Tim Newton

Tim joined The Thaiger as one of its first employees in 2018 as an English news writer/editor and then began to present The Thaiger's Daily news show in 2020, Thailand News Today (or TNT for short). He has lived in Thailand since 2011, having relocated from Australia.
  • FoodTop 10 ways to avoid food poisoning in Thailand, and tips on how to recover | Thaiger

    Top 10 ways to avoid food poisoning in Thailand, and tips on how to recover

    NOTICE: The Thaiger are experienced travellers but we’re not doctors. This information is provided as a general guide if you are confronted with food poisoning. In all cases consider seeking medical attention and make sure you have adequate travel insurance. Travelling in foreign locations and trying out the local dishes will always risk a bout of the dreaded food poisoning…

  • Thailand NewsBritish man fined for overstay after being forced into Bangkok quarantine | Thaiger

    British man fined for overstay after being forced into Bangkok quarantine

    You take your PCR test after your stay in Thailand, before you return home to the UK. You test positive and are confined in a Bangkok hospital for 10 days. Then, to add insult to injury, you’re fined 4,000 baht for overstaying your visa when you go through immigration… purely because you were confined in hospital. This is the sad…

  • Economy NewsPork, petrol and noodles – inflation impacting prices in Thailand | Thaiger

    Pork, petrol and noodles – inflation impacting prices in Thailand

    Heading into 2022, the ‘I’ word is spooking economists around the world as they look at tools to try and control rampant inflation. Even in Thailand there has been big rises in staples, making headlines this week, particularly in the pork industry. Meat and produce prices have been sneaking up and now impacting the cost of living for everyone living…

  • World NewsSingapore requires office-workers to be vaccinated, few exemptions | Thaiger

    Singapore requires office-workers to be vaccinated, few exemptions

    Get vaccinated or lose your job. That’s the thrust of new workplace laws being introduced in Singapore. From today an earlier concession, allowing negative-testing employees to keep working in offices, is dropped. Employers now have the option to redeploy unvaccinated staff to ‘working from home’ duties, put the staff on leave without pay, or simply sack them if they are…

  • Covid-19 NewsIntentionally catching Omicron is a really stupid idea | Thaiger

    Intentionally catching Omicron is a really stupid idea

    OPINION “Why not just catch Omicron and get it over with? It’s a mild cold and will boost immunity, right?” Not a day goes past when the opinion is expressed widely, and often, on various social media around the world, where they mix their school biology classes with various theories on the internet and come up with a “cunning idea”.…

  • Phuket NewsHave a Test & Go QR code to enter Thailand? Read this. | Thaiger

    Have a Test & Go QR code to enter Thailand? Read this.

    Details emerging from last Friday’s deliberations by the CCSA have now been published in the Royal Gazette, enacting them into law. Missing from the published guidelines about changes to the Thailand Pass, is any reference to a cut-off date which was both stated and then published by government representatives on Friday following a meeting of the CCSA. Speaking to the…

  • Thailand NewsThailand Test & Go registration suspended indefinitely, Sandboxes added | Thaiger

    Thailand Test & Go registration suspended indefinitely, Sandboxes added

    Registration for Thailand’s Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme will be closed indefinitely. Travellers, who are already approved to enter Thailand under the Test & Go quarantine exemption program, may have to enter before January 15 (although the cut off date of January 15 was clearly announced at yesterday’s CCSA briefing there has been a random walking back of that…

  • Technology NewsMassive LED billboard cluster causes sleepless nights in Thong Lor | Thaiger

    Massive LED billboard cluster causes sleepless nights in Thong Lor

    Sleepless in Sukhumvit. A massive clump of LED billboards in Bangkok’s Thong Lor district has been such a nuisance to residents across the street, with many complaining they’re losing sleep, that an official complaint filed with local police and the district office could succeed in its removal. Thong Lor is known for its nightlife, with numerous clubs, pubs, restaurants –…

  • Northern Thailand NewsNorth-east province closes schools, theatres and fitness facilities | Thaiger

    North-east province closes schools, theatres and fitness facilities

    Ubon Ratchathani’s Governor Pongrat Phiromrat has ordered all schools, cinemas, fitness clubs, gyms, sports stadiums and sports grounds to be closed until at least January 17. Ubon Ratchathani is in north east Thailand. For restaurants, only air conditioned venues will be allowed to provide take away food, unless there is ‘natural ventilation’. 329 new Covid infections have been reported in…

  • Covid-19 NewsPossible amendments to Test & Go for Thailand Pass | Thaiger

    Possible amendments to Test & Go for Thailand Pass

    To kick off, the reported changes are only ‘proposals’ at this stage. A final decision on these matters concerning the Thailand Pass will probably be made on Wednesday this week and then could be approved by the CCSA on Friday. But, in the interests of the many thousands of people who have already been approved for Test & Go, and…

  • Chiang Mai NewsStudents suffer minor injuries after apparent wild elephant attack on Doi Mon Jong trail | Thaiger

    Students suffer minor injuries after apparent wild elephant attack on Doi Mon Jong trail

    A popular trail in the Doi Mon Jong ranges has been closed indefinitely after a female student was attacked by at least 2 wild elephants. The trail is about 4 hours out of Chiang Mai and reaches one of the ten highest peaks in Thailand. The chief of the Omkoi wildlife sanctuary, Navee Silsuphakul, says that the trail, opened for…

  • Covid-19 NewsThai government asks private companies to allow staff to work from home | Thaiger

    Thai government asks private companies to allow staff to work from home

    Thai health authorities are choosing to take a cautious approach, even though they say “the situation is under control”. They’ve asked state agencies and private companies in Thailand to allow staff and contractors to work from their home. They’re suggesting that staff work from home for at least 14 days as the Omicron has reached 1,551 infections (as of January…

  • World NewsCovid is starting to have economic effects, without government lockdowns or border closures | Thaiger

    Covid is starting to have economic effects, without government lockdowns or border closures

    Over the past 2 years (and it is nearly 2 years since the first case of Covid-19 was identified outside of China on January 14, 2020 in Thailand), the economic impact of the virus spreading has been caused almost entirely by governments acting to limit the spread – lockdowns, restrictions and border closures. Now, the latest variant of Covid, Omicron,…

  • World NewsThe world’s largest trade bloc launches today – January 1, 2022 | Thaiger

    The world’s largest trade bloc launches today – January 1, 2022

    The new Asian regional trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, becomes effective as of today. The RCEP is the world’s biggest free trade agreement, larger than the EU, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the EU, the Mercosur trade bloc in South America, and the recent US-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement. RCEP includes all the ASEAN…

  • Phuket NewsUPDATE: Andrea Bocelli performs at Phuket’s to welcome in 2022 | Thaiger

    UPDATE: Andrea Bocelli performs at Phuket’s to welcome in 2022

    UPDATE Well, Andrea Bocelli appeared at Saphan Hin park in Phuket, probably one of his least memorable singing venues, last night to herald in the new year. After an hour of searching through all the social media this morning I stumbled on the Instagram account of President of the Phuket Tourist Association, Bhummikitti Ruktaengam. Performing, it appears, with the accompaniment…