- 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
- 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
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
- Gauff fights back to reach China Open final
- Recovering Stokes ruled out of first Pakistan Test
- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
Thailand nets 1.3 million kilograms of invasive fish
Thailand has netted more than 1.3 million kilograms of highly destructive blackchin tilapia fish, the government said Tuesday, as it battles to stamp out the invasive species.
Shoals of blackchin tilapia, which can produce up to 500 young at a time, have been found in 19 Thai provinces, damaging ecosystems in rivers, swamps and canals by preying on small fish, shrimp and snail larvae.
As well as the ecological impact, the government is worried about the effect on the kingdom's crucial fish-farming industry.
"From February to August 28, 1,332,000 kilograms of blackchin tilapia were caught -- 590,840 kilograms from natural water sources and 743,550 kilograms from breeding ponds," Nattacha Boonchaiinsawat, the vice-president of a parliamentary committee set up to tackle the spread of the fish, told AFP.
"We talked to local residents and found out that the spread of tilapia has got worse -- they found them in small canals, which was not the case before," he added.
The outbreak of tilapia will cost the Thai economy at least 10 billion baht ($293 million), Nattacha said.
The fish, native to West Africa, were first discovered in Thailand's rivers in 2010 before spreading rapidly in 2018, and are now also found in the US state of Florida and in the Philippines.
In July, the Thai government declared the eradication of the species a national priority.
It remains unclear how the fish arrived in Thailand, but local media reports have said they could have been imported by a company from Ghana in 2010.
A parliamentary investigation is underway to determine the cause of the infestation, Nattacha said.
The Thai government has encouraged locals to catch the fish, offering to pay people 15 baht ($0.42) per kilogram.
It has also designated 75 vending areas around the country where the fish can be sold.
Authorities have released predator species to hunt down the tilapia and are also developing genetically modified blackchin tilapia to produce sterile offspring.
A UN science panel warned last year that the tilapia are spreading faster than ever, wrecking crops, distributing disease and upending ecosystems.
More than 37,000 alien species have taken hold far from their places of origin, costing upwards of $400 billion a year in damages and lost income, the UN panel said.
F.Santana--PC