The US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln has docked in Pattaya, Thailand, giving around 5,000 sailors their first shore leave after more than 250 days at sea. The vessel left San Diego last November for what was meant to be a six-month Pacific deployment but was diverted to the Gulf when US and Israeli operations against Iran began in February, meaning the crew endured an unusually long stretch without a port stop amid earlier reports of food shortages and poor conditions on board.

US and Thai authorities have imposed restrictions to limit the visit's excesses, banning sailors from areas such as the strip-lined Soi 6 and from cannabis shops, while reminding them that prostitution remains illegal in a city thought to have between 25,000 and 50,000 sex workers. The stopover, described as the largest since the fall of Saigon in 1975, is expected to bring Pattaya up to 100 million baht (£2 million) in business during the low season, with local officials and traders welcoming the economic boost.