Hanoi, June 26 -- As many as 18,491 pagodas across the country will simultaneously conduct a ceremonial ringing of bells and drums to pray for national peace, solidarity, and prosperity on the morning of July 1, according to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS). The VBS Executive Council has sent a document to provincial and municipal Sangha chapters, as well as pagodas and monastic institutions nationwide, calling for their participation in the ritual. The document noted that that July 1 marks the official start of operations of newly-established localities following mergers and the implementation of a two-tier local government model across the country - a historic milestone in the nation's path to a new era of development and prosperity. I...