From vietnamplus.vnAn enshrinement ceremony for a newly installed statue of Konagamana Buddha was held on 29 December at Ba Den Mountain, in Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Province. Cast in red copper and gilded with 24-carat gold, the Konagamana Buddha statue stands 7.2 meters tall at the highest point of the Ba Den Mountain summit. Historical accounts also link Konagamana Buddha to South Asia. The statue joins other major Buddhist icons on Ba Den Mountain, including the Tay Bo Da Son Lady Buddha, representing compassion, and the Maitreya Bodhisattva, symbolizing joy and equanimity. Together, organizers say, these figures represent the buddhas of the past, present, and future, reinforcing Ba Den Mountain’s role as a significant pilgrimage destination in southern Vietnam.

"Everything suggests that the fire started from the burning candles, or 'Bengal lights,' that had been attached to champagne bottles. Swiss officials say the fire claimed the lives of 40 people and more than 100 others were injured, many seriously. So severe were the burns suffered by the mostly young crowd of revellers that Swiss officials said it could take days to name all who died. The bodies of those who died have now all been removed from the bar, a Swiss official told Reuters. Swiss officials have said around 40 people were killed, while Italy has put the death toll at 47, based on information from Swiss authorities.

The Weimar Republic was weak, unstable, and vulnerable to the ideologues and extremists in post-First World War Germany. Canada, in comparison, has enjoyed a democratic lineage, mature government institutions and a population on the whole committed to liberalism. Antisemitism has reared its ugly head across the country, and our democratic institutions — long afflicted by weaknesses documented by Canadian public administration scholar and author Donald Savoie — are losing the confidence of growing numbers of Canadians. This ferocious fight begins with a restatement of liberalism’s essential features: democratic institutions and politics, established freedoms, equality of opportunity, and market economies. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementNational PostPeter MacKinnon is a senior fellow of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Aristotle Foundation.

Take a look back at the best moments of 2025NewsDuration 25:46CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is celebrating the best of 2025. Here and Now producer William Ping takes us through the heartwarming moments, the silly stuff and the pieces that make us proud to call the province home.

City provides first look at broken feeder mainNewsDuration 1:50At a media update on Thursday, City of Calgary officials provided the latest details on the broken feeder main and shared the first photo of the damaged pipe.

When a fire broke out at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market in the early hours of Christmas Day, John Bell was among the first on scene. "Everyone knows the farmers’ market. A week after a fire at the Charlottetown Farmers’ Market forced it to close indefinitely, hundreds of people turned out Wednesday for a pop-up market at the P.E.I. She’s been shopping at the Charlottetown market for more than three decades. The Charlottetown Farmers’ Market building at 100 Belvedere Ave. is now closed for the 'foreseeable future' following the fire, the Charlottetown Farmers' Market Co-operative says.

City of Calgary officials say they have identified the location of what they are calling a second 'catastrophic' water main break in less than two years. A day after officials first asked Calgarians to reduce their water use in the wake of Tuesday’s catastrophic water main break, the city says it is not seeing any real reduction in usage. City officials are also calling on businesses to reduce their water usage where possible, suggesting restaurants refill patron’s water glasses only by request, or using bottled water. “Reducing water use right now is critical.”Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas says demand on the water system is still in the unsustainable "red zone" after Tuesday's water main break. Farkas said ultimately, the Bearspaw south feeder main has reached the end of its reliable lifecycle.

Whether it's a sunny day or a snowstorm, expect to see magpies in urban and natural areas across Alberta. WATCH | Give magpies a chance, Calgary naturalist Brian Keating says: Magpies live loudly, take over trees | Duration 0:58 Magpies are loud, obnoxious and quite the pranksters. But one thing magpies don't have in common with many of their corvid cousins is they're not nearly as widespread. Birds Canada special projects co-ordinator Andrea Gress with a Canada jay on her head. Magpies thrive in urban environmentSara Jordan-McLachlan, who studies Calgary's urban wildlife, says magpies have become a core component of the city's ecosystem.

A 31-year-old man has been arrested and faces aggravated assault charges after a woman of the same age was allegedly pushed from a three-storey balcony Thursday morning. According to police, there was an altercation before the woman was pushed. She was found unconscious on the ground and taken to hospital in critical condition with life-threatening injuries. The man was arrested at the scene. At first, police said the man would face attempted murder charges.

Kelly Mansell, co-owner of Rocket Bakery, said a lot of the staff at the company's three locations are new Canadians who are working toward permanent residency. Another new dish is a soup called harira, a tomato-based soup with chickpeas and lentils that is popular in North Africa. The Rocket staff have come from Bangladesh, India, Iran, Morocco, Taiwan, Germany, Tunisia and other Canadian provinces. ‘Supporting them back’Mirvala Sadrafshari moved from Iran to attend Memorial University and took a job working at Rocket as floor staff. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement Advertisement“Every corner of this Rocket [shop] and menu, you can just find something from one of the countries."

We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.

We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.

We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.

Via Francigena spans over 2,000km and runs across five countries: England, France, Switzerland, Italy and Vatican City. It starts in Canterbury in England and ends at St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. The Great St Bernard Lake in Switzerland. Firstly, the natural border of Switzerland and Italy is the 2,469m high Great Saint Bernard Pass. The writer at the Great St Bernard Pass.

But, when the time came to list her home, Lockhart faced a complication: She wasn't the only one trying to leave. The ongoing Canadian exodus has pummelled the real estate market in some parts of the state, and southwest Florida is uniquely susceptible to the snowbird-induced selloff. Add in the stampede of Canadians trying to get out, and it’s just not an ideal time to sell, analysts say. Southwest Florida is characterized right now by an exceptionally high level of inventory, Joel Berner, a senior economist at Realtor.com who tracks the Florida market, said in an interview. The number of Canadian buyers in Florida and in the U.S. as a whole has kind of shrunk.