Northern Thailand News
Stay updated with the latest Northern Thailand news at The Thaiger, your ultimate source for regional information. Keep informed on local events, business developments, and lifestyle stories in popular locations like Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and Pai.
Our in-depth coverage includes famous monuments such as the White Temple and Doi Suthep. Whether you’re a resident or a visitor, The Thaiger’s Northern Thailand news page is your essential guide to exploring this culturally rich region. Delve into the vibrant community and diverse culture with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you connected and well-informed.
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The holiday season is here, bringing warmth, joy, and a chance to reflect on the year gone by. As an expat in Thailand, this Christmas is a great time to invest in something that truly matters: health. Whether for you...
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Swiss clothing firm denies layoffs
Contradicting earlier reports, Triumph International (Thailand) has denied any link with a garment company that laid off 800 employees on Friday. A statement from the Swiss Triumph Holding AG on yesterday said the company sold its production facilities in Thailand to Body Fashion (Thailand) 4 years ago. Accoding to the company’s head of corporate communications: “In fact, Triumph has handed…
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Wanted drug dealer killed in Korat shootout
Police in in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, aka. Korat, say the drug dealer who shot and seriously injured an undercover officer and fled, was killed in a shootout in Khong district yesterday. On Wednesday, 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot officer Song Tuaykrathok, who was posing as a buyer of crystal methamphetamine, after realising it was a…
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220 kilograms of marijuana seized, 2 arrested in Nakhon Phanom
Authorities in the upper northeastern Nakhon Panom province arrested 2 men last night on charges of smuggling 220 kilograms of marijuana. They reportedly told police they they did it because they needed money after the Covid-19 outbreak left them unemployed. The arrests came after authorities got a tip that a drug gang planned to smuggle marijuana from Laos into Nakhon…
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Korat police offer bounty for drug dealer who shot officer
Police in the northeastern Nakhon Ratchasisma province, aka Korat, are offering a 30,000 baht reward for information leading to the arrest of a drug dealer who escaped after shooting an undercover agent in a sting operation gone bad. 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot officer Song Tuaykrathok, who was posing as a buyer of crystal methamphetamine, in Korat’s Khong…
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Thai Vietjet passengers treated to surprise “concert in the sky”
Thai Vietjet Air today launched its maiden flight VZ210, from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to the northeastern province of Khon Kaen. To celebrate the inauguration, the airline delivered a surprise “concert in the sky” with famous Thai singer Ying Lee, featuring a full team of dancers and cabin crew, along with souvenirs for all passengers. The carrier will operate 2…
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Drug dealer shoots policeman, escapes in Korat
Police are hunting for a drug dealer who shot an undercover agent yesterday and fled after realising he was caught in a sting operation in Khong district of the lower northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima province, aka Korat. The officer was seriously wounded and rushed to hospital. 38 year old Phadungsil Lohakart allegedly shot the agent, who was posing as a buyer…
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Elderly British man killed, monk injured, in Isaan collision
A 70 year old British expat has died, and a monk has been seriously injured, after the motorbike and sidecar they were travelling on was hit from behind by a pick-up truck. The collision happened in the north-eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, and is the second such accident over the weekend. A report in The Chiang Rai Times says the…
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Buriram man drowns after being struck by lightning
A man in the northeastern Buriram province was struck by lighting, fell into a reservoir and drowned. The man’s body was found early yesterday morning. Police were informed on Friday night that a man was struck by lightning and had drowned in the local reservoir in Buriram’s Nong Rong district. The dead man was identified as 44 year old Thiwa…
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Nakhon Panom man shot dead after wounding policeman
A man who went berserk yesterday in the northeastern Nakhon Panom province, bordering Laos, was shot dead by a policeman who tried to calm him down but was attacked and seriously hurt. The man was said to be high on drugs. Police say the incident occurred at about 1pm in front of a house in tambon Ban Kho. Witnesses told…
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Heavy rains predicted for East, South and Central Thailand
Isolated heavy rain is forecast for the East, the Central region and the South. People in the areas are advised to beware of severe conditions. Thailand’s Meteorological Department predicts that the southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and Thailand is weak, while the easterly wind moves to cover the East, the Central, the South and the Gulf. From Monday to…
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DNA excludes Thais from 2007 murder of Japanese tourist
Advanced DNA testing has shed new light on the unsolved murder of a female Japanese tourist 13 years ago, suggesting a link to a male of East Asian heritage. Sanook reported on the latest developments in the cold case of Tomoko Kawashita who was found murdered in the Sukhothai Historical Park in 2007. Kawashita’s body was found near the ruins…
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Alleged rapist teacher faces additional intimidation charge
A 33 year old teacher accused of the statutory rape of a schoolgirl in the northeastern province of Buriram will face an additional charge of allegedly threatening to kill her family if she told anyone. Police initially pressed 3 counts against 33 year old Kittiphop Karnram, a physical education teacher at a school in Nang Rong district: depriving a girl…
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University students defy ban, hold protest
With anti-government demonstrations flaring up around the country, a bid by the dean of the Mahasarakham University to prevent one there failed yesterday as students defied his ban and went ahead with their protest. University campuses are exempt from the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings, and the university initially said only that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide…
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Hospital steps up security after gang fights
Following incidents at 2 hospitals in greater Bangkok, in which 3 staff were injured, prompting a female doctor to resign, Udon Thani Hospital has set up a new security system to prevent damage from brawls between the northeastern province’s rival gangs. The hospital’s director says tight security is necessary, citing 4 patients recently brought in with severe injuries from a…
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Isaan students say they’ll defy protest ban
Students at Isaan’s Mahasarakham University say they’re going ahead with a planned anti-government rally despite a ban from the institution. Organisers of the protest made the announcement earlier today. The university initially said yesterday that any rallies held on campus grounds must abide by the laws and refrain from anti-monarchy rhetoric. The university later revised its policy and banned all…
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Buri Ram school cleaner claims he was sacked for exposing a predatory teacher
A 50 year old former cleaner at a school in Buri Ram, north east Thailand, has come forward and told police he was sacked 4 months ago because “he knew too much about a teacher”, who was an alleged sexual predator. A number of stories appeared during May and June about predatory school teachers in the north east. Nation Thailand…
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Khon Kaen police deny charges pressed against hospitalised activist
The chief of police in Khon Kaen province is denying any charges have been laid against an activist sent to a psychiatric hospital there in connection with a possible lèse-majesté crime earlier this month. Prachatai’s website reports that 47 year old activist Tiwagorn Withiton, who posted pictures of himself wearing a T-shirt with a message relating to the monarchy, is…
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Nakhon Ratchasima reports 3 suspected Covid cases in locals who visited Rayong
The governor of Nakhon Ratchasima province, in the north-east of the country, has confirmed that 3 people there are showing signs of being infected with Covid-19. It’s understood all 3 visited the province of Rayong between July 8 – 11, where an Egyptian soldier tested positive for the virus. A report in Nation Thailand says 2 of the people are…
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Returning soldiers’ quarantine site changed to Bangkok
Soldiers of the Royal Thai Army, heading back next week from a joint military exercise with US troops in Hawaii, will be placed in state quarantine at a hotel in Bangkok, not in Nakhon Ratchasima as earlier planned. The northeastern province’s governor made the announcement today. He had previously approved a request from the 3rd Infantry Division to place 151…
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Air Asia announces 2 new cross-country domestic routes into Hua Hin
Two new air routes announced by local Thai AirAsia will be a boon to coastal town of Hua Hin… Chiang Mai – Hua Hin and Udon Thani – Hua Hin. The newly announced routes will allow getaways to the popular resort town on the new twice-weekly flights. The flights will be every Friday and Sunday. CEO of Thai AirAsia , Santisuk…
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Dengue on the rise in the northeast, wet season worries
As if you haven’t got enough to worry about. For now, Covid-19 is largely under control here in the Land of Smiles, but the annual worries around the wet season and Dengue Fever are an ongoing nuisance. Whilst Covid-19 is getting all the headlines, Dengue is a clear and present danger for anyone living in Thailand, especially at this time…
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Police arrest 16 Chinese nationals for illegal crossing from Myanmar
Police in the northern province of Tak have detained 16 Chinese nationals accused of crossing illegally into Thailand from Myanmar. The suspects say they’ve lost their jobs as casino workers as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. Thai Residents reports that officials found the group floating in the Moey river, which borders Thailand and Myanmar. It’s understood some of them…
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Rare big cats spotted in Thai national park
The Facebook page of Khlong Lan National Park in Thailand’s northwestern Kamphaeng Phet province, report that camera traps, set up to track the population of tigers, instead managed to capture a sighting of a black panther and leopard. “The appearance of the panther and leopard prove that the forest has become more abundant and attracted the return of these animals…
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Education ministry bans forced haircuts for students
Just days after a teacher who forced a pupil to submit to a haircut was reprimanded and made to apologise, Thailand’s Ministry of Education has issued a letter instructing all schools under its jurisdiction to repeal the 1975 regulations regarding students’ hairstyle and length, and forbidding the arbitrary cutting of students’ hair at school. The practice has long been used…
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Over 1,400 arrested, fined for illegal motorbike races in Udon Thani
In a move reminiscent of last week’s public shaming in Chon Buri, police in the northern province of Udon Thani have hired a local steamroller to destroy hundreds of illegally modified motorcycle mufflers. More than 1,400 alleged street racers were arrested and almost 370 motorcycles seized in a week long crackdown on illegal racing in the province. Udon Thani’s police…
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Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway closed by flooding again – VIDEO
There seems no end in sight for the construction of the Chiang Mai-Chiang Rai highway as yet another night of severe rains caused massive flooding in the Doi Saket district. The bypass and the road were underwater, creating a traffic pandemonium. The police came to the scene and began suggesting alternative routes. As the waters subsided the road was opened again,…
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Millions of meth pills, tonnes of marijuana seized in 3 major drug hauls
In what is becoming an increasingly common story, police have announced the seizure of millions of methamphetamine pills (ya ba) and more than 2 tonnes of marijuana, among other types of illicit drugs, in 3 major anti-drug operations last week. The head of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau told a press briefing that drug agencies confiscated nearly 1.5 million methamphetamine pills,…
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Lucky escape for rafting group after dam floodgate opens – VIDEO
A group of tourists is lucky to be alive after a worker accidentally opened a dam floodgate nearby. The tourists had just seconds to get out of the way, as a tour guide who realised what was happening, yelled a warning at them. Thai Residents reports that the incident happened at the Sirindhorn Dam in Ubon Ratchathani, in the north-east…
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Millions headed home for holiday long weekend
The Transport Ministry says more than 2 million people used public transport on Friday, leading up to the Asahna Bucha Day and Buddhist Lent holiday weekend, to travel to their provincial homes. Some headed for a short domestic holiday. Asahna Bucha Day is today, while tomorrow marks the beginning Buddhist Lent. Because both fall on the weekend, Monday is a…
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Man arrested for triple fatal shooting in Nakhon Phanom
Police in the Isaan’s Nakhon Phanom have arrested a man for the shooting death of his wife and 2 of her family members. The suspect reportedly confessed he acted out of jealousy after learning his wife wanted to return to her ex-husband. 41 year old Noppadol Nuamsamlee was arrested shortly after the fatal shooting of his wife, 23 year old…
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