Japan's Honda Motor Co said on Tuesday it expected to resume operations at its flood-hit plant at Thailand's Rojana industrial estate a month after flood-waters are drained from the complex, which was forced to shut on Oct. 6.

The floods are likely to cause Thailand's auto sector, the biggest in Southeast Asia, to miss its output target of 1.8 million units this year, Hiroshi Kobayashi, president and chief executive of Asian Honda Motor Co Ltd, told reporters after meeting with Thailand's Industry Minister to discuss the floods.

Thailand raced on Tuesday to build floodwalls on the outskirts of Bangkok to prevent the worst floods in half a century from inundating parts of the capital later this week when water flowing from the north reaches the low-lying city.

At least 269 people have been killed by heavy monsoon rains, floods and mudslides that have battered 27 of Thailand's 77 provinces since late July, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Much of Thailand's north, northeast and central plains are flooded, affecting 2.3 million people. Bangkok - only two metres above sea level - could be next if water overflowing from reservoirs in the north arrives at the same time as high estuary tides are due from October 13.

Rescue workers hastily built a floodwall in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, where strong currents burst a river embankment overnight, flooding homes in water at least two metres high. Lerpong Kaewsrichan, deputy governor of Pathum Thani province, said the water had mostly submerged farmland and two industrial estates in the area had been spared for now.

Floodwaters that have wreaked havoc across Thailand, killing more than 260 people, are now threatening the capital, Bangkok.

Officials are preparing to evacuate thousands of people from areas of the city they fear will be inundated by floodwaters coinciding with peak high sea tides within days. Severe flooding has affected 2.3 million people in 760,000 homes and caused damage to factories and businesses estimated at billions of dollars.

Rail and road transport across the country are crippled, with 214 roads damaged, including the Asian Highway, the main route to the north of the country. Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced by flooding in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos after two months of heavy rain. The floods have ravaged vast areas of Asia's food bowl, threatening to drive up food prices.

In Thailand's worst-hit area of Ayutthaya, the former royal capital, dozens of factories in an industrial zone were engulfed when a six-metre-high earth embankment collapsed.

In the first 3 months of this year alone, there were four significant earthquakes in Asia: Southwest Pakistan, New Zealand, the east coast of Honshu, Japan and Myanmar. While earthquakes and tremors routinely occur, these shocks have happened within a short time period and they have disrupted Asia's connected supply chains, public transportation, food and power supplies, and businesses.

Now economists are saying that the devastating earthquakes cause rising oil prices and higher interest rates, which in turn will slow down Asia's economic growth.

The disruptions in Japan are causing inflation and shortages of raw materials and parts for the automotive, electronics and shipbuilding industries. This, in turn, is slowing down industrial production in other Asian countries; they are expected to experience a short-term reduction in demand from Japan, their major export partner. All factors of production – land, labor and capital are affected.

Long drives are quite different from road tests. On a long drive, one tends to spend a lot of time living with the car, and actually appreciating or criticizing minor details that one tends to generally overlook or objectively dissect in a road test. Which is why, when we collected the keys of the new 2012 Chevrolet Captiva, the intention was to put it through a road trip across Thailand.

And since it was that time of the year when I just had to take a much deserved break, I decided to choose for the trip to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, in the north of Thailand. My regular car should have been the obvious choice, but for some delayed paperwork, it couldn't make it one time. The girlfriend car was another nice option, but trying to convince her to part with the keys was like asking our neighbors to accept expansion of our garage onto there land.

My friends car had just been through a new clutch and new set of tires – not a bad choice, though with the new Chevrolet Captiva standing next to it, it wasn't too difficult a decision.

Changi - Singapore Airport has lost its top airport ranking to regional rival Hong Kong International Airport.

The rankings are based on surveys by a popular online travel magazine in May to July this year and show Shanghai Pudong International Airport moved up by four places to come in the fifth this year, while Beijing Capital Airport stayed sixth place.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways was the world's second best airline in the ranking, followed by Emirates and Thai Airways third and fourth. Virgin Atlantic was fifth.

On the airports rankings, travellers in the survey chose South Korea's Incheon International Airport of South Korea was the third, followed by Kuala Lumpur International Airport in fourth place. Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport slipped by three places to the fifth place, putting it on a par with Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

Bangkok land prices became more expensive after the first review in eight years by the Treasury Department, according to the Bangkok Post.

Prices in Yaowarat, Silom and Phloenchit roads have all risen significantly, said a senior official of the bureau.

The Treasury department’s Property Valuation Bureau is updating valuation prices in almost 30 million plots across Thailand for new land-tax calculations. These will serve as references from the start of 2012 until the end of 2015.

Updated prices for Yaowarat have risen by 35 per cent to THB700,000 (US$23,000) from THB450,000 (US$14,800) per square wah. In Silom the prices are up 16 per cent to THB700,000 (US$23,000) from THB600,000 (US$19.700), and Phloenchit prices have risen as much as 75 per cent to THB700,000 from THB400,000 (13,100) per square wah.

Thailand will host next year`s World Economic Forum East Asia (WEF-EA) while this year`s event was held in Jakarta. "The King and people of Thailand are inviting you to come to Thailand as your business partner," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said during the conclusion of WEF-EA here on Monday.

Abhisit said Thailand is economically strong and firm and therefore deserves to play host to the meeting of businessmen. He said the countries need to set together formally and discuss the balanced and sustainable global economic order.

"There is the G20, but it was only an institution reactive to the recent crisis," he said. He added that as a new economic power, the voice of ASEAN needs to be heard.

Orchid enthusiasts are in for a treat as the International Orchid Show 2011 next month promises a variety of beautiful and unique orchids, said Malaysian Kuching North City Hall mayor Mohamad Atei Abang Medaan.

He said the program, to be held at the Orchid Garden here from July 28 to 31, is in conjunction with the 23rd Kuching City Day celebrations and will see the participation of orchid growers from Brunei, Hong Kong/China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Papua New Guinea.

"These countries will surely bring the best and most attractive orchids for display to the public," he said in a statement here today.

Legendary American musician Bob Dylan, whose songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam war movement, played a symbolic first-ever concert in the communist country on Sunday.

A hero for the West's aging 'counter-culture' generation, Dylan and his protest songs are less well-known among the young population of the communist nation, who have no memory of the years of war with the United States.

But that didn't stop a number of young Vietnamese, as well as foreigners, from turning out for the gig in Ho Chi Minh City and cheering for Dylan, who made no comment on Vietnam or the significance of his appearance there.

'We all really enjoyed it,' said a 29-year-old banker, who gave his name as Quan, as he and his friends left the concert in the former Saigon, Vietnam's largest and most westernized city.