British investigative journalist banned from Cambodia

The Cambodian government has banned a British journalist from entering the country in a move press groups condemned as an attack on independent media.

Gerald Flynn, 33, who writes for Mongabay, was stopped from entering Cambodia at the Siem Reap International Airport on 5 January, the publication said.

The journalist was returning from a holiday in Thailand when he was denied entry and forced on a plane back to Bangkok.

Immigration officials told Mr Flynn that he was permanently banned from Cambodia due to an “error on a document submitted as part of his last visa extension application”, Mongabay said, adding that he held a valid work permit as well as a 12-month extension to his multiple-entry business visa issued on 6 February 2024.

The journalist was also shown immigration documents indicating that he had been added to Cambodia’s blacklist on 25 November. Mr Flynn was blacklisted days after a France24 documentary critical of the Cambodian carbon offsetting efforts was aired in which he was interviewed.

The country’s environment ministry and the project proponent Wildlife Alliance dismissed the documentary and accused the French broadcaster without evidence of “using old images” to mislead the public, according to the publication.

The immigration office reportedly claimed Mr Flynn had applied for a visa to work as an electrician despite having worked as a journalist for more than five years in Cambodia.

“Sad to confirm that I was denied re-entry to Cambodia on Jan 5 and, a month later, it’s no clearer as to whether I can return, but it does seem to be retaliation for my journalistic work,” Mr Flynn wrote on X.

Mr Flynn, who had been working in Cambodia since 2019, told the Guardian the situation for the media had deteriorated in the last five years. “We’ve seen more arrests, more lawsuits, more harassment, both physical and online. We’ve even had journalists killed,” he said.

“The government’s intolerance towards anything that they deem critical has made it very risky for all journalists in Cambodia to continue operating.”

Human Rights Watch said the ban on Mr Flynn was a “blatant attack” on journalism and served as another example of the Cambodian government’s “intolerance of critical and investigative journalism”.

Media watchdog RSF joined press groups in condemning the incident. Mr Flynn was targeted in retaliation for his reporting on environmental issues, Cédric Alviani, director of the Paris-based group, said.

The media watchdog ranked Cambodia 151st out of 180 countries on its latest international press freedom index.

Press freedom is routinely curtailed in Cambodia through arbitrary arrests of journalists and environmental activists.

Journalist Chhoeung Chheng was shot dead by an assailant last December while reporting on the transport of alleged illegally cut timber in the Boeung Per Wildlife Sanctuary.

In November, six prominent environmental activists were detained for three days and questioned while investigating an illicit timber trafficking network in Stung Treng province that Mr Flynn had reported on for Mongabay, Human Rights Watch said.

Another Cambodian journalist, Mech Dara, was accused of disseminating fake news and detained on charges of incitement.

Baby elephant miraculously recovers after tragic train accident

A baby elephant hit by a speeding train in northern India has completed her one year of recovery, showing miraculous results.

Named Bani, the nine-month-old elephant was hit by a speeding train in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. The elephant was thrown off the tracks, and landed with grievous injuries in an adjacent field.

The elephant was paralysed and brought in for treatment at India’s first elephant hospital in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

After being provided with critical care by veterinarians, Bani has shown remarkable recovery and just celebrated her one-year anniversary since her rescue, according to her caregivers.

Struck with spastic paraparesis or limited mobility in the back or hind limbs, Bani was unable to move for months. Her recovery journey was being closely followed by many in India as her caregivers continued sharing her videos.

The veterinary team experimented with many treatment methods including ayurveda, hydrotherapy and even acupuncture, to help Bani recover.

Following several weeks of oil massages and visits to the hydrotherapy pool, Bani was finally able to stand up in February 2024.

When she started walking, her videos of playing with water and grabbing a snack were widely shared.

She has now progressed to be able to walk short distances and explore the greenery around her.

“It is both heartwarming and emotional to witness Bani marking her first rescue anniversary with us,” said Debbie Haynes, Manager of UK Wildlife SOS, said. The organisation is engaged in Bani’s recovery efforts.

“A year ago, she arrived as a severely injured calf, her condition critical. However, our team left no stone unturned and ensured that she received the care needed to regain her strength and take confident steps once again.”

However, Bani has an abnormal gait that limits the distances she is able to walk. She is also currently wearing shoes on her hind legs to protect her feet.

There are several caregivers attending to the 2-year-old pachyderm to keep the lively and spirited calf engaged, with sufficient nutrition, care and attention. The caregivers created a mud hole for Bani where she likes to play, as mud baths are one of her favourite activities.

“We have prepared several structural enrichments for Bani, so that her muscles are constantly engaged and there’s no obstruction in her movement,” Dr Ilayaraja S, deputy director of veterinary services at Wildlife SOS said. “We tried all sorts of attempts to accelerate her healing, including getting an acupuncture specialist and performing the first ever acupuncture treatment known in India, on an elephant.”

“Bani shares a special bond with her keeper and the Wildlife SOS staff, finding comfort in their care and companionship,” Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said.

“Her strength has become an inspiration to all our resident elephants. It’s just the beginning of the celebration, and the entire centre is filled with joy as we honour her journey and spirit.”

India is home to the largest number of Asiatic elephants, about 60 per cent of the total population. Official records suggest nearly 200 elephants were killed in train collisions between 2010 and 2020, an average of 20 a year.

The Indian government is exploring ways to reduce such accidents, including introducing an AI-powered system in Tamil Nadu to detect and locate moving elephants up to five metres away.

The Aga Khan: Spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims dies

Aga Khan, who became the spiritual leader of the world’s millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergraduate and poured a material empire built on billions of dollars in tithes into building homes, hospitals and schools in developing countries, has died. He was 88.

His Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced that Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died Tuesday in Portugal surrounded by his family.

Considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was a student when his grandfather passed over his playboy father as his successor to lead the diaspora of Shia Ismaili Muslims, saying his followers should be led by a young man “who has been brought up in the midst of the new age.”

His successor was designated in his will, which will be read out in the presence of his family and senior religious leaders in Lisbon before the name is made public. The successor is chosen from among his male progeny or other relatives, according to the Ismaili community’s website.

Over decades, Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly and mixing them with ease.

Treated as a head of state, Aga Khan was given the title of “His Highness” by Queen Elizabeth II in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the family’s 1,300-year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect.

He became Aga Khan IV on 19 October 1957, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the spot where his grandfather once had his weight equaled in diamonds in gifts from his followers.

He had left Harvard to be at his ailing grandfather’s side, and returned to school 18 months later with an entourage and a deep sense of responsibility.

“I was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be,” he said in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine. “I don’t think anyone in my situation would have been prepared.”

A defender of Islamic culture and values, he was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West despite — or perhaps because of — his reticence to become involved in politics.

The Aga Khan Development Network, his main philanthropic organization, deals mainly with issues of health care, housing, education and rural economic development. It says it works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of about $1bn for nonprofit development activities.

A network of hospitals bearing his name are scattered in places where health care had lacked for the poorest, including Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, where he spent tens of millions of dollars for development of local economies.

His eye for building and design led him to establish an architecture prize, and programs for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard. He restored ancient Islamic structures throughout the world.

Accounts differ as to the date and place of Prince Karim Aga Khan’s birth. According to “Who’s Who in France,” he was born on 13 December 1936, in Creux-de-Genthod, near Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller and Aly Khan.

The extent of Aga Khan’s financial empire is hard to measure. Some reports estimated his personal wealth to be in the billions.

The Ismailis — a sect originally centered in India but which expanded to large communities in east Africa, Central and South Asia and the Middle East — consider it a duty to tithe up to 10 per cent of their income to him as steward.

“We have no notion of the accumulation of wealth being evil,” he told Vanity Fair in 2012. “The Islamic ethic is that if God has given you the capacity or good fortune to be a privileged individual in society, you have a moral responsibility to society.”

He is survived by three sons and a daughter. Aga Khan will be buried in Lisbon.

Philippine lawmakers vote to impeach vice president Sara Duterte

The Philippines parliament voted on Wednesday to impeach the country’s vice president.

Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is facing at least four impeachment complaints. Three complaints filed in December allege that she misused millions of pesos in confidential funds and attempted a cover up when asked to explain the spending. The new complaint from Wednesday accuses her of violating the constitution, betraying public trust, corruption, and other high crimes.

A majority of 215 lawmakers voted in support of the impeachment motion, House of Representatives secretary general Reginald Velasco said.

“The motion is approved,” speaker Martin Romualdez said.

Ms Duterte has not responded to the parliamentary action.

She has previously denied wrongdoing and described the moves against her as a political vendetta.

The motion will go to the Senate, which will try the vice president. The proceedings could result in Ms Duterte’s removal and lifetime disqualification from holding office.

A trial date for the impeachment has not been finalised yet.

Seen as a candidate to succeed president Ferdinand Marcos Jr after his term expires in 2028, Ms Duterte is facing multiple political challenges, including an investigation for issuing a death threat against the president last year. She has claimed that she wasn’t threatening the leader, only expressing concern for her own safety.

Ms Duterte has been engaged in a months-long battle with Mr Marcos Jr and his allies after falling out with the president.

Mr Marcos Jr had urged the parliament to not pursue the vice president’s impeachment, calling it a “storm in a teacup” that would distract the legislature from its main responsibilities.

His executive secretary Lucas Bersamin, however, said on Monday the presidential office will “not interfere” with the impeachment complaints.

Potent cannabis linked to surging schizophrenia cases

Overuse of high-potency cannabis could be linked to a sharp increase in schizophrenia cases in Canada, according to a new study that calls for a review of the drug’s long-term effects.

The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that the number of new schizophrenia cases linked to cannabis use disorder, CUD, has more than doubled in Ontario, rising from 4 per cent to 10 per cent after the legalisation of the drug.

Researchers assessed whether the liberalisation of medical cannabis in 2015 and the legalisation of non-medical cannabis in 2018 influenced the link between CUD and new schizophrenia diagnoses.

Schizophrenia is a condition that affects how a person interprets reality, manifesting in patients as a combination of hallucinations, delusions and disordered thinking.

Previous studies have suggested cannabis abuse may aggravate already decreasing nerve connectivity in young adults at risk of psychosis, which could then progress to schizophrenia.

The new study adds to this finding, establishing another link between cannabis legalisation and the rise in schizophrenia cases in Canada.

“We found that there have been concerning increases over time in the percentage of people with a new schizophrenia diagnosis who had received care for a cannabis use disorder before their diagnosis,” study co-author Daniel Myran, an associate scientist at The Ottawa Hospital, said.

“Regular cannabis use is strongly associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia, and one of the main areas of uncertainty surrounding cannabis legalisation is whether there would be changes in the number of new cases of schizophrenia.”

The study analysed the health data of all Ontario residents aged 14 to 65 years eligible for universal health care, over 13.5 million people, from three policy periods between 2006 and 2022 – before legalisation, after liberalisation of medical cannabis, and after legalisation of non-medical cannabis.

It found that at least 118,650 individuals, or about 1 per cent of the population of Ontario, had an emergency department visit or hospitalisation for CUD. About 10 per cent of individuals with CUD developed schizophrenia during the study period compared to 0.6 per cent of individuals without CUD.

The link between CUD and schizophrenia may be “particularly elevated” among younger males, in whom about 20 per cent of incident schizophrenia cases were associated with CUD by the end of the study, researchers said.

“Our study highlights the growing public health challenge posed by the combination of increasingly high-potency cannabis and rising regular cannabis use,” said Dr Myran.

The study does not imply that cannabis use directly causes schizophrenia, but researchers caution that heavy cannabis use can worsen symptoms and the prognosis for those living with the psychiatric condition.

“The tripling of schizophrenia cases associated with a cannabis use disorder over the past 17 years and rising cases of psychosis underscores the urgent need for targeted prevention strategies, particularly for younger populations who appear to be at the greatest risk,” Dr Myran said.

Taliban minister who opposed girls’ education ban ‘flees’ Afghanistan

A senior Taliban minister, who publicly condemned the group’s ban on education of girls and women, has reportedly fled Afghanistan amid fears of arrest.

Sher Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban’s political deputy at the foreign ministry, had called on other leaders to open schools for girls and women in January and said the edict forbidding them from schools was not in line with Sharia law as the hardline rulers claimed.

“There is no excuse for this – not now and not in the future,” Mr Stanikzai, a political studies and military school graduate, had said. “We are being unjust to 20 million people,” referring to nearly half of the Afghanistan population of girls and women.

His public remarks, made at a graduation ceremony in Khost province, were the first such against the Taliban’s education diktat and confirmed a rare sign of internal divisions around one of the flagship policies of Afghanistan’s de facto rulers.

For more than three years, the Taliban have imposed a strict nationwide ban on female education, preventing girls and women from attending school beyond the sixth grade despite international isolation.

Shortly after the speech, the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada reportedly ordered Mr Stanikzai’s arrest and issued a travel ban against him, prohibiting him from stepping back in Afghanistan.

However, the Taliban leader had left for the United Arab Emirates before he could have been held, reported the news channel Afghanistan International.

Mr Stanikzai also confirmed to the local media last week that he had left for Dubai but for health reasons.

This is not the first time the senior Taliban leader, viewed as moderate within the Taliban ranks, called for restoring the education of Afghan girls and women.

In September 2022, a year after the Taliban took control of Kabul, Mr Stanikzai had said that no one has a religious reason which can justify depriving girls of education, calling schools and colleges obligatory for both genders.

His escape to a neighbour ally comes amid reports of a growing rift inside the two factions of the Taliban leadership, with power centres situated in Kabul and Kandahar, from where the Taliban’s supreme leader assumes the powerful seat and rules without making any public appearance.

There is debate about the education ban inside Taliban leadership, according to the US’s Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), an autonomous body overseeing the reconstruction of the war-battered nation.

Last week, the Taliban’s deputy minister of interior Mohammad Nabi Omari was seen breaking down and reduced to tears in a public gathering in the same province of Khost as he spoke about the group’s strict ban on education affecting girls and women.

The video of the minister’s emotional outburst, during a ceremony at a school in the province, has been circulated widely on social media.

“All I know is that even if [girls’ education] is not a religious obligation or tradition, it is at least permissible,” he said as he covered his face and broke down.

“May God guide us. Religious studies are allowed, so modern sciences should also be permitted,” the deputy minister said, reported Afghanistan International.

Salman Rushdie’s stabbing trial begins with precarious jury selection

The trial of Hadi Matar, the man who attacked Salman Rushdie in 2022, is set to begin, with a tricky jury selection underway.

The India-born British-American author, 77, narrowly avoided death but lost sight in his right eye after he was stabbed on stage during a public lecture on free speech at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state in August 2022.

“There are many blows, to my neck, to my chest, to my eye, everywhere,” Rushdie wrote in his memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, describing the attack. “I feel my legs give way, and I fall.”

Henry Reese, who was moderating the Chautauqua Institution event, was also injured in the attack.

Matar, 27, has pled not guilty to charges of second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.

Matar, who was born in the US but has dual Lebanese citizenship, told The New York Post in a 2022 interview from the Chautauqua County Jail that he did not think Rushdie was “a very good person”, adding that he believed the author was “someone who attacked Islam, he attacked their beliefs, the belief systems”.

Matar admitted he had not read much of Rushdie’s writing. He had only read “a couple pages” of his controversial work The Satanic Verses.

Rushdie has lived under the threat of violence since 1988 when The Satanic Verses was published and drew protests from many Muslims around the world who considered it blasphemous for its alleged depiction of Prophet Muhammad. Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, a religious decree, the following year, calling for Rushdie’s death, forcing the writer to live in hiding.

The Iranian government announced in 1998 that it no longer supported the fatwa, allowing Rushdie to lead a more public life.

Matar’s trial has been delayed twice, most recently after his attorney Nathaniel Barone argued his client would not get a fair trial in Chautauqua due to the publicity the attack received and the lack of an ethnically diverse community in the area.

The request was denied and Matar’s trial is set to proceed in the New York county where the stabbing took place.

However, given how the screening for jury selection has begun, it appears that selecting the 12 requisite jurors and four alternates could take time, even up to two weeks.

Questioning by presiding judge David Foley revealed that almost all of the 27 prospective jurors were aware of the details of the attack from media reports and social media, and several said they had opinions that were not likely to change based on information they would receive during the trial.

Most said they could remain impartial, and all claimed to have no anti-Muslim or anti-Mideast bias, reported The Washington Post.

“The thing that can complicate cases, especially this type of case, is when you have an alleged victim with the notoriety Rushdie has,” Barone said in an interview. “It’s not a diverse jury pool in Chautauqua County.”

Five jurors were selected on Tuesday and the selection will continue on Wednesday.

Once jury selection is complete, Rushdie is due to be one of the first witnesses to testify at the trial as is his son Zafar and Reese.

“My preference is he would be the very first in the order, the very first day, we get him in and out,” Chautauqua county district attorney Jason Schmidt said, adding that Rushdie had been engaged during witness preparation sessions.

“He’s been very cooperative. One way or the other, he’s committed to seeing this through to the end,” he said.

Matar has rejected a plea deal which would have required him to plead guilty to attempted murder in exchange for a 20-year prison sentence.

However, this would have required Matar to also plead guilty to a federal charge of attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah in Lebanon, designated a terrorist organisation by the US, which could give him an additional 20 years. He will face these charges at a later trial.

Japan’s first bunk-bed bus allows tourists to skip the hotel

Japan has launched a sleeper bus with fully flat seats that could help concertgoers and tourists avoid having to pay for a hotel.

Bus operator Kochi Ekimae Kanko has unveiled their new double-decker bus, a service they’re calling a “mobile capsule hotel”, which comes with specially fitted seats that recline completely to turn into flat bunk beds.

Named “Sommeil Profond”, or “deep sleep” in French, the bus is set to begin a trial weekly service between Tokyo and southern Japan’s Kochi prefecture from 4 March.

The bus will come with 12 bunk beds, which will therefore seat 24 passengers, and be priced at ¥7,300 (approximately £37) for the duration of the trial period, following which it will cost ¥14,000 (£72.55), according to Nikkei Asia.

“Many people think of overnight buses as cheap but uncomfortable,” Kochi Ekimae Kanko president Akitoshi Umebara said. “I want to give them the option of lie-flat seats and turn buses into the transportation option of choice.”

The sleeper bus will allow tourists to arrive fully rested, attend their event, and return home without needing to book a hotel, according to the South China Morning Post.

Costs of hotels in Japan have been rising, as Japan has been grappling with record numbers of tourists in a post-pandemic world. According to official figures released last month, Japan welcomed 36 million tourists in 2024, and popular tourist destinations like Kyoto and Hokkaido have raised accommodation or bathing taxes in an attempt to curb over-tourism.

Tourists have resorted to taking overnight buses instead of booking a hotel, with Tokyo-based bus operator Willer Express noting that the average occupancy rate of express buses went up 5 per cent to 86 per cent in 2024, according to Nikkei Asia.

A survey conducted by the company in October also showed that over 60 per cent respondents said they took overnight buses since accommodations were too expensive.

With this in mind, the operator is expecting a majority of their demand to come from tourists bound for Tokyo to attend concerts and similar pop culture-based events, who can not only avoid having to pay for a hotel but also get a proper night’s sleep.

In November 2024, the Japanese ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism established a set of safety guidelines for operators, specifying mandatory design elements like plates that can secure passengers from sliding off their sleeping area and ensuring that passengers always wear their seat belts.

It is still unclear if passengers will be able to sit up once the seats are converted into flat beds or get in and out of their bunks while the bus is in motion.

According to the operator’s website, passengers can start making bookings for the Sommeil Profond bus from Friday.