Flashback 2006

2006 was a year of ups and downs, for Sri Lanka as well as most other countries. In the homefront, we saw

 violence renewing in intensity, while wars and natural disasters held top spot in other countries too. Here, in our last issue for this year, we look back at the year that 2006 was...

March 15-26 - The Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Australia where Chinthana Vidanage won a gold medal for weight-lifting.

March 23 - The oldest living animal in the world, 250-year-old Adwaitya the tortoise, died at the Calcutta Zoo, India.

April 14 - Sri Lanka readjusted her clock and went back to the old time. The time had been advanced by half-an-hour in 1996 as a means of conserving power.

April 21 - UK's Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 80th birthday. Celebrations were held in many parts of the world, especially in the Commonwealth states.

May - The 2550th Buddha Jayanthi celebrations were held islandwide.

June - King Bhumibol celebrated 60 years on the throne.

June - Over 70 people including children died in a claymore mine blast targeting the bus they were travelling

 in, in Kebethigollawa.

July 9 - The Football World Cup was held in Germany from June 9. Italy beat France at the Finals to emerge champions.

July 11 - Bomb blasts inside packed trains in Bombay, India killed over 100 people.

July 12 - Israel attacked Lebanon in retaliation when Hezbollah guerillas captured two Israeli solders.

The resulting war lasted over a month and saw death and destruction on a massive scale, especially in Lebanon.

July 18 - An earthquake off the coast of Java triggered a tsunami in the Indonesian town of Ciamis, killing over 400 people.

August 12 - Kethesh Loganathan, Deputy Chairman of the Peace Secretariat was gunned down in Colombo, exactly one year after the assassination of former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

August 18-28 - The South Asian Games were held in Colombo at the Sugathadasa Stadium with the participation of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka finished third after India and Pakistan.

August 24 - Pluto was officially removed from the planetary system at a meeting of the International Astronomical Union held in the Czech Republic capital of Prague. Now, it's known as a dwarf planet.

September - Tennis great, American Andre Agassi retired from professional tennis after his loss at the US Open. He was one of only five men to win all Grand Slam titles.

September 4 - Well-known Australian environmentalist, wildlife enthusiast and TV personality Steve Irwin died of a stingray attack while diving off the coast of Australia.

September 19 - Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled from power in a military coup while he was attending the UN Summit in New York, USA.

October 9 - South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon was appointed as the next UN Secretary-General. He will take over from Kofi Annan in January.

October 9 - North Korea announced it conducted a nuclear test and earned worldwide condemnation.

October 16 - Over 100 Navy personnel were killed and about 150 injured when a bomb-laden truck rammed into a military convoy at Digampathana, Habarana.

October 18 - The LTTE attacked the Galle Harbour. The attack was foiled, but two people were killed.

November 5 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging for 'crimes against humanity'. The sentence received both bouquets and brickbats.

Australia bagged the ICC Champions Trophy after defeating the West Indies at the tournament held in Mumbai, India. Sri Lanka was eliminated from the competition in an earlier round.

November 12 - Floods and landslides occurring in many parts of the country as a result of the inter-monsoonal rains claimed many lives; over six people died in a single landslide at Pussellawa.

November 19 - Construction work commenced for the Weerawila International Airport in Hambantota, to commemorate President Mahinda Rajapaksa's first year in office.

November 21 - The Nepali government and Maoist rebels signed a landmark peace deal that ended a 10-year insurgency.

December 1-15 - Asian Games were held in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Sri Lanka won a silver and two bronze medals.

December - Typhoon Durian lashed the Philippines and then Vietnam, claiming many lives and damaging property on a massive scale.

December 5 - The military in Fiji overthrew the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and grabbed

 power.

December 7 - Two students and a teacher died and many schoolchildren were injured when Somadevi Vidyalaya in Trincomalee came under LTTE fire.

December 10 - Founder of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank and the micro-finance concept, Muhammad Yunus accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. The award was announced in October.