LTTE, who were masters at jungle warfare refused to engage in combat and withdrew from their positions instead of holding the ground because of these elite soldiers.

The development of the young of Ichthyophis glutinosus, a species from Sri Lanka, has been much studied.

Theravadin bhikku and scholar Walpola Rahula ( Sri Rahula Maha Thera ) has stated that the bodhisattva ideal has traditionally been held to be higher than the state of a śrāvaka not only in Mahāyāna, but also in Theravāda Buddhism.

The dance combines many aspects including Sinhalese cosmology, the dances also has an impact on the classical dances of Sri Lanka.

In addition, since the time of Rahula's writing considerable evidence has emerged indicating that Theravadins and Mahayanists interacted extensively in Sri Lanka throughout the first millennium CE, so any suggestion that there was no contact between the two would be incorrect.

It has been argued that the company effectively evaded EU export restrictions when these licensees sold HK weapons to conflict zones including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone.

* Sri Lanka has an embassy in Tokyo

Lately, many high-end developments has mushroomed in Kajang such as Twin Palms, Sri Banyan, Country Heights, Jade Hills and Prima Paramount.

The LTTE has been accused of hijacking several vessels and ships in waters outside Sri Lanka, including Ocean Trader ( in October 1994 ), Irish Mona ( in August 1995 ), Princess Wave ( in August 1996 ), Athena ( in May 1997 ), Misen ( in July 1997 ), Morong Bong ( in July 1997 ), MV Cordiality ( in September 1997 ), Princess Kash ( in August 1998 ), Newko ( in July 1999 ), Uhana ( in June 2000 ), Fuyuan Ya 225 ( Chinese trawler, in March 2003 ), MV Farah III ( in December 2006 ) and City of Liverpool ( in January 2007 ).

Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak has claimed to attempt to close racial divides through the 1Malaysia initiative.

In domestic cricket, Muralitharan has played for two first-class Sri Lankan sides, Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in the Premier Trophy and Central Province in the Provincial Championship.

Muralitharan has continued to baffle batsman outside the shores of Sri Lanka, irrespective of the team's performance.

Notable contemporary off spinners include, Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka, who has the most wickets in both ODIs and Test matches, Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Ajmal of Pakistan and Graeme Swann of England.

" In his review of Benaud's autobiography Anything But, Sri Lankan cricket writer Harold de Andrado wrote: " Richie Benaud possibly next to Sir Don Bradman has been one of the greatest cricketing personalities as player, researcher, writer, critic, author, organiser, adviser and student of the game.

Known until 1972 as Ceylon (,, or ), Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest across the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait, and the Maldives to the southwest.

Sri Lanka has also been a center of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times, being the nation where the Buddhist teachings were first written down as well as the oldest continually Buddhist country.

Sri Lanka has been called The Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

Sri Lanka has emerged from its 26-year war to become one of the fastest growing economies of the world.

Sri Lanka has declared 24 wildlife reserves, which are home to a wide range of native species such as Asian elephants, leopards, sloth bears, the unique small loris, a variety of deer, the purple-faced langur, the endangered wild boar, porcupines and anteaters.

The Sri Lankan government has 3 branches:

Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka and has been found in Ancient Egypt as early as 1500 BC, suggesting early trade between Egypt and the island's inhabitants.

The northwest coast is part of the deep Cauvery ( Kaveri ) River Basin of southeast India, which has been collecting sediments from the highlands of India and Sri Lanka since the breakup of Gondwanaland.

The nature of agricultural pursuits in Sri Lanka has changed over the centuries and has usually depended upon the availability of arable land and water resources.

Through such projects, the government of Sri Lanka has planned to recreate in the dry zone the lush, irrigated landscape associated with the ancient Sinhalese civilization.