- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
Thai fishing crews fear five-year recovery after oil spill
The nightly armada of bobbing green lights from squid boats has all but disappeared near the site of an oil spill in the Gulf of Thailand, as devastated local crews brace for lost income and damaged fish stocks.
The Thai navy is scrambling to clean up Tuesday night's spill from a pipeline that leaked at least 60 tonnes of crude oil 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the coast of Rayong province.
Authorities have declared Mae Ram Phueng Beach a disaster zone and closed it to swimmers as crews in yellow plastic protective suits begin the clean-up.
Rayong resorts and seafood restaurants say the spill is a "nail in the coffin" for their businesses after the tourism industry's continued pandemic downturn.
For long-time fishermen who have been asked to halt their catches for at least a month in exchange for emergency payments, there is a feeling of deja vu.
They recall the long road to environmental and economic recovery after another pipeline leak in the same area in 2013.
Initial compensation for that accident was around $900, but fisherman Tuem 46, says it is no substitute for regular work.
"I don't want compensation. I want a healthy sea that I can work in for my livelihood," he told AFP.
"The sea can give us money every day. The sea was good in the past few years. I do not know how many years before it becomes good again."
- Five-year recovery -
Tuem usually makes around $30 a day from a 7-10 kilogram (15-22 pound) haul but he says now he will struggle to cover the cost of petrol to retrieve his fishing nets.
"The impact is immediate and clear. I do not know what to do," he said.
AFP joined a group of fisherman on a boat trip Sunday -- their fishing haul amounted to about 10 percent of their usual catch and many fish were dead.
Burapha University marine scientist Thanomsak Boonphakdee, who was taking water samples at the beach over the weekend, says it will take a long time to fully assess environmental damage from the disaster.
The marine life took at least five years to recover from the 2013 incident, he said.
"Crabs, small fish and shrimp are the (creatures) that will be affected most," he told AFP.
A dozen ships are spraying dispersant chemicals and so far more than 80,000 litres (21,000 US gallons) has been doused over the affected area.
Star Petroleum Refining Public Company Limited, the operator of the pipeline and whose major shareholder is US giant Chevron, said it was trying to minimise the slick's ecological impact using booms.
But satellite imagery shows the slick had already spread to an area of 51 square kilometres (20 square miles) on Sunday, local media reported.
There are also fears a national park on the island of Ko Samet will be affected and Thai authorities Sunday deployed absorbent material to Ao Prao beach as a precaution.
- Transparency calls -
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa urged oil companies in Thailand to ramp up prevention measures and boost inspections and maintenance programs on land and sea.
"I do not want this kind of accident to happen again. The expense of spending money to solve a major disaster after it happened, can not compare with companies increasing the inspections," he told reporters in Rayong.
Greenpeace, which has called on the Thai government to set up an independent investigation into the spill, said incidents are becoming far too common.
Between 1974 and present day there have been 240 oil spill incidents in Thailand, the environmental group said.
"The oil spill will affect marine life and could be fatal for fish, shrimps, shellfish," Greenpeace warned.
Another fisherwoman, Nid, 62, lamented it was heartbreaking to see another disaster after seeing the area's recovery in recent years.
"We are just small insects who have no voice to be heard," she told AFP.
M.Thompson--AMWN