- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
Vietnamese bid farewell to father of mindfulness
Tens of thousands of Vietnamese on Saturday bidded farewell to the late monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh -- one of the world's most influential religious leaders -- ahead of his cremation ceremony in the country's Buddhist heartland.
The Zen master, who was credited with bringing mindfulness to the West and whose reach in Buddhism was seen as second only to the Dalai Lama, died aged 95 a week ago at the Tu Hieu Pagoda in the central city of Hue.
His remains were brought to an open cremation site on Saturday morning, followed by a crowd of tens of thousands including Buddhist monks in yellow and brown robes and followers dressed in grey.
The procession chanted Buddhist prayers and, unlike ordinary Vietnamese funerals, there were no speeches.
"We must bid farewell to our Master. He plays an important role in my family's life, helping us through our most difficult moments," said Do Quan, a follower who travelled from Hanoi with his wife and son.
Widely known as the father of mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh wrote more than 100 books on the practice and hosted retreats worldwide.
He spent nearly four decades in exile advocating for religious freedom around the world after being barred from his homeland for calling for an end to the Vietnam-American War.
In 1967, US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize, telling the committee in a letter: "this gentle Buddhist monk from Vietnam is a scholar of immense intellectual capacity".
Vietnamese authorities permitted him to return to the communist country in 2018, but plainclothes police kept watch outside his pagoda compound, closely monitoring his activities.
"I don't understand why even now, the Vietnamese state did not send top leaders to pay tribute to this great man," said a follower who identified himself only as Nam from Ho Chi Minh.
"He deserved so much more. But I think he did not need authorities' support. He was among the people, that was the greatest thing of all."
A convoy of hundreds of cars and motorbikes -- many decked out with flowers -- escorted Thich Nhat Hanh's coffin from the Tu Hieu pagoda to the cremation site.
Along the ancient Hue streets, locals kneeled down in prayer.
"The number one man among Hue people," said local resident Vu Van Hiep.
The revered monk's body will be cremated in two days.
He requested his relics be divided up and partly housed at the Tu Hieu Pagoda, as well as sent to his Zen teaching organisation Plum Village's locations worldwide, including to France.
Tributes to the monk have flowed from all over the globe, including from the Dalai Lama, world leaders and Hollywood.
F.Bennett--AMWN