
After Assad's fall, Syria's Kurds are left in limbo, feeling abandoned by the U.S.
Syria's Kurds face uncertainty and abandonment by the U.S. post-Assad.

Nepal has celebrated the return of a 13th-century Buddha statue stolen from a temple, reinstalling it in Kathmandu during a ceremony attended by a U.S. envoy. The event coincided with the Buddha Jayanti festival, marking a significant cultural restoration.
Mentioned in this story
A centuries-old Buddha statue stolen from a Nepali temple has been reinstalled in its original location, one of several artefacts returned from foreign museums and collectors in recent years.
The statue, dating to the 13th century, was carried in a palanquin back to its pagoda-style temple in the capital, Kathmandu, to the sound of traditional music on Friday.
“I feel so happy, we all do. Our god is coming back,” temple-goer Sunkesari Shakya, 67, told the AFP news agency, recalling the day the statue was stolen, wreaking “havoc” in the community.
In a ceremony attended by a visiting United States envoy, the statue, which returned from New York in 2022, was placed back on its original stone plinth. The event coincided with the festival of Buddha Jayanti, marking the birth of the founder of Buddhism.

Devotees carry a sculpture of the Buddha to be reinstalled at a temple in Kathmandu [Prakash Mathema/AFP]
A replica that locals had been worshipping instead was moved to another area of the temple.
The statue was taken from the temple in the 1980s and later emerged at Tibet House US, a cultural centre in New York, where it was gifted by an unknown monk, according to Nepal’s Department of Archaeology.
Sergio Gor, Washington’s special envoy to South and Central Asia, told AFP, “One of the things we are focusing on is to be able to bring back some of these incredible artefacts that decades past got into the wrong hands.”
“We are trying to right a wrong from the past,” said Gor, who was on a three-day visit to Nepal.

Devotees carry a sculpture of the Buddha to be reinstalled at a temple in Kathmandu [Prakash Mathema/AFP]
Many in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people are deeply religious, and the country’s Hindu and Buddhist temples, as well as heritage sites, are an integral part of everyday life.
But many sites are bereft of centuries-old sculptures, paintings, ornamental windows and even doors, which were often stolen after the country opened up to the outside world in the 1950s.
The statue's return symbolizes cultural restoration and healing for the community affected by its theft.
The statue was stolen years ago and returned to Nepal in 2022.
The reinstallation coincided with the Buddha Jayanti festival, which celebrates the birth of the founder of Buddhism.

Syria's Kurds face uncertainty and abandonment by the U.S. post-Assad.

2026 Senate races: Key contests that could flip seats to Democrats

Bryson DeChambeau denies rumors of leaving LIV Golf for PGA Tour.

Spirit Airlines has canceled all flights and is winding down operations due to a fuel crisis after a bailout failed.

Germany's defense minister, Boris Pistorius, stated that the US troop withdrawal from Europe was foreseeable. President Trump announced plans to pull 5,000 troops from Germany amid tensions with Chancellor Friedrich Merz over comments on Iran.

In Nantes, a new memorial highlights France's enslavement history as pressure mounts for reparatory justice from Macron.
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.
Many pieces were taken with the help of corrupt officials to feed art markets in the US, Europe and elsewhere, although their export remains illegal.
About 200 artefacts have been returned to Nepal, according to the Archaeology Department, including wood and stone carvings, paintings, scriptures and idols of gods and goddesses. At least 41 artefacts have been placed back in their original locations.
“This is very important. Our statues are not just objects of art but part of a living heritage,” conservation expert Rabindra Puri told AFP.
Puri said there was growing momentum to return stolen artefacts. More than 400 are officially listed as missing, but experts estimate the actual number to be in the thousands.
Authorities are specifically seeking to return more artefacts from the US, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.