As the caliphate in Syria crumbles, men who fought for ‘true jihad’ in Marawi tell of how the suffering of civilians made them flee

A ceremony for receiving the certificate recognizing Thanh Liet temple festival in Nghe An province’s Hung Nguyen district on the national list of intangible cultural heritages was held on March 10.

The sub-board for nun affairs under the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Chapter in Tien Giang hosted on March 11 the annual ceremony in My Tho city for commemorating Elder Nun Mahapajapati Gotami and elder nuns of Vietnam Buddhism.

As part of activities for celebrating the 7th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival 2019, the Ede ethnic group in Dak Lak province’s Ea Tul commune held on March 10 a traditional culture and cuisine festival.

Da Lat Protestant Church under the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (ECVN) (South) held on March 10 a solemn ceremony to celebrate the 90^th anniversary of Protestantism in Da Lat city.

My Hoa Caodai parish in Ben Tre province’s Ba Tri district under the Tay Ninh Caodai Church held on March 9 a solemn ceremony for inaugurating its new Divine Mother temple.

The Association for Solidarity of Patriotic Buddhist Monks in Soc Trang province in collaboration with Thnol Thmay pagoda’s management board held a ceremony for inaugurating the pagoda’s new main worshipping temple.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam chaired on March 7 a meeting on current issues relating culture, sports and tourism.

Ke temple (Dong Nghiem temple) festival in Dinh Ke ward of Bac Giang city is one of important events of Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen founded by King – Monk Trần Nhân Tông.

Indonesia’s resort island Bali fell quiet on March 7 for the annual “Day of Silence” festival, halting flights, internet and closing tourist attractions to allow time for meditation and introspection.

The Pac Bo festival 2019, the first of its kind, kicked off in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang on March 6, attracting crowds of locals and visitors.

The People’s Committee of Ha Nam held a conference on March 5 to launch the plan to coordinate with and support the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha to organise the UN Day of Vesak 2019, which is slated for May 10-15 at the Tam Chuc Buddhist Culture Centre in Kim Bang district.

Vice Chairman of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) Bùi Thanh Hà hosted a reception on March 05 for a visiting delegation from the Adventist Church.

A delegation of parishes from Cao Lanh deanery pilgrimaged to My Tho diocese’s pastoral centre in Tien Giang province for attending a Mass held on March 1, on the occasion of Lent 2019.

The Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) held on March 4^th a ceremony to hand over the retirement decisions to Former Director of the GCRA’s Caodaism Affairs Department Nguyễn Đắc Tuấn and Former Expert of the GCRA’s Southern Religious Affairs Department Nguyễn Thanh Xuân.