Tag: Cambodia

  • Cambodia earns new world record for largest ‘Bridal Carry’

    Cambodia earns new world record for largest ‘Bridal Carry’

    Hundreds of Cambodians braved sticky tropical heat to set an unusual new world record: for the most people performing a “bridal carry” at the same time.

    Late on Friday, 245 men hoisted their partners – wives, girlfriends, sisters, or mothers – with one arm under the legs and one behind the back and held the position for a minute to set the mark, certified by Guinness World Records representatives.

    “I am so happy, it is my first time to participate in such an event to break a world record for Cambodia,” Sam Khan, 25, told AFP before carrying his wife.

    The event drew participants young and old.

    “I am so excited,” 50-year-old mother Heng Pov told AFP while being carried by her son.

    After setting the record, many of the participants carried on with the hold as part of a competition to win a new car.

    The “bridal carry” is so named for the way a groom in some cultures carries his bride over the threshold of their new home.

    This article was produced by AFP. For more information go to AFP.com.
    © Agence France-Presse

  • Cambodia warns students of ‘losing dignity’ on Valentine’s Day

    Cambodia warns students of ‘losing dignity’ on Valentine’s Day

    Authorities in Cambodia have issued a stern rebuke to students to avoid “inappropriate activities” this Valentine’s Day, warning them of the perils of “losing dignity”.

    Valentine’s Day has become popular among young people in many Southeast Asian countries in recent years, with bunches of red roses and heart-shaped chocolates popping up in stores and on street stalls in the days leading up to February 14.

    While some might see the annual celebration of love as a bit of harmless fun, the Cambodian government — which has form for issuing dire warnings about the pitfalls of young love and premarital sex — is rattled.

    The education ministry issued a directive to public and private schools late on Tuesday ordering them to “take measures to prevent inappropriate activities on Valentine’s Day”.

    “It is not tradition of our Khmer nationality,” the statement said.

    The ministry also noted that the event had made “a small number of youths… forget about studying and lose the dignity of themselves and their families”.

    The Ministry of Culture called on authorities and parents “to remind children to use the day in line with the beautiful Khmer tradition for the sake of their honour and dignity”.

    And the ministry of Women’s affairs weighed in, saying some people “misunderstand the meaning of February 14”.

    Cambodia’s National AIDS Authority warned that AIDS was still spreading and that some people, particularly youth, used Valentine’s Day to “show love that leads to possible sexual intercourse”.

    Last year, there were 7,600 people living with AIDS in Cambodia, including 1,400 new cases, it said.

    About 42 percent of the new cases are youths aged between 15 and 24, the authority said.

    Social conservatives see Valentine’s Day as a foreign import that represents a moral threat to traditional Buddhist beliefs.

    Cambodian women in particular are under intense social pressure to retain their virginity until marriage.

  • VIDEO: Cher drops trailer of documentary on Kaavan

    VIDEO: Cher drops trailer of documentary on Kaavan

    Kavaan’s journey from being the world’s “the loneliest elephant” to freedom in Cambodia has been captured on camera and will be seen in a documentary by Cher titled Cher and the Loneliest Elephant. It is scheduled to release on Paramount+ on April 22.

    According to details, Cher, through the film will be taking viewers along for “a touching journey about humans, animals, and our connection to all living beings on earth”.

    In Cher and the Loneliest Elephant, the singer travels to Pakistan to rescue Kaavan, an elephant who’s been neglected and living alone for years. The Smithsonian Channel documentary follows Cher as she teams up with animal experts and veterinarians to help transport Kaavan from a shed in Islamabad, where he’s been kept in chains for almost two decades, to a new home in Cambodia.

    “Elephants are just like we are. They’re so family-oriented and so emotional,” says Cher in the trailer.

    Talking about the film, Cher told Entertainment Weekly, “I saw all the people being affected by it all over the world. People want a happy ending. People don’t want to see animals suffer. And I know people are suffering too, but this is a story that can brighten their lives.”

    “I was frightened [to do this], but then I thought, what do you want to do more? You made a promise, and you have to go,” she continued. “I didn’t see any other way to do it. I have a saying on my Twitter, ‘Stand and be counted or sit and be nothing.’ And I wasn’t going to sit and be nothing.”

    The film also features a brand new track by the singer titled Walls to highlight Kavaan’s story.

    https://youtu.be/2NGJwe-rdPk

    Kavaan was first brought to Pakistan in 1985 as a gift from Sri Lanka when he was only a year old. Since then he was living at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad with his partner Saheli, who died in 2012. After Saheli’s death, Kaavan became alone and was dubbed as the world’s loneliest elephant. He suffered from several health issues and was also mentally distressed. In 2016 he caught the attention of Cher, who along with other animal rights activists fought a long legal battle for his release and transfer.

    He was airlifted from Islamabad to Cambodia in a Russian cargo plane in November 2020.

  • Kavaan no longer world’s ‘loneliest elephant’, finds new friends in Cambodia

    Kavaan no longer world’s ‘loneliest elephant’, finds new friends in Cambodia

    Islamabad Zoo’s lone elephant Kavaan arrived in Cambodia on Monday, where he was taken to his new home, a wildlife sanctuary. Cher, who had long campaigned for his release, was on the tarmac at the airport of Cambodia’s second-biggest city Siem Reap to greet Kaavan along with Buddhist monks, who performed rituals on his arrival.

    According to details, Kavaan has already made himself at home in Cambodia and can be seen making new friends and socializing with female elephants.

    “Kavaan is already socialising with neighbours: beautiful female elephants,” shared Press Officer at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia Neth Pheaktra.

    Similarly, animal rescue organisation Four Paws shared a beautiful picture of Kavaan interacting with fellow elephants in the sanctuary.

    Kavaan was first brought to Pakistan in 1985 as a gift from Sri Lanka when he was only a year old. Since then he was living at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad with his partner Saheli, who died in 2012. After Saheli’s death, Kaavan became alone and was dubbed as the world’s loneliest elephant. In 2016 he caught the attention of Cher, who along with other animal rights activists fought a long legal battle for his release and transfer.

    He was airlifted from Islamabad to Cambodia in a Russian cargo plane.

    “Kaavan was eating, was not stressed, he was even a little bit sleeping, standing leaning at the crate wall. He behaves like a frequent flyer,” said Kavaan’s best friend vet Dr Amir Khalil, while sharing details of his flight.

    “The flight was uneventful, which is all you can ask for when you transfer an elephant,” he added.

  • Cher welcomes Kaavan as he arrives in Cambodia

    Cher welcomes Kaavan as he arrives in Cambodia

    Popularly referred to as the world’s loneliest elephant, Islamabad Zoo’s Kavaan arrived in Cambodia by cargo plane on Monday to start a new life with fellow pachyderms at a local sanctuary, the culmination of years of campaigning for his transfer by American singer Cher.

    Kaavan’s enclosure in Cambodia

    According to details, Cher was on the tarmac at the airport of Cambodia’s second-biggest city Siem Reap to greet Kaavan and was photographed in sunglasses, black face mask and white jacket meeting the vets who accompanied the elephant, who made the long journey in a custom-made crate.

    Animal rescue organisation Four Paws said Kaavan had another 90-minute drive ahead and would likely arrive at the sanctuary after nightfall, so he would be released in daylight on Tuesday.

    “Kaavan was eating, was not stressed, he was even a little bit sleeping, standing leaning at the crate wall. He behaves like a frequent flyer,” said Kavaan’s best friend vet Dr Amir Khalil.

    “The flight was uneventful, which is all you can ask for when you transfer an elephant,” he added.

    The organisation also shared a video of Kaavan “up in the air”.

    https://twitter.com/fourpawsint/status/1333356880765267969?s=20

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam also shared pictures of Kaavan’s arrival on social media.

    Cher, who has long campaigned for Kaavan’s release, had spent the last few days with him in Pakistan. The multi-award-winning singer has been with a film crew documenting Kaavan’s story and said she was proud to be part of an effort to free an elephant she said had been shackled to a shed for 17 years.

    Dozens of wildlife workers and experts led by Four Paws used a winch and rope to pull the sedated elephant into the crate before he was loaded onto the Russian-built cargo plane. A 10-member medical team also accompanied the 36-year-old elephant on his journey.

    Cargo plane that carried Kaavan
    https://twitter.com/IsbZooFriends/status/1332995123773403136?s=20

    Kaavan’s handlers took more than 200 kg of food including bananas and melons to keep him busy on his journey.

  • Kaavan to be relocated to Cambodia

    Kaavan to be relocated to Cambodia

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday approved the relocation of Islamabad Zoo’s lone elephant Kaavan to Cambodia. The court had ordered Kaavan’s freedom in May and instructed wildlife officials to find him a “suitable sanctuary”.

    According to AFP, Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said authorities would “ensure that he lives a happy life”. He revealed that a team from Cambodia is coming over to take the 36-year-old elephant with them.

    “We are bidding Kaavan farewell with a heavy heart. It is a sad decision,” he said.

    Amin also shared that he had discussed Kaavan’s plight with Prime Minister Imran Khan and it had been decided that a safari zoo will be built in Islamabad.

    Authorities told the court that an expert committee had recommended he be moved to a 25,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia for retirement.

    Kaavan was kept in chains at Islamabad Zoo and exhibited symptoms of mental illness, prompting global outrage over his treatment and a petition demanding his release that garnered over 400,000 signatures.

    Though zoo officials have denied this and claimed that he was pining for a new mate after his partner died in 2012, Kaavan’s behaviour — including signs of distress such as bobbing his head repeatedly — demonstrated “a kind of mental illness”.

    Activists also said Kaavan was not properly sheltered from Islamabad’s searing summer temperatures, which can rise above 40 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

    Kaavan’s plight drew the attention of Cher, who spent years calling for his freedom.

    She tweeted in May that the court’s decision to order his release was “one of the greatest moments of my life”.

    Read more – Cher thanks PM Khan for ‘making her dream come true’

    Arriving in Pakistan as a one-year-old in 1985 from Sri Lanka, Kaavan was temporarily held in chains in 2002 because zookeepers were concerned about increasingly violent tendencies. He was freed later that year after an outcry but it emerged in 2015 that he was once more being regularly chained for several hours each day.

    The court’s May ruling also ordered dozens of other animals — including brown bears, lions and birds — to be relocated temporarily till the zoo improves its standards.