Thai cabinet approves minimum wage rise, cash handouts
Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved minimum wage increases and the second phase of the government's cash handout programme for senior citizens, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said.
The first eight boys rescued from the flooded Thai cave are in good mental and physical health and are asking for chocolates. Officials, however, said two of the boys were on antibiotics after being tested for pneumonia.
“Everyone is in a good mental state,” Jesada Chokedamrongsuk, permanent secretary of the public health ministry, told reporters at Chiang Rai hospital.
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“None of the eight boys has fever today,” he added in the clearest update yet on the condition of the boys rescued from Tham Luang cave.
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The boys, aged 12-16, were the first to be extracted on Sunday and Monday, while the final four and their coach spent a 17th night inside.
On Tuesday, divers and rescue workers resumed an operation to free the four remaining boys and their coach.
Eight of the boys were taken out of the Tham Luang cave complex system in Chiang Rai region in the last two days of rescue operations, but the five others remain trapped on a ledge 4 km deep inside.
Rescuers had moved relatively quickly in order to take advantage of good weather, but heavy downpours early Tuesday could complicate their efforts.
Former Chiang Rai governor and rescue mission commander Narongsak Osotthanakorn said on Monday night that it would take 20 hours to prepare for the third operation, but he cautioned timings could change depending on weather and water levels.
The boys were exploring the caves on June 23 with their coach when they were trapped inside by heavy seasonal rains.
After they were found on July 2, officials had cautioned it could take some time to get them out, but authorities decided to act with heavy rains forecast to hit the region.
The cave complex is regularly flooded during the monsoon season which lasts until September or October.
(With inputs from agencies)
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