Tim Newton
- Things To Do
Songkran survival guide: Top 10 tips 2024
Songkran is a celebration of the Thai New Year on April 13 each year. What started as a respectful washing of Buddha images with water to welcome in the forthcoming wet season, has turned into a mega-water fight. No prisoners are taken in this annual water battle – if you head outside or drive along the roads you will get…
- Guides
Sawasdee pi mai – The four days of Songkran 2024
Despite the annual celebrations, water fights and parties being mostly side-lined this year, Songkran goes on for 2024, albeit in a much-subdued form. Many Thais have decided not to head home, but others have already headed out of the city centres to their homes to be with their families. The best we can do for Songkran 2021 is be happy,…
- World News
UPDATE: Latest information about Philippines earthquakes – four dead
Here’s the latest from this morning’s series of earthquakes in the northern Philippines. The most prominent shake today was a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rocked the northern Philippines Wednesday morning, Filipino time. The tremor shattered windows of buildings in the central Abra province and shook office buildings more than 300 kilometres to the north in the capital of Manila. Four people…
- Central Thailand News
Dead man walking – after being ‘dead’ for 25 years, Thai man receives new ID card
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” Mark Twain And so it is with a 63 year old Thai man from Nakhon Sawan in central Thailand. He’s lucky to get to 65 because, according to the local district office, he apparently died in 1997. But his ‘resurrection’ has caused a number of issues for him as his Thai ID…
- World News
Magnitude 7+ earthquakes hit northern Philippine islands – VIDEO
The island of Luzon in the Philippines has been hit by a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake sending strong tremors felt in many areas nearby, including the capital Manila. The earthquake was measured at around 10 – 40 kilometres deep. There have been other similar magnitude earthquakes being reported this morning (below). At this stage there are no immediate reports of…
- World News
Australian passengers queuing up outside airport terminals as unions threaten more delays
The world’s travel woes have made their way to Australia. Long queues and equally long delays at Australian airports are set to get worse as baggage handlers across the east coast initiate industrial action at a lunchtime meeting today. The strike threatens to impact baggage handling for up to 20 airlines including Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Etihad, and Air Canada. With cancellations…
- World News
Thai astronomer involved in bringing amazing James Webb Space Telescope images to us
All those amazing pictures we’ve seen from the new James Webb Space Telescope do have a small Thai connection. One Thai astronomer, Dr Nicha Leethochawalit of the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, was among the first astronomers to use the new space telescope to discover the oldest and farthest galaxy ever detected. She was part of the Grism Lens-Amplified…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Irrigation department warn of flooding in central Thai provinces around the Chao Phraya River
Bangkok, and 10 other central Thai provinces, are being warned by the Department of Irrigation, of overflows from the Chao Phraya which will start tomorrow in the northmost provinces. The provinces affected are Uthai Thani, Chainat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, Lop Buri, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan, and Bangkok. People living near the Chao Phraya River…
- World News
US leads international outcry over execution of 4 Burmese anti-government activists
The US State Department has reacted to the murder of four democracy activists in a state-sanctioned execution, promising that there would be “further measures” to punish the military junta. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called on countries to refuse to recognise the junta as Myanmar’s rightful government refuses to sell sales of military equipment to the military-controlled nation. “All…
- Ask an Agent
4 tips about buying a condo in Thailand
Buying property in Thailand requires some good advice and a bit of reading-up before plunging yourself into the hundreds of opportunities, around the country. Condos, which a foreigner can own the freehold, have the potential to yield a good profit for your investment. Most condos have relatively low maintenance costs and the ability to use the property for residential or…
- Politics News
“Payments” made to “buy” support of independent MPs – Thammanat Prompau
After surviving another censure motion against him and the members of his government, the Thai prime minister now faces a more serious accusation – making alleged payments of up to 100,000 per month to parliamentary members from smaller independent political parties to secure their votes in parliament. The Setthakij Thai Party leader Thamanat Prompau alleged that some of the smaller…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok surges back above 10,000 Covid infections per day
Covid-19 infections have surged back to over 10,000 infections per day, in Bangkok alone. This time driven by the BA.5 sub-variant, and mostly identified through community testing and ATK results. Health officials also admit that many people are testing themselves at home, taking days off work and not registering their results with the health care system. Thailand’s last wave, driven…
- South Thailand News
Fake bomb detectors come back to haunt the Thai PM in parliament
What’s made of plastic, has a few pieces of wire and two plastic antenna probes? A bomb detector, of course. The Thai army was duped into purchasing the dodgy bomb detectors 13 years ago. Some 320 of them! With the ongoing insurgency in southern Thailand, the bomb detectors were a potential solution for ferreting out small ordinances in the three…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Wednesday’s record rains in Bangkok cripple the centre of the city
Wednesday night’s downpour wasn’t just torrential, it was record-breaking! It was the highest rainfall recorded in 67 years in some areas of the centre of the Thai capital. Even the 20 baht convenience store raincoats were no match for the downpour. Rainfall measured at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Khlong Toei district on Wednesday night was 132.5mm, surpassing the…
- Politics News
Day Three – no confidence debate. Luxury watches, dodgy bomb detectors and the coup leader
Day three of the no-confidence motion and parliamentary debates revealed that then-General Prayut, the Commander in Chief of the Thai Army, was the brains and instigator behind the 2014 military coup that ousted the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra. It also had the Energy Minister defending the government’s current power development plan, fending off accusations of corruption. It was also…
- Transport News
British Airways flights to Thailand suspended until 2023
British Airways isn’t heading back to Bangkok until at least next year. Tour operators were hoping the British flagship carrier would be adding regular flights again between Heathrow and Bangkok in time for Thailand’s high season, just when the winter kicks in in the UK. British Airways was originally set to resume flights in November this year but has now…
- Economy News
Thailand’s Zipmex crypto exchange blocks transfers and withdrawals
Another cryptocurrency exchange is in trouble, blocking withdrawals of both cash and crypto from its platform as go 6pm last night. Zipmex Thailand, a crypto-trading platform, has announced that the withdrawal of baht and cryptocurrency on its platform “has been suspended temporarily”. In the announcement, the CEO outlined a number of difficulties and challenges facing the Thai crypto exchange. He…
- Tourism News
Phuket residents welcome the new ‘Khao Daeng Glass Bridge’ to be built in Rawai
A community meeting in Rawai on Tuesday agreed to get behind the latest tourist attraction, the Khao Daeng Glass Bridge, a new viewpoint and tourism focus for the quieter south of the island. President of Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation, Rewat Areerob, presented details about the new attraction and said it was good to have the Rawai community backing the project.…
- Transport News
Investigation begins into Thailand’s latest maritime incident off Chumpon
Thailand has logged another maritime mishap with the fire on a passenger ferry, about 5 kilometres off the coast of Chumpon. The sea conditions were reported as “rough” at the time of the incident off the uninhabited Koh Thong Lang. This time 20 people were on board, but the 18 passengers jumped into the water and were all rescued. A…
- Covid-19 News
New variant detected in Thailand, doctor calls out CCSA for under-reporting infections
The latest sub-variant of the Covid-19 virus, BA 2.75, has been detected in the southern Thai province of Trang. Like BA.4 and BA.5, the more recent BA. 2.75 sub-variant is a more transmissible sub-variant of the Omicron strain. The new sub-variant was first detected in India in early June and had already spread to 14 other countries, including Japan, Germany,…
- Thailand Protest News
Lottery ticket vendors stage a protest against the new digital lottery app
With the rush to a digital, and more convenient form, of legal gambling in Thailand, the Government Lottery Office appears to have thrown the lottery ticket vendors under a bus. Now the ticket vendors are fighting back in a protest calling on the GLO board to resign and increase quotas for the thousands of private citizens and small street-side shops…
- Thailand Weather Updates
“Climate change is here,” UK Met Office – heatwaves sweep over the northern hemisphere
Records were broken, people were staying inside and shops were doing brisk sales of fans. Temperatures in the UK hit 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in recorded history yesterday, making it the country’s hottest day ever. With UK houses better designed to keep the cold out and the heat in, the unseasonal heat was challenging people across the…
- Politics News
Thai PM hits back at opposition “try and bring back Thaksin”
“I know you may admire some people who previously held this position and praise them for doing a better job than me. That’s fine. Just bring them back if you can.” The first day of the no confidence debate saw some fiery exchanges between the PM and the opposition MPs goading him on his record and time as premier. Prime…
- Tourism News
Tourism associations meet with Thai PM urging more assistance
A consortium of 12 tourism associations from around Thailand are calling on the government to simplify the current tourism stimulus schemes saying the situation was urgent. They told the Thai PM on Monday that they remained “sceptical” of the complicated web of programs that will do the intended job of stimulating travel – domestic and international. One of the representatives,…
- World News
UK airport has to suspend flights because of ‘melting runway’
An airport in the UK has been forced to suspend flights. Not because of the supply chain issues, Covid-19 positive staff calling in sick, or increased fuel prices, but because the runway was suffering under the unseasonably high temperatures. Train speed restrictions were also introduced in sections of the country to protect railway tracks against extreme heat. Luton Airport, one…
- Politics News
Human Rights Watch calls on Thai protesters on hunger strike to be released
From Human Rights Watch… (Published as provided) Thai authorities should immediately drop the charges and release pro-democracy activists detained for insulting the monarchy (lese majeste), Human Rights Watch said today. Two of the activists, Netiporn “Bung” Sanesangkhom and Nutthanit “Bai Por” Duangmusit, have been on a hunger strike since June 2, 2022, to protest their pretrial detention at Bangkok’s Central…
- Transport News
Doubts over Thailand’s 2028 completion date for high speed rail link
Despite last week’s announcement that the high-speed railway from Bangkok to the Laos border would be completed by 2028, there remain lingering doubts about whether the Thai government is fully committed to the project, valued at about US$12 billion. Questions are being raised about perceived benefits to Thailand or how the government can recover any of the costs. The new…
- Tourism News
More doubts over the introduction of the new Thai tourist arrival tax
Last week the Thai government announced that the new “tourism tax,” an arrival levy of 300 baht per person to provide compulsory insurance coverage, was on track for a Q4 introduction. It was announced that the airlines would collect the 300 baht from ALL foreigners entering Thailand, with no exemptions. Now international airlines are joining a long line of opposition…
- World News
Filipinos go on book-buying spree to “preserve history” of Marcos family atrocities
Some Filipinos are in a rush to buy books documenting the divisive and savage 21 year reign of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos as his son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr, assumes office as the latest president of the Philippines after a landslide election victory in May. They say they fear that the new Filipino president may try and whitewash the…
- Thailand Protest News
Thai protesters run their own, informal no-confidence poll
Thailand’s anti-government protesters are gathering support again as the country’s restrictions allow them to gather in groups and protest against the Prayut government. Now they’re running their own mock no-confidence poll as a real no-confidence debate is about to start in the Thai parliament tomorrow. Yesterday, the Ratsadon (The People) group started collecting ‘votes’ for its own, informal no-confidence motion…
