Northern Thailand News
Northern Thailand news, Chiang Mai news, business, tourism, and culture—stay updated with breaking stories, local events, and travel insights from Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pai, and beyond. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Northern Thailand news source.
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Chiang Mai launches website for expats to register for Covid-19 vaccination
The northern province of Chiang Mai has launched a website where foreign residents can register to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Provincial permanent secretary Kanok Sriwichainan says foreigners who have not registered through the Mor Prom app can now do so at the Kampang Wiang website. They will need to provide their passport number and vaccination will be carried out with…
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324 schools open in Lampang
Today, 324 schools across 13 districts in Lampang, a northern Thai province, opened their doors for the first semester in the “New Normal” system. At one Lampang school, Boonwart Wittayalai, students are set to alternate the days they go to school with, presumably, days they don’t go to school and learn online. Before entering a classroom, students must wash their…
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Wild elephants trampled Chaiyaphum sanctuary worker
A man working for a wildlife sanctuary in Chaiyaphum was found dead near his living quarters this morning, and the giant footprints found in the area leave little mystery of who killed him. Sangwian Phimdee, a 55 year old employee of the Phu Khieo wildlife sanctuary in Khon San district was working the night shift at the guard post when…
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Man “test drives” car, never to be seen again
Panya Muenknam, a 50 year old owner of the used car shop “Khao Wong Rot Ban”, located in the Kalasin province, northeasten Thailand, has one less car on his lot after a man took a car for a “test drive” …and never came back. The owner posted on his Facebook about the theft on May 26, and according to Panya…
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Chiang Rai introduces strict requirements for travellers from “dark red” provinces
From today, if you’re travelling to Chiang Rai from any of the 4 “dark red” central provinces (Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, and Samut Prakan) things just got a bit trickier. The northern province has introduced tough disease prevention measures for visitors from the strictly controlled zones, which will also apply to Chiang Rai residents arriving home from those provinces. Thai…
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Dog brings owner gift of 2,000 meth pills in Udon Thani
A dog owner is reeling after his beloved pet brought him a “gift” of 2,000 meth pills, known as Yaba in Thai. The owner says the dog brought a mysterious package to a car garage in Udon Thani. He immediately notified police who then came to find the 2 year old, white dog named Sinil at the garage. Police say…
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Gold necklace raffle for vaccinated people in Khon Kaen
Provinces around Thailand have schemed to increase Covid-19 vaccine sign-ups, and one district in Khon Kaen has just launched a gold necklace giveaway to registered vaccinated residents. The mayor of the Phon district in Thailand’s northeastern province of Khon Kaen has announced a prize for 3 lucky winners. The plan is to sign up people to get vaccinated and then…
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Northeastern Buri Ram mother becomes second to die from lightning in recent weeks
A Thai mother in Thailand’s northeastern Buri Ram province, has died after being struck by lightning at a cassava plantation. The 38 year old woman, who went by the name of Jureerat, was working in the plantation with her husband, 6 year old daughter, 2 year old son and a neighbour when it started lightly raining. They all took cover…
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Lampang province sets example for vaccine registration
Vaccine hesitancy is proving to be a big problem in the quest to reach herd immunity and reopen Thailand, but Lampang province has outdone all the others in jab registration. In the northern province with just 740,000 people, nearly 224,000 have already registered for their Covid-19 vaccine, a number only topped by Bangkok’s 7 million residents registering just over 500,000…
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American leaves hospital after being denied Covid treatment in same room as Thai wife
An American man, who tested positive for Covid-19, is back in the hospital after fleeing when he was denied a shared room with this Thai wife-who was also undergoing Covid treatment. The 51 year old man left the northeastern Amnat Charoen province Chanuman hospital on May 9th after doctors declined to move his bed to that of his wife’s room.…
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American man arrested in Chiang Mai for allegedly killing pregnant Thai wife
An American man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his pregnant, Thai wife and hiding her body in a rubbish bin. Police say 32 year old Jason Matthew Balzer then dumped his deceased wife’s body in a field in northern Thailand. 32 year old Pitchaporn Kidchob’s mother became concerned for her daughter’s welfare after seeing Balzer flee their home on…
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Thai Meteorological Dept. warns northern Thailand of severe storms through May 7
The Thailand Meteorological Department says severe storms, especially in the north, will be present through May 7. The announcement detailed the forecast with gusty winds and hail being included in the conditions due to a high pressure system from China. It also warned residents to stay away from big trees, unsecured buildings, large billboards, and outdoor places in general. Farmers…
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Buri Ram sees 2 villages go into lockdown after 8 Covid-19 infections
Thailand’s northeastern, or Isaan, province of Buri Ram, is seeing 2 villages ordered to go into lockdown after 8 Covid-19 infections have threatened the community. The provincial communicable disease committee is ordering the villages of Ban Sao-e and Ban Nong Phai, located on Moo 2 and Moo 12, respectively, to lockdown from 6pm on May 2. The villages have around…
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10 new infections in Nakhon Phanom province linked to entertainment venues
Thailand’s northeastern Nakhon Phanom province is reporting 10 new infections today, with most being traced back to entertainment venues. The new infections raise the Covid-19 case number in the “red-zoned” province to 43. And, more than 1,500 customers of those entertainment venues have been tested for the virus, with results expected this week. The customers were from an entertainment venue…
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Hospital in north-east suspends non-urgent treatment after patient dies of Covid-19
A hospital in the north-eastern province of Buriram has temporarily closed for non-urgent treatment after a patient died from complications arising from Covid-19. Prakhon Chai Hospital has announced the closure on its Facebook page, saying all non-urgent treatment is suspended for 2 days, to allow for deep cleaning and disinfecting of several wards. All medical staff who had contact with…
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Khon Kaen University terminates well-known American scholar after he allegedly participates in decentralisation workshop
Khon Kaen University’s famous American scholar, David Eirich Streckfuss, is now without a work permit after his participation in a workshop that partially involved decentralisation. The university terminated his work permit after immigration police paid him a vist, in what they say, was a routine interview for visa extensions. Streckfuss is an independent academic who oversees the Council on International…
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Driver charged in bus fire that killed 5, injured 12
After yesterday’s horrific bus fire left 5 dead and 12 injured, the driver is now charged with reckless driving causing deaths and injuries. The tour bus ended up in flames at 12:30 am, not long after leaving the Khon Kaen bus terminal heading to Bangkok with 33 passengers on board. The bus had originated in Bung Kan and stopped in…
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Northern Thai provinces starting Covid restrictions as 3rd wave spreads
Thailand’s northern provinces are starting to impose more self-quarantines or travel restrictions to combat the recent Covid-19 outbreak that has spread quickly throughout northern Thailand. Phichit and Lampang provinces are the latest in northern Thailand to impose a variety of covid-19 restrictions on people entering. A Thailand Interior Ministry told Chiang Rai Times that the longer list emphasises the seriousness…
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5 killed, including 2 children, in north east Thailand bus disaster
5 people are dead, including 2 children, and another 12 seriously injured after a double-decker interprovincial bus caught fire near Khon Kaen. It was heading to Bangkok. The bus erupted into flames just after midnight on the Mitrapap highway. There were 33 passengers on the bus. The bus driver was also injured. The 407 Pattana Company bus left Bung Kan…
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Chiang Rai sees 2 new infections linked to Bangkok, Chiang Mai entertainment venues
Chiang Rai is reporting 2 new Covid infections that are linked to entertainment venue clusters from Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The people who tested positive for the virus have entered a 14 day mandatory hospital quarantine. The governor of Chiang Rai and chair of the Communicable Diseases Committee ordered anyone travelling to the province from a red zone to self-monitor…
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UPDATE: Divers rescue monk stuck in flooded cave in northern Thailand
Update: The monk was safely rescued from the flooded cave at around 11:30am today. Divers say the monk was fatigued and had a low fever. Original story… Rescue workers are attempting to free a Buddhist monk who has been stuck in a flooded cave in northern Thailand for at least 4 days. The monk, named in a Pattaya News report…
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16 Thais busted running 10 illegal online gambling sites
16 web admins are in custody today after being arrested around the Buriram province today for allegedly operating 10 illegal online gambling websites. The group of Thai nationals are accused of renting a house where they secretly operated a string of websites where people could gamble online including sajoker123.com. Police received a number of complaints in March from neighbourhood residents…
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Northern Thailand summer storms damage almost 3,000 homes
Almost 3,000 homes are damaged after northern Thailand summer storms wreaked havoc in 11 provinces. The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department says Pichit, Phitsanulok, Sukhothai and Nan are among the hardest hit. 1 death was also reported in Nan province when a tree branch fell onto a woman’s car, killing her. 5 others were injured in Nan, Pichit and Surin.…
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Thai man arrested after beating and killing dog for being “mangy”
A 24 year old Thai man has been arrested in northeastern Thailand’s Udon Thani province, for beating and killing a dog because it appeared to be “mangy.” Watchdog Thailand, posted a graphic video clip on Facebook of the man assaulting the dog several times with a knife and pipe in front of its owner’s house. Later that day, the dog’s owner…
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Senior official arrested in north-east Thailand on 2 million baht bribery charges
A senior Thai official in the north-eastern province of Mukdahan has been arrested, along with his assistant, on bribery charges. The provincial chief of the natural resources and environment office, Suradet Akkarach, and Ms Pan Saengviroon, are accused of receiving 2 million baht for facilitating the return of confiscated Siamese Rosewood timber to a merchant from Laos. The timber, housed…
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Monk kicks Thai teenager in face after he refuses to buy him food
A monk in northern Thailand’s Lampang Province has allegedly taken matters into his own hands by kicking a Thai teenager in the face after he refused to travel 5 kilometres to buy food for the monk. According to the 16 year old boy’s mother, her son was visiting a young monk at the local temple and was playing games with…
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Thai man confesses to cutting wife’s throat and dumping her body in a pond
A northeastern Thai man has allegedly confessed to killing his wife by cutting her throat and then dumping her body into a public pond. The man allegedly told a relative what he did, who says she initially didn’t believe him. So she and her other relatives went to check it out, finding the woman’s body partially covered by a sack…
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Investigation launched into boy scout drowning in north-east Thailand
Officials in the north-east province of Kalasin have launched an investigation into the drowning of a school student while partaking in boy scout camp activity. 15 year old Thongnoppakao Sitha died on Tuesday, after a teacher allegedly instructed him to dive into a pond. The activity was part of a mock war, in which the teachers threw rocks at the…
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Officials tracking down foreigners with fake IDs opening up illegal businesses in Chiang Rai
Thai news site TNA is reporting that the Department of Special Investigation is investigating 255 foreigners who are allegedly in possession of fake Thai IDs in the Wiang Kaen district of Chiang Rai. The report also claims that they were operating illegal businesses. One of the suspects is Chinese but carried a Thai ID saying that he was a Thai…
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Hospital allegedly offers a meager 5,000 baht initially to dead patient’s family after neglecting him for hours
A northeastern Thai hospital is allegedly offering a meager 5,000 baht to a patient’s family after he died while waiting to be treated. The Bua Yai Hospital director, Charnchai Boonyusays, says he feels “regret” over the 46 year old’s death after hospital staff allegedly neglected to treat him for hours. Sompong Sammor, was admitted to the hospital with a swollen…
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