It was the first Buddha ever found to the west of Afghanistan. The statue ... founded in the third century BCE and became one of the largest ports in Egypt under Roman rule.

One Buddha, measuring 53 metres, is said to be the world’s largest statue of a standing ... The Taliban rules about 95 per cent of Afghanistan. Switzerland has followed America's lead so far.

Two German-speaking Swiss men, Paul Bucherer-Dietschi and Bernard Weber, have established a consortium which plans to rebuild one of two obliterated Buddha statues in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley.