Beijing, China -- In a move intended to bolster his profile and religious authority, the controversial Chinese-appointed Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu will conduct the Tibetan Buddhist ritual called Kalachakra (1) in Tibet between 21 and 24 July. The ceremony tomorrow will be the first time that Gyaltsen Norbu (Ch: Gyaincain Norbu) has conducted the Kalachakra ritual, one of the most important in all of Buddhism. It will also be the first time that it has been carried out inside the heavily-policed Tibet Autonomous Region for 50 years.

Deforestation remains a major threat to Cambodia’s forests, but a group of Cambodian Buddhist monks from the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice is battling to save these forests by lobbying lawmakers to protect them and by publicly exposing illegal logging.

Archaeologists in Japan have identified three decorative bronze fragments unearthed in the grounds of Kyoto’s famous Kinkaku-ji Zen Buddhist temple as the remains of what might once have been the tallest Buddhist pagoda ever built in Japan.

Twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns in Dharamsala, in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, have achieved the remarkable by becoming the first Tibetan women to graduate with Geshema degrees, equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy, the Department of Religion and Culture of the Central Tibetan Administration has announced.

Around 500 Buddhist teachers, monastics, practitioners, and guests from around the world were present at the 2016 North American Kagyu Monlam, or “Great Prayer Festival,” held at the Tibetan Buddhist monastery Kagyu Thubten Chöling in Wappingers Falls, New York, from 6–10 July. Overseen by Lama Norlha Rinpoche with blessings from His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, the event was led by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, who also gave teachings and empowerments.

Despite a decision in 2014 to make the 2,500-year-old Nalasopara Stupa in Maharashtra, India, the hub of the state’s Buddhist circuit, the site still lies largely neglected, according to a recent report in The Indian Express. “Every evening, few locals come and sit on the benches bordering the stupa to enjoy a whiff of the evening air,” said a local living in a hut nearby. “In the past few years, the number of pilgrims have steadily been increasing but infrastructure remains the same.” (The Indian Express) According to the report, there is not even a sign leading to the site.

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan on Sunday concluded a landmark three-day international conference on Vajrayana Buddhism titled “Tradition and Innovation in Vajrayana Buddhism: A Mandala of 21st Century Perspectives.” This unique and broad-ranging forum brought together more than 65 speakers from 17 countries, each of whom offered insights and experiences, thoughts and ideas on various aspects of Vajrayana and related disciplines for consideration and discussion among the attendees.

The National Library of China is currently displaying a Buddhist text as part of an exhibition totaling more than 100 ancient and classic texts from around the country. The text is a rare example of block printing, which was invented in China in the Han dynasty, before 220 CE. Buddhism has been strongly associated with woodblock printing, and spurred the printing culture of China for two millennia.

Despite rising societal tensions and growing fears of sectarian violence, clear evidence of social harmony can still be found in Bangladesh. A Buddhist monastery in the capital Dhaka has made it its mission to provide hundreds of underprivileged Muslim families with their iftar evening meal throughout the holy month of Ramadan.

A US-based environmental engineer is calling for an urgent review of development policies and strategies for Asia’s Mekong River, citing the unsustainable and far-reaching economic, social, and environmental impact of poorly implemented infrastructure projects along the river, particularly in the form of massive hydroelectric dams.