Thai Cabinet approves additional Bt100m to help quake-ravaged Nepal

BANGKOK, April 29 (TNA) - The Thai Cabinet has approved an additional state budget of 100 million baht to assist quake-ravaged Nepal. Thai Deputy Government Spokesman Major General Sansern Kaewkamnerd told journalists of the update, following the Cabinet's weekly meeting in Bangkok on April 28, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan. The deputy spokesman said that Thailand and Nepal have had sound bilateral ties for a long time and all government agencies were, thus, asked to find out how assistance could be expanded to support post-quake rehabilitation in the Himalayan nation. Earlier, the Thai government initially donated 200,000 US dollars or about 6 million baht to Nepal, after the land-locked South Asian nation was hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake last Saturday, its worst one over the past eight decades, with death toll having risen to over 5,000, injuries having been reported at over 10,000 and affected people having been estimated at about 8 million so far. (TNA)