* 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 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.

Later that season, under his captaincy, West Indies won the two match Test series against Sri Lanka 1 – 0 with Lara making a double century in the First Test.

In particular Bainimarama says that the two countries were exerting pressure on Sri Lankan judges, brought in by Bainimarama to replace the uncooperative local judiciary, not to travel to the country and refusing to grant them transit visas.

In particular Bainimarama says that the two countries were exerting pressure on Sri Lankan judges, brought in by Bainimarama to replace the uncooperative local judiciary, not to travel to the country and refusing to grant them transit visas.

South Africa lost the first Test in Johannesburg but before the second test the two teams plus Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed for the Mandela Trophy, New Zealand failed to gain a win in the six match round robin stage while South Africa beat Pakistan in the final.

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.

Sri Lanka and Japan are two close friends since the early stages of post World War ( II ) since Sri Lanka extended a great support for Japanese development plans at the UN secretarial discussions.

* 2009 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.

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.

Sri Lanka experienced the first foreign invasion during the reign of Suratissa, who was defeated by two horse traders named Sena and Guttika from South India.

During its two and a half millennia of existence, the Kingdom of Sri Lanka was invaded at least eight times by neighbouring South Asian dynasties such as the Chola, Pandya, Chera, and Pallava.

This marked the end of the two great houses of dynasties of ancient Sri Lanka, the Moriya and the Lambakanna.

Parākramabāhu's reign is memorable for two major campaigns — in the south of India as part of a Pandyan war of succession, and a punitive strike against the kings of Ramanna ( Myanmar ) for various perceived insults to Sri Lanka.

Current politics in Sri Lanka is a contest between two rival coalitions led by the centre-leftist and progressivist United People's Freedom Alliance ( UPFA ), an offspring of Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( SLFP ), and the comparatively right-wing and pro-capitalist United National Party ( UNP ).

The Politics of Sri Lanka reflect the historical and political differences between the two main ethnic groups, the majority Sinhala and the minority Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island.

In India, it is common to see the greeting (" Namaste " or " Sat Sri Akal " for Sikhs ) where the two hands ( palms ) are pressed together and held near the heart with the head gently bowed.

Sri Lanka offers two leopard habitats, Yala National Park and Wilpattu National Park, where wildlife tours are available.

In some countries, notably Sri Lanka, two days are set aside for the celebration of Vesākha and all liquor shops and slaughter houses are closed by government decree during the two days.

* On April 15, 1966, two alleged suspects in the so-called Bathroom Coup in Sri Lanka Corporal Tilekawardene and L. V.

In May 2011, the Israeli Minister of Agriculture visited Sri Lanka with an agro-business delegation to promote cooperation between the two countries.