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Prayers and tears mark 20 years since Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people
Voice of America
A woman weeps during a prayer marking 20 years of the massive Indian Ocean tsunami, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2024. People look at photos of the Indian Ocean tsunami during the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the disaster, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Dec. 26, 2024. FILE - Destroyed houses are seen in this aerial view of the town of Meulaboh in Aceh province, Indonesia, which was flattened by tidal waves, Jan. 1, 2005. Relatives of a victim of a 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami participate in its 20th anniversary at Tsunami Memorial Park at Ban Nam Khem, Takuapa district of Phang Nga province, southern Thailand, Dec. 26, 2024. Indians offer tributes in remembrance of victims of the 2004 tsunami on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, at Marina Beach in Chennai, Dec. 26, 2024.
People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia's Aceh province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history's worst natural disasters.
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Dana Shem Tov, sister of Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, reacts as she watches his televised release by Hamas militants at the family home in Tel Aviv on Feb. 22, 2025. A woman mourns at a memorial for deceased hostages Shiri Bibas, her two children, Ariel and Kfir, and Oded Lifshitz at “Hostages Square,” while Israelis gather while waiting for the release of six hostages in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 22, 2025. Omer Wenkert, a hostage held in Gaza since Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, is escorted by Hamas militants as he is released in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, on Feb. 22, 2025.
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A mahout sprays water over elephants during their daily bath in a river, at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala on Feb. 16, 2025 as Sri Lanka's main elephant orphanage marked its 50th anniversary. Tourists take pictures as elephants return to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage after taking their daily bath in a river in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 16, 2025. Elephants stroll across the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 16, 2025.
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A poster shows pictures of the Bibas family, top row from second left: Yarden, Shiri, and their sons Ariel and Kfir, who were kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, in Jerusalem, Feb. 21, 2025. Words above read, '37 members of Kibbutz Nir Oz are still missing.' Palestinian Hamas militants and people gather at the site of the handing over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Feb. 20, 2025.