FLASHBACK 2010

The New Year is at its infancy; 2011 is just oneday old. A whole year is ahead of us to make our lives successful, our country prosperous and also act in a responsible manner to help preserve and protect our only home - Planet Earth. In order to do so we need to look back at the events in the year passed... So, like Janus, the two-headed god who looks into the future and the past, after whom January is named, let us also look into the past to make the future a better place for all of us to live in.

Local Scenario

January 1 -- The Maha Sangha, Diyawadana Nilame and well wishers joined hands to inaugurate the Sri Dalada Maligawa website www.sridaladamaligawa.lk to take the sacred shrine to the world.

January 12 - President, Mahinda Rajapaksa announced that Tamils will be given greater say in matters of governance, proposing power sharing agreements.

January 13 - The Sri Lanka Cricket team won the Triangular Tri-Series by defeating India at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. It was the first victory for the year.

January 15 - The first Solar eclipse of the decade was visible in Sri Lanka.

January 26 - The first peacetime Presidential Election, following the defeat of the LTTE last May, was held to elect the sixth Executive President of Sri Lanka. The incumbent President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa was declared the winner. (on Sunday 27).

February 4 - Sri Lanka’s 62nd Independence Day celebrations, were held on a grand scale.

February 5 - Sri Lanka mourned the loss of two popular artistes, H. A. Perera and Pathiraja L. S. Dayananda.

March 18 -The second stage of the Norochcholai coal power generation plant was opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa March 4 - The Marine Archaeological Museum in Galle built under a special grant of Rs. 177 million by the Netherlands Government, was opened.

March 10 - The second stage of the Norochcholai coal-fired power plant commenced under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

April 8 - Parliamentary Elections were held, with 7,620 candidates contesting from 36 recognised political parties and 301 independent groups. There were 14,088,500 eligible voters, an increase from the 12,899,139 voters at the April 2004 Parliamentary Elections.

April 10 - The Indian Navy ship Magar arrived at the Port of Trincomalee on a goodwill visit.

April 14 - The first Sinhala and Tamil New Year after the defeat of the LTTE celebrated on a grand scale throughout the country.

April 20 - Bollywood icon, Amitabh Bachchan met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees. Bachchan arrived in Sri Lanka to announce the Indian International Film Academy Awards scheduled to be held in Colombo in June.

April 21 - Former Minister of Plantation Industries D. M. Jayaratne, who is one of the UPFA National List MPs was sworn in as the Prime Minister before President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees.

April 28 - Sri Lanka celebrated the 125th anniversary of the Buddhist flag on the Adhi Vesak Poya Day. The Most Ven. Wadibhasinghe Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera hoisted the Buddhist flag for the first time in this country on April 28, 1885 at the Deepaduttaramaya Temple, Kotahena.

May 18 -The last batch of the rehabilitated LTTE ex-child soldiers (108 boys and 90 girls) were handed back to their parents, through a court procedure.

May 27 - Vesak celebrations were held throughout the country.

June 1 - A super fast train service linked the Bandaranaike International Airport with the city of Colombo.

June 3 - IIFA weekend; IFFA Awards were held at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, Colombo from June 3 to 5.

June 18-The Military Parade and the National Victory Day celebrations, scheduled to be held on May 20 at the Galle Face Green, which was postponed due to inclement weather ,were held.

June 15 - The first match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the Asia Cup held at the Rangiri-Dambulla International stadium.

July 14 - A historic meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers was held for the first time in Kilinochchi.

July 22 - Muttiah Muralitharan became the first bowler to claim 800 wickets in Test cricket; a feat that is bound to stand the test of time.

August 1- Sri Lanka's central highlands are added to the World Heritage List.

August 10- With the planting of kap the Kandy Perahera commenced.

August 15- Filling of water into the Magampura [Hambantota] Harbour basin commenced.

September 8 - The 18th Amendment to the Constitution was passed with an overwhelming majority in Parliament.

September 23 - President Rajapaksa addressed the 65th General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

October 13- Manju Wanniarachchi bagged the gold medal in the 56kg weight category class by defeating Welshman Sean McGoldrick. This was the first gold medal Sri Lanka clinched at the Commonwealth Games since 1938. Wanniarachchi also became the first boxing medalist for Sri Lanka in 60 years.The medal was later forfeited as he was found guilty of taking enhancing drugs.

November-4-President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the Upper Kotmale tunnel. which is 12.9 km in length and is the longest tunnel in Sri Lanka.

November 5-The Air Force museum depicting the 58 year old history of the Air Force was opened by the President Rajapaksa.

November 10 - Heavy floods in Colombo as a result of a low-pressure area which developed over the city. Up to 490 mm (19.3 in) of rain fell during the short period of 15 hours overnight, causing widespread damage and flooding in the area; the highest amount of rainfall in 18 years.

November 15 - About 1.1 million trees were planted under the Deyata Sevana programme to mark President Rajapaksa’s 65th birthday and second term in office..

November 17- Sri Lanka successfully test fired a furnace of a 300 Mega Watt Norochcholai plant using liquid fuel under the auspices of the Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. Though the operations were powered by diesel, a ship carrying over 40,000 tonnes of coal from Indonesia started discharging its cargo using barges.

November 18- Countrywide celebrations were held to celebrate President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 65th birthday.

*The world's largest kiribath(milk rice was prepared as part of the celebrations.

*The first stage of the Magampura Port was commissioned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa with the arrival of the vessel Jetliner followed by a sailing ship and a cargo ship.The Jetliner entered the Magampura Port which was renamed as Mahinda Rajapaksa National Port at an auspicious time with 254 members of the Maha Sangha on board chanting Seth Pirith to bless the Port and the country.

November 19 - President Mahinda Rajapaksa took oaths before Chief Justice Asoka De Silva for his second term in office.

November 21 - The newly appointed Cardinal His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith received his biretta, the square red hat symbolising the blood of the martyrs from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in.

December 6- The spill gates of Victoria opened automatically when the water level increased due to the heavy rains. It was a spacracular sigh.t. Victoria is the only dynamic dam in Sri Lanka which goes forward when the water level increases and comes back to its original position when the water level comes down without effecting the power of the dam.

December 8 - Sri Lanka Navy celebrate its 60th anniversary

December 11 - President Rajapaksa opened the `Jewels Sri Lanka 2010` International Gem and Jewellery Exhibition, at the BMICH, in Colombo.

December16 - The officials at the Dehiwela Zoo displayed to the public the orangutan born on November 3. It was after 28 years that such a birth took place .

December21 - Central Bank of Sri Lanka celebrated its 60th anniversary A commemorative coin to the value of Rs 5000 was sold.

* Child rights activist Dr. Hiranthi Wijemanne elected to UNCRC.

December 22 - Hundred and sixty hardcore LTTE men were remanded after being identified as terrorists by officials .

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Foreign Scenario

January 1 - Spain took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden.

*China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched a Free Trade Area.

January 2 - Ninteen-year-old Norwegian chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen was confirmed the youngest-ever world number one in the official January 2010 FIDE rating list.

January 3 - A 5.1 magnitude earthquake leaves 20,000 homeless and causes US$1.5 million in damage in eastern Tajikistan.

* Remains of the first plane taken to Antarctica in 1912 are discovered by Australian researchers.

* The Colombian volcano Galeras erupted, forcing the evacuation of 8,000 people.

January 4 - NASA’s Kepler telescope detected its first five exoplanets.

* Egyptian archaeologists discovered the largest tomb yet unearthed in the ancient Saqqara necropolis.

* At least 500 homes were damaged after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands.

January 6 - China became the largest exporting country, pushing Germany from first place.

February 9 - Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s doctor pleaded not guilty over the death of the star last year.

February 11 - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran is now a nuclear state, following a successful 20 per cent uranium enrichment.

February 12 - The XXI Olympic Winter Games began in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

February 24 - Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer in history to score a double century in One Day International cricket.

March 5 - A 6.5 magnitude earthquake occured in the ocean off Sumatra and a tsunami alert was activated.

March 21 - The Eyjafjallajkull volcano in Iceland erupted and air traffic in the region came to a standstill as a result.

April 1 - The Indian government initiated The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act to provide free and compulsory education to all children between 6 and 14 years, making education a fundamental right for millions of children.

* India launched its new 2011 biometric census, the largest census in the world.

April 25 -The Evangelical group Noah’s Ark Ministries International claimed to have found a 4,800 year old wood structure that they are “99.9 per cent” certain is the remains of Noah’s Ark.

May 2 - Japanese supercentenarian and oldest living person in the world Kama Chinen died eight days short of 115 and leaves French supercentenarian Eugnie Blanchard as the oldest living person.

May 19 - Cyclone Laila approached landfall in southeastern India, having already caused at least ten deaths and prompting the evacuations of 10,000 people in Tamil Nadu.

* Yandex, Russia’s largest search engine and the eighth-largest in the world, launched an English language search engine.

June 6 - The United Nations airlifted baby gorillas from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where militia log and mine their habitat. It is feared gorillas may become extinct by the mid-2020s.

* NASA scientists discovered that Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, has the necessary atmosphere to support life.

June 18 - 1998 Nobel Laureate Jos Saramago from Portugal died at the age of 87.

* The World Health Organisation created a data base on the use of child medicines.

June 23 - The 36th G8 summit opened in Huntsville, Ontario and the 4th G20 Summit was held in Toronto, Canada.

July 1 - China’s Xinhua launched a global 24-hour English TV news channel.

* Hurricane Alex, the first hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall in northeastern Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h), and caused tornadoes that forced people into shelters in southern Texas.

* Fossils discovered at the Franceville site in Gabon are claimed to be evidence that multicellular life on Earth began at least 1.5 billion years earlier than currently reckoned.

* Astronomers confirmed the first-ever direct picture of an extrasolar planet orbiting its star.

July 2 - Russian cargo ship Progress failed to dock with the International Space Station.

July 11 - A total solar eclipse occurred in the South Pacific Ocean with thousands viewing the event on Easter Island.

* Spain defeated the Netherlands by a score of one goal to nil in extra time of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final to win the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with Andrs Iniesta scoring the winning goal.

July 14 - An 18th-Century wood-hulled ship is discovered at the World Trade Centre site in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

* Researchers discover that the Vatican Radio transmitters increased the risk of tumours and leukaemia in children who live nearby.

July 16 - Photos taken on Mount Everest from the same spot where similar pictures taken by George Mallory in 1921 revealed what is described as an “alarming” loss of ice.

July 16 - Photos taken on Mount Everest from the same spot where similar pictures taken by George Mallory in 1921 revealed what is described as an “alarming” loss of ice.

August 1 - Hawaii’s Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the habitat of the endangered Hawaiian Monk seal and rare birds, and Sri Lanka’s central highlands were added to World Heritage List .

*Scientists announced the discovery of the world’s first active undersea river, in the Black Sea.

August 6 - At least 12 million people were affected by the worst floods in the history of Pakistan with 1,600 people being killed and 650,000 homes being destroyed.

*Mount Karangetang, a volcano on the Indonesian island of Siau, erupted.

* Hiroshima marked the 65th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack; United States representatives attended in an official capacity for the first time.

August 8 - A further cave-in reported at the mine near Copiap, Chile where people have been working since August 5 to rescue 34 miners trapped underground.

August 13 - Scientists found evidence that 250 rare Caquet Titi monkeys survived in Colombia.

August 20 - Dutch sailor Laura Dekker started her bid to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo in Portim£o, Portugal.

August 20 - Dutch sailor Laura Dekker started her bid to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo in Portim£o, Portugal.

August 22 - Brazil won the 2010 World Blind Football Championship after beating Spain 2-0 in the final.

September 1 - Archaeologists discovered a 200 years old bottles of beer in a shipwreck south of the autonomous Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea believed to be the world’s oldest.

September 3 - The Royal Mail in the United Kingdom launched the first intelligent postage stamp, the first to work with image recognition technology.

September 4 - NASA scientists advised the 33 miners trapped in Chile to regulate sleeping patterns, boost intake of Vitamin D and take exercise.

September 9 - Archaeologists dated the mound of Moot Hill in Scone Palace where medieval Kings of Scotland including Robert the Bruce were crowned back to at least 1,000 years ago.

September 20 - Jupiter became the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon as it made its closest approach to Earth since 1963.

October 1 - Sky 3D, the first 3D TV channel in Europe, launched in the UK.

October 7 - Peruvian-Spanish writer Mario Vargas Llosa is announced as the winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature.

October 15 - A museum in Berlin innaugurated an exhibition on Adolf Hitler and his relationship with the German people.

November 11-12 - The G-20 Summit was held in Seoul, South Korea. Korea became the first non-G8 nation to host a G-20 leaders summit.

November 17 - Researchers at CERN trap 38 antihydrogen atoms for a sixth of a second, marking the first time in history that humans have trapped antimatter.

November 23 - North Korea shells Yeonpyeong Island, prompting a military response by South Korea. November 28 -

*WikiLeaks released a collection of more than 250,000 American diplomatic cables, including 100,000 marked “secret” or “confidential”.

to the Kyoto Protocol.

December 2 - NASA announced the discovery of new arsenic-based life form in California.

December 7 - The U.S. government “declared war” on the WikiLeaks website.* Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, was arrested in London for alleged sexual misconduct in Sweden.

December 25-Many parts of Europe under heavy snow.Airports were also closed.

Facts and pix: Internet