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Philippines: Typhoon Kalmaegi Triggers Severe Flooding, Displacing Thousands 2

Severe flooding has submerged towns and displaced hundreds of thousands as Typhoon Kalmaegi battered the central Philippines. Rivers overflowed in Cebu and nearby islands, forcing residents onto rooftops while cars and containers were swept through the streets. Local officials said some evacuation centers were inundated, and many survivors of a recent earthquake had to be evacuated again. More than 380,000 people fled their homes across the Visayas, southern Luzon, and northern Mindanao. Kalmaegi, locally named Tino, made landfall late Monday, November 3 with winds of up to 130 kph before moving toward the South China Sea on Tuesday, November 4.

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China: Tourists and Locals Rescue Yaks from Mud Pit in Qinghai

In Qinghai, China, tourists and locals joined forces with an excavator operator to rescue four yaks stuck in deep mud on September 30, 2025. After spotting the trapped animals, the tourists alerted a herdsman and enlisted help from a nearby construction site. Working for nearly an hour, they freed all four yaks safely. The herdsman said the rescue prevented losses of over RMB 40,000.

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US: North Dakota Sees Powerful Winds Amid Tornado-Producing Storm

Severe weather swept across the upper Midwest on Friday, June 20, bringing powerful winds and leaving at least 3 dead in North Dakota as a tornado ripped through the area.

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China: Typhoon Wutip Darkens Hainan Skies Ahead of Landfall in Hainan

This is the terrifying moment a massive wall of dark clouds engulfed the skies over Hainan as Typhoon Wutip approached southern China. On June 11, 2025, in Hainan, China, video captured thick, menacing clouds rolling in ahead of Typhoon Wutip's landfall. The sky turned eerily dark as the season’s first typhoon neared, creating a heavy, ominous atmosphere. The storm made landfall around 11 p.m. on June 13 along the coast of Dongfang, a city in Hainan, with winds reaching up to 30 meters per second and a central pressure of 980 hPa. Heavy rain swept through southern parts of the island, with some areas experiencing torrential downpours and localized extreme rainfall. According to China National Radio, by June 15, Typhoon Wutip had weakened into a tropical depression after moving inland into Jiangxi Province, and continued to lose strength. The video ends with the storm clouds blanketing the landscape as residents brace for the typhoon’s impact.

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Stolen Buddha statue returned to Japan

Stolen Buddha statue returned to Japan

Photo taken on May 15, 2025, at a museum in Tsushima in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Nagasaki shows a 14th-century Buddha statue that was recently returned to Kannonji temple in the city after it was stolen in 2012 and taken to South Korea. The statue, designated by Nagasaki Prefecture as a tangible cultural asset, was unveiled to the media the same day ahead of is public exhibition from May 16.

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Devotees Pray at Buddha Temple - India

Devotees Pray at Buddha Temple - India

Buddhist Monk covers a statue of Buddha with an umbrella on a rainy day, while Devotees offer prayers to Buddha on the occasion of Buddha Purnima in a Buddha Temple at Agartala in Tripura, India on May 12, 2025. Photo by Abhisek Saha/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Japan: Heavy Snowfall Hits Sea Of Japan Coast 4

Heavy snowfall has battered a wide area of Japan, especially the Hokuriku region along the Sea of Japan coast. This video shows blizzard conditions in the city Otaru, Hokkaido.

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California Wildfire January 12

California Wildfire January 12

A burnt Buddha statue sits amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings in Los Angeles, California, on January 12, 2025. The wildfires have destroyed or damaged more than 18,000 structures, marking one of the most devastating winter fire events in the region's history. Photo by Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM

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US: EF-1 Tornado Touches Down In Athens, AL, Leaving Devastating Damage

The National Weather Service in Huntsville has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in downtown Athens, Alabama, on Saturday night, December 28.

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Philippines: Typhoon Yinxing Makes Landfall In Cagayan, Damaging Infrastructure 3

Typhoon Yinxing, known as Marce in the Philippines, made landfall near Santa Ana, Cagayan, on Thursday afternoon, November 7, forcing more than 21,000 people to evacuate and damaging two domestic airports and homes. Telecommunications and power supplies have remained down due to damaged cables and power lines, severely affecting residents in the affected areas.

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Philippines: Typhoon Yinxing Makes Landfall In Cagayan, Damaging Infrastructure 2

Typhoon Yinxing, known as Marce in the Philippines, made landfall near Santa Ana, Cagayan, on Thursday afternoon, November 7, forcing more than 21,000 people to evacuate and damaging two domestic airports and homes. Telecommunications and power supplies have remained down due to damaged cables and power lines, severely affecting residents in the affected areas.

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Thailand: Overflowing Of Ping River Causes Flooding In Chiang Mai Amid Rainy Season 3

Water levels in the Ping River rose, causing severe flooding across Chiang Mai on September 25 and affecting infrastructure. Small vehicles were stranded on flooded roads, and local shops and stalls were forced to close.

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Grottoes Art Exhibition at Hangzhou West Lake Museum

Grottoes Art Exhibition at Hangzhou West Lake Museum

HANGZHOU, CHINA - JULY 10, 2024 - A young visitor looks at a full-length Buddha statue standing on the north wall of Fengxian Temple in Longmen Grottoes at Hangzhou West Lake Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, July 10, 2024.

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US: Beryl Causes Widespread Power Outages And Flooding, Leaves Multiple Dead In Texas 4

Beryl has weakened into a tropical storm after making landfall as a category 1 hurricane near Matagorda in Texas, on Monday, July 8, shortly before 4 a.m. local time. The hurricane caused power outages and life-threatening flooding and left multiple dead in Houston and the surrounding areas.

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Exhibition dedicated to Japan in Kyiv

Exhibition dedicated to Japan in Kyiv

KYIV, UKRAINE - APRIL 23, 2024 - A statue of the Buddha is displayed during the presentation of the Japan. Through Eyes and Heart exhibition, Kyiv, capital of Ukraine.

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US: Days-Long Winter Storm Dumps Heavy Snow On Sierra Nevada, Closing Roads, Schools

A days-long winter storm dumped heavy snow on the Sierra Nevada, closing major highways, ski resorts, and schools in parts of California. More than 10 feet of snow and hurricane-force wind gusts of 170 mph-plus were reported.

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US: Strong Winter Storm Brings Blizzard Conditions To Sierra Nevada

A strong winter storm hit the Sierra Nevada on Friday, March 1, bringing heavy snow and high winds. Blizzard Warnings were issued for the Sierra, including Lake Tahoe and eastern Nevada. The Sierra Avalanche Center warned that the danger of avalanches was high. Yosemite National Park and many ski resorts in the region announced they were closing at least for the day.

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CHINA-SICHUAN-CULTURAL RELICS-PROTECTOR (CN)

CHINA-SICHUAN-CULTURAL RELICS-PROTECTOR (CN)

(230430) -- CHENGDU, April 30, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Wu Zhongfu (1st, L) introduces a statue to tourists in the Wofo Yard in Anyue County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 3, 2023. Wu Zhongfu, 73-year-old, has been protecting and conserving the Buddhist statues and stone carvings of Buddhist scriptures from Tang Dynasty (618-907) for 41 years in the Wofo (meaning sleeping Buddha) Yard of Anyue County in Sichuan Province. After becoming a voluntary conservator for cultural relics in 1982, Wu Zhongfu's main job had been patrolled the cultural relics and kept the environment clean. In 2006, he became an official conservator. As more and more people decided to leave the county and seek job opportunities from other places, Wu Zhongfu has once wavered yet decided to stay despite the meager salary. "Standing in front of these statues, I could scarcely bear the thought of leaving them behind," he said. Now, this elderly conservator is still healthy. He said that he would always look after these national treas

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Xinhua Headlines: Diverse culture empowers ancient Silk Road hub's modern development

Xinhua Headlines: Diverse culture empowers ancient Silk Road hub's modern development

(240125) -- URUMQI, Jan. 25, 2024 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on Nov. 25, 2023 shows the head of a Buddha statue from Tang Dynasty (618-907) exhibited at Xinjiang Reclamation History Museum in Tumxuk City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Zhao Chenjie)

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Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hideki Murai speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Oct. 26, 2023, after South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that a Buddha statue stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012 belongs to the temple, rejecting a South Korean temple's claim to ownership of it.

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Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

A representative of Buseoksa temple in Seosan, South Korea, speaks to reporters at the Supreme Court in Seoul on Oct. 26, 2023, after the top court ruled that a Buddha statue stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012 belongs to the temple, rejecting the South Korean temple's claim to ownership of it.

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Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Setsuryo Tanaka, chief priest of Kanonji temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture in southwestern Japan, speaks to the press on Oct. 26, 2023, after South Korea's Supreme Court ruled that a Buddha statue stolen from the Japanese temple in 2012 belongs to the temple, rejecting a South Korean temple's claim to ownership of it.

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Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

Stolen Buddha statue ownership suit

A representative of Buseoksa temple in Seosan, South Korea, speaks to reporters at the Supreme Court in Seoul on Oct. 26, 2023, after the country's top court ruled that a Buddha statue stolen from a Japanese temple in 2012 belongs to the temple, rejecting the South Korean temple's claim to ownership of it.

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Myanmar to unveil giant sitting marble statue of Buddha in Nay Pyi Taw

STORY: Myanmar to unveil giant sitting marble statue of Buddha in Nay Pyi Taw DATELINE: July 22, 2023 LENGTH: 00:05:00 LOCATION: Nay Pyi Taw CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Maravijaya Buddha Image 2. various of the compound of the pagoda STORYLINE: After more than three years of construction, Myanmar is preparing to unveil a giant sitting marble statue of Lord Buddha in its capital Nay Pyi Taw on Aug. 1, the Information Team of Myanmar's State Administration Council said on Friday. The magnificent marble statue, namely Maravijaya Buddha Image, weighing 1,782 tons, stands tall at 63 feet and is accompanied by an 18-foot-tall throne, weighing an additional 3,510 tons. The monumental project, spanning over three years, involved the dedicated efforts of more than 500 skilled engineering workers, said Zaw Min Tun, head of the State Administration Council's Information Team. "It is the world's largest marble sitting Buddha statue, and was entirely funded by public donations," Zaw Min Tu

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Giant Buddha statue in Naypyidaw

Giant Buddha statue in Naypyidaw

Photo taken on July 21, 2023, shows a giant marble statue of Buddha built in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

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Giant Buddha statue in Naypyidaw

Giant Buddha statue in Naypyidaw

Photo taken on July 21, 2023, shows a giant marble statue of Buddha built in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

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A night view of Leshan Giant Buddha in SW China

STORY: A night view of Leshan Giant Buddha in SW China DATELINE: June 19, 2023 LENGTH: 00:00:27 LOCATION: CHENGDU, China CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Leshan Giant Buddha at night STORYLINE: The Leshan Giant Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is situated outside the city of Leshan, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The Buddha statue, carved into a cliff in Leshan Mountain and overlooking three converging rivers, namely the Minjiang, Qingyi and Dadu rivers, was built over a 90-year period beginning in 713 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chengdu, China. (XHTV)

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CHINA-SICHUAN-CULTURAL RELICS-PROTECTOR (CN)

CHINA-SICHUAN-CULTURAL RELICS-PROTECTOR (CN)

(230430) -- CHENGDU, April 30, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Wu Zhongfu (1st, L) introduces a statue to tourists in the Wofo Yard in Anyue County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, April 3, 2023. Wu Zhongfu, 73-year-old, has been protecting and conserving the Buddhist statues and stone carvings of Buddhist scriptures from Tang Dynasty (618-907) for 41 years in the Wofo (meaning sleeping Buddha) Yard of Anyue County in Sichuan Province. After becoming a voluntary conservator for cultural relics in 1982, Wu Zhongfu's main job had been patrolled the cultural relics and kept the environment clean. In 2006, he became an official conservator. As more and more people decided to leave the county and seek job opportunities from other places, Wu Zhongfu has once wavered yet decided to stay despite the meager salary. "Standing in front of these statues, I could scarcely bear the thought of leaving them behind," he said. Now, this elderly conservator is still healthy. He said that he would always look after these national treas

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MYANMAR-YANGON-NEW YEAR

MYANMAR-YANGON-NEW YEAR

(230417) -- YANGON, April 17, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People pour water over a Buddha statue on the first day of the Myanmar calendar New Year in Yangon, Myanmar, April 17, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)

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LAOS-VIENTIANE-SONGKRAN FESTIVAL

LAOS-VIENTIANE-SONGKRAN FESTIVAL

(230415) -- VIENTIANE, April 15, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Local people sprinkle water over a Buddha statue on the occasion of the Songkran festival in Vientiane, Laos, April 14, 2023. The Songkran is a Lao traditional New Year's festival celebrated in multiple ways. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

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Buddhist community in Bangladesh celebrates Maghi Purnima

STORY: Buddhist community in Bangladesh celebrates Maghi Purnima DATELINE: Feb. 6, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:49 LOCATION: Dhaka CATEGORY: CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of Buddhist monks and devotees praying at a temple on the occasion of the Buddhist "Maghi Purnima" festival in Dhaka 2. various of devotees lighting candles at a temple on the occasion of the Buddhist "Maghi Purnima" festival in Dhaka 3. various of Gautama Buddha statue in Buddhist temple in Dhaka 4. various of devotees 5. various of Gautama Buddha statue STORYLINE: Bangladesh's Buddhist community celebrated Maghi Purnima on Sunday. This festival is commemorated on the night of the full moon in the month of Magh, the 10th month in the Bengali calendar during the winter season, through remembering Gautama Buddha and the announcement of his impending death. As one of the biggest religious festivals of the Buddhist community, the festival's daylong celebration started with the lighting of lamps and hoisting of national and religious flags atop

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Buddha face

Buddha face

NARA, Japan - The face of a giant Buddha statue is seen from outside a hall through a window opened for the ''Manto Kuyoe'' rite at Todaiji temple in Nara, western Japan, on Aug. 15, 2010.

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Buddha face

Buddha face

NARA, Japan - The face of a giant Buddha statue is seen from outside a hall through a window opened for the ''Manto Kuyoe'' rite at Todaiji temple in Nara, western Japan, on Aug. 15, 2010.

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Buddha face

Buddha face

NARA, Japan - The face of a giant Buddha statue is seen from outside a hall through a window opened for the ''Manto Kuyoe'' rite at Todaiji temple in Nara, western Japan, on Aug. 15, 2010.

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Head of Buddha statue at Kofukuji in Nara

Head of Buddha statue at Kofukuji in Nara

NARA, Japan, Jan. 7 Kyodo - The head of a Buddha statue (far R) is transferred to the Eastern Golden Hall of Kofukuji, a temple in the western Japan city of Nara, from its National Treasure Hall for the first time in 80 years on Jan. 7, 2017, as the treasure hall is closed for a year for seismic strengthening work. After being created in the Hakuho period from the 7th to 8th centuries, the statue was burned in a fire leaving only its head, a national treasure.

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Head of Buddha statue at Kofukuji in Nara

Head of Buddha statue at Kofukuji in Nara

NARA, Japan, Jan. 7 Kyodo - The head of a Buddha statue is transferred to the Eastern Golden Hall of Kofukuji, a temple in the western Japan city of Nara, from its National Treasure Hall for the first time in 80 years on Jan. 7, 2017., as the treasure hall is closed for a year for seismic strengthening work. After being created in the Hakuho period from the 7th to 8th centuries, the statue was burned in a fire leaving only its head, a national treasure.

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Temple offers reward for clues to stolen Buddha image

Temple offers reward for clues to stolen Buddha image

FUKUOKA, Japan - A statue of Yakushi Nyorai or medicine Buddha is shown in this file photo taken in December 2009. Supporters of Myoryuzan Yakushido, a Buddhist temple in Nakama, Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, announced a decision on Dec. 24, 2014, to pay a cash reward of 2 million yen for key information leading to the discovery of the statue stolen in 2010.

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Great Buddha cleaned

Great Buddha cleaned

NARA, Japan - Buddhist monks clear away dust from the Great Buddha statue on Aug. 7, 2014, in the Daibutsuden Hall at Todaiji Temple in the western Japan city of Nara.

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Great Buddha cleaned

Great Buddha cleaned

NARA, Japan - Buddhist monks clear away dust from the Great Buddha statue on Aug. 7, 2014, in the Daibutsuden Hall at Todaiji Temple in the western Japan city of Nara.

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School kids draw real-size image of Great Buddha statue

School kids draw real-size image of Great Buddha statue

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Minamigaoka Elementary School in Kitakyushu, southwestern Japan, displays a real-size image of the 15-meter-high Great Buddha of Nara drawn by pupils on a canvas made of about 570 sheets of newspaper on July 1, 2014.

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Buddhist treasure repaired

Buddhist treasure repaired

NARA, Japan - The crown for a statue of Fuku Kenjaku Kannon, a form of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, is shown to reporters after repairs in Nara, western Japan, on April 2, 2012. The eighth-century crown with a statue of Buddha attached to it will be exhibited from April 3, 2012, at Todai temple museum in Nara.

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Yokozuna Hakuho in sumo ceremony

Yokozuna Hakuho in sumo ceremony

SASAGURI, Japan - Grand sumo champion Hakuho performs a dedicatory ring entering ceremony in front of a huge bronze statue of a reclining Buddha, 41 meters in length, 11 meters in height and weighing 300 tons, in the town of Sasaguri, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 6, 2011.

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Yokozuna Hakuho in sumo ceremony

Yokozuna Hakuho in sumo ceremony

SASAGURI, Japan - Grand sumo champion Hakuho (3rd from R) poses after performing a dedicatory ring entering ceremony in front of a huge bronze statue of a reclining Buddha, 41 meters in length, 11 meters in height and weighing 300 tons, in the town of Sasaguri, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 6, 2011.

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Nara's Todaiji temple opens museum

Nara's Todaiji temple opens museum

NARA, Japan - Photo shows a Buddha statue in the museum of the Todaiji Buddhist temple in Nara, western Japan on Oct. 10, 2011. The museum opened the same day to exhibit the temple's treasures.

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Nara's Todaiji temple opens museum

Nara's Todaiji temple opens museum

NARA, Japan - Photo shows a Buddha statue in the museum of the Todaiji Buddhist temple in Nara, western Japan on Oct. 10, 2011. The museum opened the same day to exhibit the temple's treasures.

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Rebuilding Buddha image in Afghanistan

Rebuilding Buddha image in Afghanistan

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan - Photo taken on Feb. 28, 2011, shows the damaged 38-meter-tall Buddha statue, which is under reconstruction in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Ten years have passed as of March 2011, since the Taliban destroyed it together with the larger 55-meter-tall Buddha statue.

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Rebuilding Buddha image in Afghanistan

Rebuilding Buddha image in Afghanistan

BAMIYAN, Afghanistan - Photo taken on Feb. 28, 2011, shows the destroyed 55-meter-tall Buddha statue, which is under reconstruction in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Ten years have passed as of March 2011, since the Taliban destroyed it together with another 38-meter-tall Buddha statue.

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Wives of APEC leaders in Kamakura

Wives of APEC leaders in Kamakura

KAMAKURA, Japan - Wives of leaders from the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan's first lady Nobuko Kan (4th from L), pose in front of the iconic Great Buddha statue in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Nov. 13, 2010. The leaders gathered for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit starting the same day in Yokohama in the prefecture. (Pool Photo by Kyodo News)

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Stolen Buddha statue back after 36 yrs

Stolen Buddha statue back after 36 yrs

OSAKA, Japan - Chief priest Keijo Sogahara looks at a recovered Buddha statue at Kogen temple in the village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture, on Sept. 24, 2010. The statue, estimated to have been made between the late 7th century and the first half of the 8th century, was discovered in the catalogue of an auction company in Kyoto 36 years after it was stolen.

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Monks clean massive Buddha statue in Nara

Monks clean massive Buddha statue in Nara

NARA, Japan - A team including monks dusts off a year's worth of dirt from a huge Buddha statue at Todaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture on Aug. 7, 2010.

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