Several pandols depicting significant events from the life of the Buddha and his previous births will be on display across Colombo during Vesak week. The main pandols are located at Thotalanga, Borella, Dematagoda, Peliyagoda, Kosgas Junction, and  Pettah. Pix by Kushan Pathiraja Source link

The passing-out parade for intakes 55 and 56 of the Sri Lanka Army’s elite Special Forces was abruptly cancelled midway through the event after a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter crashed into the Maduru Oya Reservoir this morning. The Bell 212 helicopter, operated by the No. 7 Squadron, went down during a training exercise held in conjunction with the ceremony at the Special Forces Training School in Maduru Oya. According to initial reports, 12 personnel were on board the helicopter at the time, including two Air Force pilots and members of the Sri Lanka Air Force, Special Task Force (STF), and Army Special Forces (SF). The SLAF said that all personnel abord the helicopter were rescued and admitted to the Hospital and five of them died after being admitted to the Polonaruwa Hospital. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana Source link

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The brother of Pope Leo XIV revealed that he warned the newly-elected pontiff not to use the Italian name because it could be an unlucky choice. The man once known as Cardinal Robert Prevost is the first American-born pontiff, having grown up in the suburbs of Chicago.  The pope’s brother, John Prevost, has provided insight into his newly-famous sibling’s inner life, which took him all the way to Peru before serving under Pope Francis at the Vatican. (Daily Mail) Source link

A child chooses Vesak lanterns at a small shop in Havelock Town, Colombo, on May 7, 2025, ahead of the upcoming Vesak Festival. Pix by Pradeep Pathirana. Source link

By Pranavesh Sivakumar The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) called for nominees for the Eng. (Dr.) A. C. Visvalingam Annual Award For Most Outstanding Engineer at their launch held at the IESL, Colombo, yesterday. Speaking at the occasion Dr.Visvalingam said, “we want to select someone, the most competent person and he or she should’ve done a notable service to the country. Your serving the nation and the public”. “The nation must bring forth the engineers who have sacrificed so much for the profession and the country”, he added. Awarded for the best awardee, aged between 40-70, holding 15 years of exposure, the proposed once in a lifetime Award, will recognize an outstanding Engineer with “exemplary commitment”. Eng. (Dr.) A C Visvalingam, an Honorary Life Member of the IESL, Structural and Civil Engineer of international repute, was anxious to make such an award, having recognized the need for the professional...

Professor Rev. Induragare Dhammaratana Thera of the Department of Sanskrit Studies, University of Kelaniya, today visited Andrew Patrick, the High Commissioner of the British High Commission in Colombo, to formally request the halting of the auction of treasures and sacred relics of Shri Shakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. The Thera stated that the Maha Sangha, Buddhist laypeople of Sri Lanka, and representatives of the global Theravada Buddhist community wish to draw urgent attention to the impending unlawful auction of treasures and relics of Shri Shakyamuni Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, which were looted from India in 1898 by British colonizer William Claxton Peppe under the patronage of the British government. Pix by Kithsiri de Mel Source link