World
Nigerian Islamists extend killing spree in northeast

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community
PHUKET: Suspected Nigerian Islamist militants killed 17 people in a remote northeastern village on Tuesday night, hours after a bomb killed 118 people in the central city of Jos, police said on Wednesday.
Militants opened fire on Alagarno village and razed several houses to the ground, a source at police headquarters told Reuters. The attack was barely 30 km (20 miles) from Chibok, where Boko Haram Islamists abducted more than 200 schoolgirls last month.
Separately, police said men on motorbikes had killed nine people in a raid on the nearby village of Shawa on Monday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either assault, but Boko Haram has either claimed or been blamed for scores of similar attacks in that part of Borno state, near the hilly border with Cameroon.
In the past two months, the group has redoubled its five-year-old violent campaign to carve an Islamic state out of religiously-mixed Nigeria.
Bomb attacks are growing more frequent and sophisticated, including two on the capital last month, and massacres of helpless villagers are an almost daily occurrence.
The Jos attack, if it was Boko Haram, showed how the group was spreading outwards from the northeast. Though it was not the first attack in Jos, it was by far the deadliest.
POWERLESS
And the kidnapping of the schoolgirls highlighted just how powerless the security forces of Africa’s biggest economy and leading oil producer are to protect civilians from Boko Haram.
Two bombs on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja, last month killed 90 people between them, and on Sunday five people died in an attack in the north’s main city, Kano.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who has been criticised for his administration’s slow response to the schoolgirl hostage crisis, announced new measures to tackle the insurgents on Tuesday.
These included a multinational force around Lake Chad, comprising a battalion each from Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Nigeria.
But security sources say the army is ill equipped and sometimes poorly trained, while the insurrection it faces is well armed, and inspired by Islamist ideology.
“Currently, budgetary allocation for the military is inadequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and also cater for the welfare of the Nigerian Army,” Major General Abdullahi Muraina, the Army’s Chief of Accounts and Budget, said on Wednesday.
Nigeria allocates nearly a third of its federal budget, around 1 trillion naira ($6.16 billion), to security. But much is soaked up by salaries and allowances. Corruption also diverts funds away from the front line, security experts say.
RESIDENTS IN SHOCK
Residents of Jos were still in shock after the worst bombing to strike their city.
Police and emergency services visited the scene of the Terminus commercial area on Wednesday, a blood-flecked rubble field of levelled shops, burned out cars and destroyed goods.
“One of the buildings collapsed. I’m certain there are more dead people under there – many,” said Uche Matthew, whose shop was obliterated in the blast.
Jos is in the heart of Nigeria’s volatile “Middle Belt”, where its largely Christian south meets the mostly Muslim north, and the city and the surrounding Plateau state are often a flashpoint for violence.
“There is tension everywhere in the town and the roads are completely deserted because people are afraid of reprisal attacks,” said Bosan Yakusak, a student at Jos University.
He said that on Tuesday night some youths in Kara Biu, a mostly Christian community, had attacked some Muslim petty traders, although he did not know if anyone had been wounded.
The last major Boko Haram attacks on Jos, three bombs targeting worshippers in church between Christmas 2011 and March 2012, killed at least five people. After the last of them, Christian youths beat 10 Muslims to death.
— Phuket Gazette Editors
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Environment
Environmentalists criticise Netflix fishing doco for inaccuracies and misinformation

As Thailand accuses a Netflix documentary of using outdated and inaccurate information about the country’s fishing industry, a number of global environmental experts are echoing similar criticisms. According to a report in Coconuts, Seaspiracy has been slammed for being full of inaccuracies and twisting the science behind the damage to the world’s oceans, minimising the role of climate change and plastic pollution.
Brian Kahn, a journalist with an MA in Climate and Society, has written a piece called, Don’t Watch Netflix’s Seaspiracy, in which he also accuses the documentary of resorting to racial stereotypes.
“The bad guys are Asians, specifically Japanese whale and dolphin hunters and Chinese consumers of shark fin soup. The good guys – in this case, the experts he cites – are mostly white.”
According to the Coconuts report, the Marine Stewardship Council in London agrees the documentary contains “several inaccuracies” and the Plastic Pollution Coalition says the makers have “cherry-picked” quotes that will fit with their narrative. Marine biology magazine, Hakai, has also weighed in on the matter.
“Though the film misleads viewers with oversimplified science, its real harm is that it ignores the history, culture, and systemic inequities that are entwined with ocean conservation.”
Seaspiracy had its global release last month and has become one of the top 10 most-watched offerings on the Netflix streaming service. Opinion is divided, with many praising British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi for highlighting the issues with the global fishing industry, while others have slammed it for being biased and scientifically inaccurate.
The Royal Thai Navy has also criticised its portrayal of the country’s fishing industry, claiming it’s based on outdated information. In 2015, reporter Thapanee Eadsrichai exposed the significant role human trafficking and slavery played in the industry. This led to a crackdown of sorts, although slavery is still suspected of playing a role, on a smaller scale. The EU then threatened to ban all Thai seafood when the Kingdom’s illegal fishing practices came to light, but backed down when Thailand took steps to rectify the situation.
SOURCE: Coconuts
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Hot News
Condolences from Thailand to UK on Prince Philip’s death

The leaders of Thailand have sent messages of condolences to their British counterparts following the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on Friday. His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has sent a message of condolence to Prince Philip’s widow, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, released by the Thai Royal Household Bureau, stating that the King and Queen are deeply saddened by Prince Philip’s death.
“We all in Thailand join the people of Great Britain in mourning this great loss, a sense of loss being shared by peoples around the world, whose lives have been touched and enriched by His Royal Highness’ enduring legacies in their diversity.
We still recall, with much pride and warmth, the two historic state visits made by Your Majesty in 1972 and 1996, with His Royal Highness at your side, as guests of my beloved father, His late Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Just as important to the people of Thailand was how His Royal Highness wished, during his later visits on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund, to share with them his love of nature and passion for the environment, thus inspiring a number of essential projects of conservation.
May I, on behalf of the people of Thailand, express to Your Majesty, the Royal Family and the British people our heartfelt sympathy and condolences for this truly grievous loss.”
Meanwhile, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha released a statement on behalf of the people of Thailand, saying their thoughts and prayers were with the people of Britain. PM Prayut sent a message to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson praising Prince Philip’s “exceptional leadership”.
“On behalf of the Royal Thai Government and the people of Thailand, I wish to extend to Your Right Honourable and the British people our deepest condolences and sympathy for this irreparable loss. We join the British people in mourning the loss of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the British people in this time of sadness”
Prince Philip, who was married to Queen Elizabeth II for 73 years, died Friday at the age of 99 after recently being released from King Edward VII Hospital recovering from a February surgery for a heart condition. He was the longest-serving consort in British history. The Duke of Edinburgh had visited Thailand twice, escorting the Queen for state visits with King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1972 and 1996.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World & Thai Examiner
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World
Buckingham Palace announces the death of Prince Philip

Prince Philip, the husband and consort to Queen Elizabeth II, has died at the age of 99. The Duke of Edinburgh was the longest-serving consort in the history of the United Kingdom, retiring in 2017 after more than 20,000 public engagements. Born on the Greek island of Corfu, Philip had 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren with the Queen. Buckingham Palace released a statement mourning the loss.
Prince Philip was born on June 10, 1921 on the island of Corfu, Greece. He married Princess Elizabeth on November 20, 1947.
“It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.”
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