Top National Thailand Stories From the Past Week: Summer Officially Begins, and More

Here is a look at the top NATIONAL Thailand stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from the last week, Monday, February 19th, to Sunday, February 25th, 2024.

They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.

Let’s get started and see what the top stories were!

1. The Thai Meteorological Department has announced that summer is expected to commence towards the end of this month, with an extreme heatwave predicted for March and April.

The Thai Meteorological Department announced the beginning of summer in Thailand on February 21, 2024.

It is already getting quite hot in many parts of Thailand!

2. A boat captain died after two long-tail boats which carried 31 foreign tourists crashed near an island in Krabi.

All foreign tourists were safe, however.

3. Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Section 112 Case: Further Investigation Ordered.

Samdech Hun Sen, the former Cambodia Prime Minister (1985–2023), arrived at “Chan Song La” Manor to greet Thaksin Shinawatra and the current Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin also visited Thaksin this week. Both men said these were just personal visits and claimed no discussions of business or politics took place.

4. The Thai Cabinet has approved a six-month extension of the visa exemption for Kazakhstani visitors, valid until August 31st, 2024, in a bid to further boost tourism.

Over 172,000 tourists visited Thailand after the Thai government decided to waive visa requirements for Kazakhstani citizens in September of last year, 2023.

5. The Central Investigation Bureau revealed case progress on the gambling “Minnie” network linked to high-ranked police officers including Pol. Gen. Surachet “Big Joke” Hakphan, the Deputy National Police Chief.

Pol. Gen. Surachet, was allegedly being pressed on charges according to Sections 157 and 149: neglecting to perform duties honestly and receiving property unlawfully, respectively. He has denied all the charges and also stated that they have not been officially filed as charges either. He claims the dispute is personal, not illegal, with other high ranking police and should be settled internally, not in court.

That’s all for this week, be safe!

The original version of this article appeared on our sister website, The TPN National News, owned by our parent company TPN media.