Thailand kicks off Songkran festival, celebrating the new year with water fights in the streets

It’s water festival time in Thailand where many are marking the country’s traditional New Year, splashing each other with colourful water guns and buckets in an often raucous celebration that draws thousands of people, even as this year the Southeast Asian nation marks record-high temperatures causing concern. The festival, known as Songkran in Thailand, is a three-day shindig that starts on Saturday.