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Pakistan detained a leading female Baloch rights activist on Saturday for holding a sit-in in southwestern Balochistan at which three protesters were also killed, police said.Mahrang Baloch, one of Pakistan’s most prominent human rights advocates, has long campaigned for the Baloch ethnic group from the southwestern province of Balochistan, which alleges being subjected to extrajudicial harassment, arrests and killings by Islamabad.The Pakistan government says its forces are fighting separatist militants who target state forces and foreign nationals in the mineral-rich province that borders Afghanistan and Iran.”She, along with 17 other protesters, including 10 men and seven women, has been arrested,” a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak to the media.”It is currently being assessed what charges should be filed against them,” he added.The protesters had been holding a sit-in on Friday outside the University of Balochistan, demanding the release of members of their support group, whom they allege had been detained by security agencies.The Baloch Yakjehti Committee, a support group led by Baloch, said she was arrested along with other protesters in a “brutal pre-dawn crackdown by state security forces”.The confrontation left at least three protestors dead a provincial government spokesman said, with both sides blaming each other.- ‘Cease to use force’ -It comes after the province saw a dramatic train siege this month that officials said resulted in around 60 deaths, half of whom were separatists behind the assault.The assault was claimed by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), one of several separatist groups that accuse outsiders of plundering the province’s natural resources.”The authorities must immediately cease to use force against peaceful protestors and release those arbitrarily detained,” demanded the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in a statement.”The use of disproportionate and unlawful kinetic means by the state must cease immediately to pave the way for a purposeful political solution,” it added.Baloch was barred from traveling to the United States last year to attend a TIME magazine awards gala after being named on the 2024 TIME100 Next list of “rising leaders”.She began her activist career at the age of 16 in 2009 when her father went missing in an alleged “enforced disappearance”. His body was found two years later.Protests and advocacy among the Baloch are generally led by women, who say their male counterparts have suffered the worst in a decades-long state crackdown.

Opener Hasan Nawaz struck a record-breaking maiden century Friday as Pakistan crushed New Zealand by nine wickets in the third Twenty20 to keep the series alive.After scoring a duck in each of the two opening games — the first innings’ of his international career – Nawaz rebounded with a stunning 105 not out in Auckland as the tourists raced to 207-1 in response to New Zealand’s 204.The 23-year-old’s ton came off 44 balls, the fastest by any Pakistan player in a T20 international.It ensured his team reached the target with four full overs to spare, in a stark reversal of form after heavy losses in Christchurch and Dunedin.Nawaz put his early failures behind him with a sparkling knock featuring shots all around the wicket, including a series of audacious ramp shots.He admitted he was worried about his selection prospects after two failures and thanked captain Salman Agha and vice-captain Shadab Khan for showing faith in his ability.”The way I got out in the first two matches, I was very disheartened, but the captain and Shadab supported me, told me I am a match-winning player and that helped me,” he said.”I wanted to score my first run in international cricket, that’s what I was thinking. After I scored one run, the pressure was released and I wanted to win the game.”The right-hander peppered the short Eden Park boundaries with 10 fours and seven sixes, bringing up victory with successive fours off Kyle Jamieson in the 16th over.The first of those shots took Nawaz to 100, five balls faster than the previous Pakistan record-holder – Babar Azam against South Africa in 2021.Fellow opener Mohammad Haris scored 41 off 20 while captain Salman Agha was unbeaten on 51 off 31.New Zealand captain Michael Bracewell conceded they had few answers to halt Nawaz.”You’ve got to tip your hat to Nawaz there, the way that he played was unbelievable,” Bracewell said.”It’s pretty tough to defend out here but when a guy plays like that, it’s really tough.”Earlier, New Zealand looked well placed after Mark Chapman hit a rapid 94 before they were dismissed in their final over.Chapman dominated after New Zealand were asked to bat, tallying 11 fours and four sixes from just 44 balls faced.The rest of the home side’s batsmen struggled to get going, aside from Bracewell’s 31.Experienced seamer Haris Rauf bowled Bracewell and finished with Pakistan’s best figures of 3-29.Game four of the five-match series is in Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

A US judge ordered Thursday that an Indian researcher at a top American university not be removed from the country, following his arrest and threat of expulsion for alleged Hamas ties.The detention of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, came as fears mount in the academic world that freedom of research and speech is being challenged two months into US President Donald Trump’s new term.Suri’s lawyer demanded his release and denounced the arrest as a “targeted, retaliatory detention” that was intended “to silence, or at the very least restrict and chill, his speech” as well as that of others who “express support for Palestinian rights.”Early Thursday evening Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles of the Eastern District of Virginia Court ordered Suri “shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the court issues a contrary order.”The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has also filed an emergency motion to stop the deportation, said Suri was being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.”Ripping someone from their home and family, stripping them of their immigration status, and detaining them solely based on political viewpoint is a clear attempt by President Trump to silence dissent,” said ACLU immigrant rights attorney Sophia Gregg. “That is patently unconstitutional.” On Wednesday, the French government condemned the expulsion of a French space scientist meant to attend a conference in Houston, after officials searched his smartphone and found what they called “hateful” messages against US policy.”Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Georgetown University said in a statement.”We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”Neither Secretary of State Marco Rubio “nor any other government official has alleged that Mr Suri has committed any crime or, indeed, broke any law whatsoever,” his lawyer said in the court filing.The filing accused the US government of having detained Suri “based on his family connection and constitutionally protected free speech.”- Fellow arrested -Suri — a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, according to the university website — was arrested Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico, which first reported on the story. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”McLaughlin accused him of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”The State Department decided the researcher was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows for expulsion if the visa holder’s presence in the United States is determined to threaten US foreign policy, she added.Hamas is a US-designated terror organization.Georgetown University said it backs its “community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.”Citing a petition filed by Suri’s lawyer, Politico reported that Suri’s wife is a US citizen of Palestinian descent, and that the couple believes they are being targeted because the government suspects they oppose US policy on Israel.

Taliban authorities on Thursday freed US citizen George Glezmann after more than two years of detention, in a deal brokered by Qatar, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced.The release was announced after the Taliban government’s foreign minister hosted US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and other US officials in the Afghan capital.”Today, after two and a half years of captivity in Afghanistan, Delta Airlines mechanic George Glezmann is on his way to be reunited with his wife, Aleksandra,” Rubio said in a statement.”George’s release is a positive and constructive step.  It is also a reminder that other Americans are still detained in Afghanistan,” he added.Glezmann was en route to Qatar, a source with knowledge of the release told AFP.Ahead of the announcement, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi hosted Boehler, who was accompanied by Washington’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, the ministry said.”Today is a good day,” Khalilzad said on X. The Taliban authorities decided to free Glezmann on “humanitarian grounds” and as a “goodwill gesture”.The prisoner release reflects “Afghanistan’s readiness to genuinely engaging all sides, particularly the United States of America, on the basis of mutual respect and interests”, a foreign ministry statement said.The US delegation was the first from Washington since US President Donald Trump took office in January, foreign ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad told AFP.Contacts between the two sides since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 has usually taken place in third countries.- ‘New chapter’ -Taliban authorities announced late last month the arrest of a Chinese-American woman on February 1 in the province of Bamiyan, a tourist attraction west of Kabul known for its giant Buddhas until they were destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban. Officials have refused to detail the reasons for her arrest. At least one other American, Mahmood Habibi, is detained in Afghanistan.In July, Kabul announced it was in discussions with Washington over a prisoner exchange.The talks took place in Qatar during an international conference that brought together UN representatives, Taliban authorities, and envoys for Afghanistan — generally those based in neighbouring countries or within the region.In January, two Americans detained in Afghanistan — Ryan Corbett and William McKenty — were freed in exchange for an Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism in the United States. Two weeks later, a Canadian former soldier, David Lavery, was released after more than two months held in Afghanistan, in a deal brokered by Qatar.Trump signed a peace deal with the Taliban authorities during his first term in office and, following his re-election, the Kabul government expressed hopes for a “new chapter” with Washington.The government in Kabul is not recognised by any country, but several including Russia, China and Turkey have kept their embassies open in the Afghan capital.Delegations from these countries, both diplomatic and economic, make frequent visits to Kabul. The Taliban government also reports less frequent visits from Western officials, notably British and Norwegian.

An Indian researcher at a top university in the United States with a valid visa has been arrested and is under threat of expulsion, according to his employer and US authorities, who accuse him of ties to Hamas.The arrest of Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown University in the US capital, comes as fears mount in the scientific world that freedom of research is being challenged two months into US President Donald Trump’s new term.On Wednesday, the French government condemned the expulsion of a French space scientist meant to attend a conference in Houston, after officials searched his smartphone and found what they called “hateful” messages against US policy.”Dr Khan Suri is an Indian national who was duly granted a visa to enter the United States to continue his doctoral research on peacebuilding in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Georgetown University said in a statement.”We are not aware of him engaging in any illegal activity, and we have not received a reason for his detention.”Suri — a fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, according to the university website — was arrested Monday at his home in Arlington, Virginia, according to Politico, which first reported on the story. His lawyer told Politico he had demanded his release, but did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that Suri was “a foreign exchange student at Georgetown University actively spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting anti-Semitism on social media.”McLaughlin accused him of having “close connections to a known or suspected terrorist, who is a senior advisor to Hamas.”The State Department decided the researcher was subject to deportation under a provision of immigration law that allows for expulsion if the visa holder’s presence in the United States is determined to threaten US foreign policy, she added.Hamas is a US-designated terror organization.Georgetown University said it backs its “community members’ rights to free and open inquiry, deliberation and debate, even if the underlying ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable.”Citing a petition filed by Suri’s lawyer, Politico reported that Suri’s wife is a US citizen of Palestinian descent, and that the couple believes they are being targeted because the government suspects they oppose US policy on Israel.

Virat Kohli will hope to make it 18th time lucky as he embarks this weekend on his latest quest to finally win the Indian Premier League while a 13-year-old could make tournament history.The high-octane T20 competition sees the 10 teams pack 70 league matches into eight weeks before the top four battle for supremacy in the playoffs, culminating in the May 25 final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.The 36-year-old Kohli, who retired last year from T20 internationals, silenced his critics as India lifted the Champions Trophy this month.But his Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have never won the IPL, the richest competition in cricket, despite reaching the final in 2009, 2011 and 2016.”It’s pretty much come down to just the pure joy, enjoyment, competitive streak and love for the game. And as long as that is there, I will continue to play,” Kohli said this week after speculation about his future.”As of now, everything is fine. I still love playing the game.”Fans believe that Kohli’s shirt number 18 could be a lucky charm: he has been with RCB since the IPL started in 2008 and this year is his — and the IPL’s — 18th season.The batsman scored 219 runs in five Champions Trophy matches at an average of 54.50 to end a lean spell and remains the RCB talisman under a new captain, Rajat Patidar, who has replaced Faf du Plessis.RCB begin their campaign for a maiden IPL crown against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens in the season-opener on Saturday.Boasting overseas experience in Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone, RCB will look to kick on after remarkably reaching the playoffs last season despite losing seven of their first eight matches.Three-time tournament winners Kolkata are led by veteran Ajinkya Rahane, who takes over from Shreyas Iyer.The Punjab Kings, who also have never won the IPL, secured big-hitting Iyer as captain after paying a colossal $3.17 million at auction.Rajasthan Royals, led by wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, travel to Sunrisers Hyderabad for their opening match on Sunday where history could be made.- Explosive teenager-The Royals paid $130,500 at auction for the explosive 13-year-old batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who will become the IPL’s youngest player ever if he takes the field.”Vaibhav looks very confident. He was hitting sixes out of the ground,” Samson told streaming platform JioHotstar after watching a practice session this week.”People were already talking about his power-hitting. It’s all about understanding his strengths, backing him and being there for him like an older brother.”The Royals, mentored this year by former India coach Rahul Dravid, have snapped up England fast bowler Jofra Archer for $1.48 million.Australia skipper Pat Cummins again helms the Sunrisers, who lost in last year’s final to Kolkata, and has a squad that includes fellow Australians Travis Head and Adam Zampa.Joining Cummins in a revamped seam attack are England’s Brydon Carse and Eshan Malinga of Sri Lanka.Lucknow Super Giants splashed a league record $3.21 million for livewire wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and travel to Delhi Capitals for their first match on Monday. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will continue to defy age at 43 to wear the yellow of Chennai Super Kings in their opener against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.Dhoni has led CSK to five IPL crowns but the captaincy has been handed this season to Ruturaj Gaikwad, perhaps signalling that the 2011 World Cup-winning captain may finally call time on his career at the end of the tournament. Five-time champions Mumbai have stuck with Hardik Pandya as captain, despite the all-rounder being jeered by fans when he took over from the popular Rohit Sharma last year and his side finished bottom.Hardik will miss the first game as he serves out a one-match ban for his team’s slow-over rate in the previous IPL.The IPL has generated billions in revenue since its inception in 2008, turning the Board of Control for Cricket in India into one of the richest governing bodies in sport.

An axe-wielding mob chases a terrified group; a daring Pakistani television drama has for the first time tackled the deeply sensitive issue of the dozens murdered for alleged blasphemy.Islam is the official religion in Muslim-majority Pakistan, and accusations of insulting religious sentiments can easily incite mob violence.Blasphemy is an incendiary charge, and the issue is rarely discussed by major media broadcasters due to security concerns.But producer Sultana Siddiqui challenged that with an 11-part television drama, which has earned praise since it began airing in December for handling a taboo topic with sensitivity.”This issue has not been raised before because of fear,” Siddiqui, founder of the Hum Network media company, told AFP.Her drama “Tan Man Neelo Neel”, or “Bruises on Body and Soul”, tells the stories of people in a small Pakistani town, and has generated millions of views and widespread praise on social media.”I took the risk in a careful manner,” she said. “That’s why people appreciated it.”- ‘Malicious disinformation’ -In the drama, the case of blasphemy centres around a character who falsely claims a dance performance takes place in a mosque, rather than the abandoned mansion it happened in.That storyline of false allegations is an echo of reality.Pakistan’s independent Human Rights Commission, in a report last month, described the “impunity for perpetrators of hate and violence”.It detailed cases of people killed, and followers and places of worship of Pakistan’s minority religions, including Christians and Hindus, being attacked over false claims.”Law enforcement… have often failed to rescue blasphemy suspects from vigilante violence,” the commission said.”A careful examination of various blasphemy allegations shows that these are invariably based on fabrications, malicious disinformation and fake news.”Siddiqui said she was motivated by a 2017 case in the city of Mardan when a mob beat 23-year-old journalism student Mashal Khan to death after accusing him of posting blasphemous content online.”I couldn’t sleep after hearing Mashal’s mother say that ‘not a single bone in his body was left unbroken — even his finger bones were fractured’,” she said.”I kept wondering: How brutally must they have beaten him?”Mohammad Iqbal, the murdered student’s father, said that the producer had chosen the “right topic” and had “honoured his son”.”We, those most affected, have rarely spoken about it publicly,” he told AFP.”At last, this conversation is happening on television”.- ‘Raise awareness’ -Siddiqui said she had long wanted to address the issue and had been carefully collaborating with fellow directors and writers to address the subject matter appropriately.”I, too, fear extremists who might not like me and could harm me,” she said.”However, I believe we should address these issues with them in a respectful manner.”Siddiqui said it was her “duty to educate people” and “raise awareness about crucial social issues” that impact society.Pakistani dramas boast a massive viewership and their popularity serves as a powerful vehicle for social change.A Gallup survey conducted in October 2023 suggested that two-fifths of the country watch dramas.”We should have spoken about such issues much earlier,” said Mustafa Afridi, the writer of the show.”If we had, perhaps we wouldn’t be in this situation today, perhaps our children wouldn’t be dying.”- ‘Viral critique’ -Pakistan’s media industry has been wary of the topic — and fallen foul in the past of accusations of creating blasphemous content.The release of the 2019 award-winning film “Zindagi Tamasha”, or “Circus of Life”, was halted after the Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) objected to its portrayal of a cleric they deemed “blasphemous”.In 2020, a music video shot at Lahore’s Wazir Khan mosque sparked furious protests after singer Bilal Saeed was filmed dancing with actor Saba Qamar.Police filed a case against them, and they apologised — and were eventually acquitted two years later.Arafat Mazhar, the director of the Alliance Against Blasphemy Politics group, said Siddiqui’s show had “sparked a viral critique of blasphemy-related mob violence”.He called the reaction “unprecedented”.”It wasn’t just that people were watching a drama about mob violence — it was that the conversation centred on mob violence at such a large scale for the first time,” he told AFP.”The battle against blasphemy violence is not just about speaking out against mob killings. It is about challenging the structures that create and sustain them”.

Seething international tensions over the South China Sea have struck an unlikely victim in Vietnam: popular children’s dolls pulled from shops over a facial mark supposedly resembling Beijing’s claims in the flashpoint waterway.Small and fluffy, with large eyes and rabbit ears, Chinese-made “Baby Three dolls” became a must-have among Vietnamese kids and Generation Z earlier this year and had been flying off shelves across the country.That was until an online backlash began over the “Town rabbit V2” model of the doll — and a marking on its cheek that was said to resemble China’s so-called “nine-dash line”.Beijing has long used the line to justify its claims over most of the resource-rich South China Sea, often to the displeasure of Vietnam, which also claims parts of the waterway.In response to the online outcry, the industry and trade ministry ordered an inspection of toys supposedly displaying the nine-dash line, which it warned were “affecting national security and territorial sovereignty”.Vendors in Hanoi told AFP that most of the offending dolls had been pulled from shelves, but their once-booming business has been shattered, with sales of all models vastly down.Le, who declined to give her full name, said she used to regularly sell 100 Baby Three dolls a day for up to $20 each, but her sales had dwindled to almost nothing, with just a few now flogged at reduced rates. “Almost all children started to boycott (the dolls) because they saw it as a nationalistic issue, thinking that buying Baby Three was unpatriotic,” she said.”I’ve invested so much money into this… it feels like such a waste,” she added.- First ‘Barbie’, now this -According to data cited by state media from YouNet ECI, an e-commerce data analysis platform, the average selling price of Baby Three on Shopee and TikTok Shop plummeted by half in the first 10 weeks of 2025.Vu Tu, 19, told AFP that the toys were “cute and adorable” but the “nine-dash line scandal” had put him off.”In my opinion, toys with the nine-dash line affect Vietnam’s sovereignty and I don’t support them,” he said.The controversy comes as the website of Chagee — a Chinese milk tea brand due to open its first store in Vietnam — was flooded with angry comments and threats of a boycott last week over a nine-dash line map featured on its website. In 2023, “Barbie”, the fantasy comedy film directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was banned from cinemas due to scenes featuring the nine-dash line.And in 2018, Vietnam cut a scene from the romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians” that featured a designer bag with a map of the world showing the disputed South China Sea islands under Beijing’s control.The South China Sea is home to valuable oil and gas deposits and shipping lanes, and several of China’s neighbours have voiced concern that Beijing is seeking to expand its reach.

Young, urban women in Afghanistan are increasingly ditching the all-enveloping blue burqa with a face mesh that has become a symbol of the Taliban’s oppression of women.Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed an ultra-strict vision of Islamic law, modelled on their previous rule from 1996 to 2001.But while women must still have their bodies and faces covered, restrictions from the feared religious police do not specifically mention the burqa.So young women are instead following fashions seen in many Gulf nations.Many prefer a flowing abaya robe, worn with a hijab headscarf and often a face covering as well — sometimes a medical mask, or a Saudi-style cloth niqab veil that exposes only the eyes.”The new generation would never accept wearing a burqa, because of the design and colour,” said 23-year-old Tahmina Adel in the capital Kabul.With social media, “everybody follows the trends”, Adel added, who was forced to quit her economics degree because of the Taliban government’s ban on women’s education.”I prefer wearing an abaya because I am comfortable in that,” she said.Young women in Kabul and the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif said that abayas and headscarves offer more freedom of expression than burqas, with a variation in colour, material and pattern.”Only elders wear a burqa,” said Razia Khaliq, as she embroidered one at a workshop in Mazar-i-Sharif.Khaliq began wearing the billowing head-to-toe burqa aged 13, like her mother and grandmother before her.But her daughter, in her 20s, prefers the abaya.”Young people wear the abaya because it is more comfortable,” Khaliq said.- ‘Stifling’ -The burqa has long roots in Afghanistan.It was strictly enforced during the first Taliban government rule of Afghanistan, when women were lashed for failing to wear one in public.But the abaya and hijab headscarf combination grew in popularity during the time of the foreign-backed government.When the Taliban recaptured Kabul in 2021, they had promised to be more flexible than during their first rule, when women were deprived of almost all their rights.They have gradually erased Afghan women from public space, imposing what the United Nations has called a “gender apartheid”.They outlawed the loose headscarves commonly worn by urban women.Billboards were erected ordering women to once again wear the burqa — or an abaya, headscarf and a face covering.A law in August confirmed restrictions imposed on men and women by the religious police.It stipulates that, while women can go out “in case of necessity”, they must cover up.”Whether a burqa or hijab, there is no difference,” said Saif ul Islam Khyber, spokesman for the morality police, known officially as the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.Nasima, in her 40s, insisted that “showing your face is a sin”.But she admitted to sometimes wearing an abaya and headscarf to free her nose and mouth from the “stifling” burqa.- ‘Very strange’ -Niha, 22, said she was reprimanded for not wearing a burqa in public buildings, which are guarded by the Taliban authority’s security forces.It is common to be asked to readjust the headscarf, or ordered to add a medical mask.”As soon as we enter offices, we are mistreated,” said Niha, who did not give her surname.Hayatullah Rafiqi, a specialist in Pashtun culture, said the burqa was “strictly imposed” under the first Taliban government — when some women were “whipped if they did not wear it” — but that “today it is worn less.”Burqas vary only in colour according to province, from blue to light brown, and green to pink.Gul Mohammad has been selling burqas in Kabul for 40 years, and said many now come from China — made of nylon rather than cotton, making them cheaper and stronger but less breathable.”The Chinese burqa is very cold in winter, and it is like fire in summer,” said Gul. “This makes the women sweat.”For Sabrina, 23, from the Taliban’s spiritual cradle of Kandahar, life under a burqa is fraught with pitfalls.She is regularly lectured if she does not wear it.The first time she wore it was after the Taliban government seized back control in 2021, and it was not her choice.”I couldn’t see my way, I didn’t know if I was going right or left,” she said. “It was very strange.”

A motorbike rider inches slowly over bumpy terrain deep in Cambodia’s Virachey national park, carefully adjusting the basket strapped behind him. Inside is precious cargo — a critically endangered Siamese crocodile.The reptile is one of 10 being released into the park in Cambodia’s northeast for the first time — part of a years-long effort that has brought the Siamese crocodile back from the brink of extinction in the wild.”Often what we see is species are declining, species are disappearing,” said Pablo Sinovas, Cambodia country director for the Fauna & Flora conservation group, which has led the conservation programme.”In this case, we are seeing actually that the species seems to be recovering.”The crocodile, which can grow up to four metres (13 feet) long, is distinguished by dragon-like bony crests behind each eye.Just 25 years ago, experts feared that the Siamese crocodile might no longer exist outside zoos and the crocodile farms that helped decimate its population.But in 2000, a biodiversity survey led by Fauna & Flora uncovered a small number in the remote Cardamom Mountains in southwest Cambodia, kicking off a conservation effort that has given the species a 400-strong foothold in the country.Discoveries and conservation elsewhere mean there are now up to 1,000 Siamese crocodiles in the wild globally, though in just one percent of its former range.Cambodia has been central to that success, said crocodile expert Charlie Manolis, chief scientist at Wildlife Management International in Australia.”There’s an opportunity in Cambodia,” he said, explaining that, unlike neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, there are still “large tracts” of protected land.- ‘Best possible headstart’ -Key to Cambodia’s effort is a programme to help the species — which was once found all over Southeast Asia — breed more successfully.In the wild, fragmented populations might struggle to find a mate, and both eggs and juvenile offspring are vulnerable to predators. For every 50 or so born in the wild, perhaps as few as three survive, said Joe Rose, captive breeding officer at the Phnom Tamao facility outside Phnom Penh.”Breeding within a facility like this, we can ensure a 100 percent survival rate from hatchlings… and healthy young crocodiles to take out and release, to give them the best possible headstart”, Rose said.There are around 200 crocodiles at the facility at any one time, including 50 breeding adults, who produced nearly 200 eggs last year.Eggs are taken into incubators, and hatchlings are raised in enclosures with progressive exposure to the fish and frogs they will one day catch in the wild.After several years, they are ready for release.Until now, that has meant heading to the Cardamom Mountains, where last year 60 crocodiles were recorded hatching in the wild — the highest number in a century.The growing population holds promise not just for the species but for its broader environment too.Crocodiles are top predators which regulate their ecosystems, and there is evidence that fish diversity is higher in the rivers they inhabit.The conservation effort’s growing success has bred a need for new habitats, a challenge given that crocodiles need space, prey and enough distance away from humans to minimise conflict.Virachey’s rugged, remote terrain makes it ideal, with relatively untouched plant and animal life, and few residents.”It’s essentially protected mostly by the remoteness,” said Sinovas.- Ultrasound ‘pings’ -Releasing the crocodiles into a new environment is still risky.They could face predators or struggle to feed themselves — and tracking their progress can be difficult and expensive.”Often reintroduction programmes with crocodilians, you sort of hurl them all out there, and then everybody sort of walks away and hopes that they live and grow,” said Manolis.But Fauna & Flora will keep tabs using acoustic monitors, inspired by lessons from Australian crocodile conservation efforts.In Phnom Tamao, each of the 10 crocodiles is fitted with a thimble-sized transmitter, placed beneath their dappled scaly skin.These send ultrasound “pings” every time the creatures pass receivers placed along a 10-kilometre stretch of their new river home in Virachey.The data will be recorded for several months and then collected and analysed for clues on the programme’s success.Reaching their new home was no easy task for the reptiles.First, there was 18 hours of travel in cylindrical bamboo baskets transported by car, motorbike and boat. Next, they acclimatised in a temporary enclosure.Receivers were installed and checked, and then it was time.Electrical tape that had been wound around their snouts to prevent snapping was peeled away, and each creature was gradually lowered into the water.They quickly splashed away, carrying great hopes on their scaly shoulders.Conservationists credit part of their success to cooperation with local communities, who have protected crocodiles in the Cardamoms and helped document new hatchlings.For Chroub Srak Er, a resident and ranger at Virachey, the reptiles offer hope.”These crocodiles disappeared a long time ago,” he said. “We are so happy, we will preserve them together.”