The object that is called the “Buddha hair sarira” at the Ba Vang Pagoda in Quang Ninh, December 2023. Photo courtesy of the pagoda
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has been asked to verify the origin of the so-called “Buddha hair sarira” that drew thousands of worshipers to a pagoda recently.
The Government Committee for Religious Affairs on Friday said there have been reports of the Ba Vang Pagoda in the northern province of Quang Ninh exhibiting the so-called “Buddha hair sarira”, garnering attention from tens of thousands of Buddhists and people alike. Many have come to the pagoda to perform ceremonies and rituals after learning about the object’s presence at the site.
As such, the committee has requested the Sangha to verify the origin of the object, as well as instructing Quang Ninh’s Buddhism authorities to “correct activities that are not appropriate with Buddhist traditions.”
Trước thềm năm mới 2024, tại khu vực ngã ba biên giới đánh dấu một cột mốc mới trong quan hệ giữa ba nước Đông Dương thông qua sự kiện Giao lưu hữu nghị Quốc phòng biên giới Việt Nam – Lào – Campuchia lần thứ nhất.
Sợi chỉ đỏ gắn kết tình cảm anh em
Trung úy Ly Sothyrak – bác sĩ Bệnh viện Quân y 179 (Quân đội Hoàng gia Campuchia) kiểm tra lại trang bị, vật chất, thuốc men để sẵn sàng bước vào diễn tập quân y chung giữa quân đội ba nước Việt Nam – Lào – Campuchia. Trước “giờ G”, Trung úy Ly Sothyrak và đồng đội của anh không tránh khỏi những lo lắng, hồi hộp. Trên từng khuôn mặt rám nắng thao trường đã lấm tấm mồ hôi dù tiết trời biên giới cuối năm se lạnh. “Cuộc diễn tập với tình huống giả định là cứu trợ y tế trong thảm họa động đất tại Việt Nam nhưng là một bước tập dượt, sẵn sàng cứu trợ y tế trên phạm vi khu vực và thế giới khi có yêu cầu. Đây là sứ mệnh cao cả của lực lượng quân y ba nước Việt Nam – Lào – Campuchia, chúng tôi rất tự hào, ai cũng quyết tâm hoàn thành xuất sắc nhiệm vụ” – Trung úy Ly Sothyrak chia sẻ.
Bác sĩ quân y Việt Nam và bác sĩ quân y Quân đội Hoàng gia Campuchia chuẩn bị máy móc, trang bị y tế trước khi diễn tập. Ảnh: SƠN TÙNG
TTCT – Mỹ vừa phải thành lập cả một liên minh quốc tế sau những mối đe dọa từ một nhóm nổi dậy vũ trang với tuyến hàng hải huyết mạch qua biển Đỏ.
Lực lượng Houthi đang gây nhiều xáo trộn với đường hàng hải trên Biển Đỏ. Ảnh: CNN
Ngày 19-10, ba tên lửa từ Yemen bắn đi đâu không biết, bị chặn bởi hạm đội Mỹ đang tiến vào biển Đỏ. Sang 28-10, hai tên lửa cũng dạng vô chủ bay la đà rơi vào hai thị trấn của Ai Cập ven biển Đỏ giáp Israel khiến sáu người bị thương.
Ngày 31-10 trong sa mạc Jordan có một trái rơi xuống phát nổ không gây thiệt hại. Sang 2-11, thị xã cực nam Israel Eilat bật còi báo động và cư dân nơi bờ biển hết sức yên lành này có dịp hiếm hoi tất tả xuống hầm trú ẩn.
Lực lượng phòng không sử dụng hệ thống Arrow chặn được hai tên lửa dạng máy bay không người lái (UAV) Samar 3 hay 4 gì đó, từ Yemen cách 2.000km bắn sang.
Lực lượng Ansar Allah, còn gọi là Houthi, đang kiểm soát thủ đô cùng phần lớn lãnh thổ Yemen cho biết họ tuyên chiến trực tiếp với Israel, đánh thẳng luôn cả Mỹ chứ không qua tay sai nào hết, để tỏ lòng đoàn kết với Palestine.
From January to October, 2023 had already seen the highest levels of violence from Israeli Security Forces (ISF) and Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since United Nations records began in 2005. This was against a backdrop of ever-growing settler population and increasing risks of annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank and of forcible transfer Palestinians out of their homes, especially in Area C.
From January to October, 2023 had already seen the highest levels of violence from Israeli Security Forces (ISF) and Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since United Nations records began in 2005. This was against a backdrop of ever-growing settler population and increasing risks of annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank and of forcible transfer Palestinians out of their homes, especially in Area C.
The former president of the European Commission, who played a crucial role in the construction of the European Union, died on Wednesday at age 98.
Le Monde with AFP Published on December 28, 2023, at 10:39 am (Paris)
A ‘builder’ of Europe
European Council President Charles Michel said Delors “led the transformation of the European Economic Community towards a true Union.”
“A great Frenchman and a great European, he went down in history as one of the builders of our Europe,” Michel posted on social media.
Current European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said Delors had “shaped entire generations of Europeans, including mine” and was “a visionary who made our Europe stronger.”
European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde highlighted Delors’s role for the single European market and “the path he laid out towards our single currency, the euro.” Europe, she said, “has lost a true statesman.”
‘Statesman with a French destiny’
French President Emmanuel Macron called his fellow countryman a “tireless creator of our Europe.” Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Macron said “his commitment, his ideals and his rectitude will always inspire us.” Delors was “a statesman with a French destiny,” Macron added.
Olivier Faure, head of the Parti Socialiste, of which Delors was a member, said, “A giant has left us.” Delors, who served as finance minister under President François Mitterrand, a Socialist, sought to “overcome tragedy by building a durable peace” after World War II ravaged Europe, Faure added.
‘Founding father’
“Modern Europe today loses its founding father,” said Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister who currently heads the Jacques Delors Institute created by the ex-Commission chief.
Writing on X, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani praised “a personality who showed, on the basis of Christian values, the path of strengthening Europe.”
‘What many thought impossible’
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo also hailed the EU’s “founding father”, whose “project for a stronger and more secure union remains hugely relevant for the Europe of tomorrow.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Delors “always believed in a united, open and prosperous” Europe. “He worked to make what many thought impossible a reality,” Sanchez wrote on X.
‘Visionary’
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed Delors as a “visionary” and an “architect of the EU as we know it.” Delors fought for European unity “like few others”, Scholz added in a message posted on X, urging Europeans to continue his work for the continent’s benefit.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Delors as a “visionary statesman.” “Delors transformed Europe through tireless service to the idea of a Europe whole and free,” Blinken wrote on X.
On 9 June 2022, the Thai government took off cannabis in its banned narcotics list. As it is no longer prohibited, the sale of this product is now legal for everyone, except for those under 20 or pregnant or breastfeeding. But three months later, 39 Thai youths reported to hospitals for cannabis intoxication.
As research show the disturbing impact of even one to two experiences of cannabis use on teen brains, and the long-term harm of chronic cannabis use even as a young adult, is the kingdom gambling with its future while cashing in on the Cannabis Green Rush?
Undercover Asia examines how and why the Thai government eased cannabis restrictions, and if its new rules on weed are adequate to ensure the safety of its new generation.
(Sen Nguyen is a Vietnamese journalist – the author of this article won the 2023 Global Media Competition on Labour Migration, hosted by the International Labour Organization - ILO. Her entry, titled “Risk, rewards and remittances in Vietnam’s Nghe An province” published in Al Jazeera, was chosen out of more than 400 entries from 85 countries. SeeILO‘s announcement here)
39 Vietnamese people died being smuggled into the UK in 2019. Most were from Nghe An province.
Hoang Thi Ai holds up her phone showing a photo of her son, Hoang Van Tiep, who she later discovered was among the 39 people who were found dead in a truck container in Essex, the UK, in 2019 [File: Hau Dinh/AP Photo]
In late October 2019, ambulance crews in the United Kingdom were called to a scene of horror.
On a quiet road in a nondescript industrial park in Essex, the bodies of 39 people were found when the heavy steel doors of a refrigerated truck trailer were opened.
The victims had suffocated. Death came slowly as oxygen levels inside the airtight container depleted for the 28 men, eight women and three children as their attempt to be smuggled into the UK ended tragically.
The youngest were two 15-year-olds. All were from Vietnam and the majority were from one province – Nghe An.
“I’m sorry Dad and Mum,” 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My tapped out in a final text message she composed for her parents.
“Mum, I love Dad and you so much. I’m dying because I can’t breathe … I am so sorry, Mum,” she wrote in a phone message that was widely reported on at the time.
The message was delivered long before her death was officially confirmed by police investigators in the UK.
Video Duration 01 minutes 41 seconds01:41Vietnamese family fears their daughter may be among Essex victims
In 2021, seven people were jailed in the UK for a total of 92 years for their role in the deaths of the 39. This week, an eighth suspect, described as a “right-hand man” in the smuggling ring, was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison by a UK court.
BY ISABELLA O’MALLEY, JENNIFER MCDERMOTT AND ALEXA ST. JOHN Updated 9:50 PM GMT+7, December 27, 2023 AP
Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, a trend that if amplified will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe warming and its effects.
Clean energy is often now the least expensive, explaining some of the growth. Nations also adopted policies that support renewables, some citing energy security concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. These factors countered high interest rates and persistent challenges in getting materials and components in many places.
The IEA projected that more than 440 gigawatts of renewable energy would be added in 2023, more than the entire installed power capacity of Germany and Spain together.
Here’s a look at the year in solar, wind and batteries.
Kori Schake, a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss where the fighting in Ukraine is headed.
1.) The front lines of the war haven’t changed much since the start of the counteroffensive. Kori pointed to the difficulty of clearing deeply entrenched Russian troops sitting behind heavily mined front lines. She attributed Russia’s ability to fortify its defenses in part to the Joe Biden administration, whose “six months of slow dispersal of weapons to Ukraine gave the Russians time to dig in.” She also noted the incredible difficulty of clearing minefields, while adding “the Ukrainians are doing it methodically.”
Donald Trump’s packing of the supreme court, to which he appointed three members, to create a reliable conservative majority, has been hailed by the right as his greatest achievement. The Wall Street Journal editorial page has stated that the most important prospect of a second Trump term would be his appointment of federal judges in their mold. But Trump’s candidacy for that second term now poses an existential threat to the legitimacy of the court’s conservative majority.
Traveling along Highway 4C to Sa Pa Town in the northern highlands, visitors are greeted by rows of cherry blossom trees standing out against the green tea hills.
In the final days of December, as one journeys approximately 7 kilometers from O Quy Ho Pass to Sa Pa along Highway 4C, they can come across thousands of cherry blossom trees blooming in striking shades of pink amid an oolong tea farm.
See how Vietnam navigated the tumultuous currents of 2023 in a series of images capturing moments of both sorrow and joy, highlighting the unique and everyday moments of life.
Crowds fill Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City for the countdown to 2023.
The west’s equivocation on Gaza exposes a global order facing mutiny over its domination of the international discourse
Tue 26 Dec 2023 05.00 GMT
Richard Haass, the distinguished global analyst, once wrote: “Consistency in foreign policy is a luxury policymakers cannot always afford.”
But, equally, glaring national hypocrisy can come with a high price tag, in terms of lost credibility, damaged global prestige and diminished self-respect.
So Joe Biden’s decision to defend Israel’s methods in Gaza so soon after, in a different context, condemning Russia’s in Ukraine, is not just an occasion for hand wringing from liberals and lawyers.
Báu vật của những vùng đất ngập nước, của những mênh mông giao hòa giữa biển và đất liền, đang ngày một bị mất mát hoặc suy thoái. Các cánh rừng ngập mặn, giờ đây, phải vật lộn để tồn tại, trước những tác động của cả con người lẫn tự nhiên.
Một vạt rừng ngập mặn bị sóng đánh ở Thái Bình. Ảnh: Thanh Nhàn
CVD 