đčđ THAI NEWS SUMMARY: The morning headlines for Wednesday.
♦️ The Cabinet approved in principle a move to attract "high-potential" foreigners to Thailand by offering residency visas to wealthy global citizens, wealthy retirees, people who want to work from Thailand, and high-skilled professionals.
♦️ The cabinet approved an allocation of 1.48 billion baht from the central budget to fund relief measures to reduce the rising cost of living over a period of three months.
♦️ Moves to ease restrictions and reopen the country will be considered on Thursday at a meeting of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
♦️ Chinese New Year celebrations in Bangkok's famed Yaowarat area have been cancelled due to concerns about the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.
♦️ Children between the ages of five and 11 will start getting their Covid-19 jabs from mid-February, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said.
♦️ A group of parents arrived at the Ministry of Education yesterday, to demand the cancellation of regular ATK (Rapid Covid-19) testing and the mandatory policy of wearing facial masks for students.
♦️ Vice Minister attached to the PM's office claimed he has collected up to a million signatures in support of his campaign to expel Amnesty International from Thailand, which he and his supporters accuse of being a threat to the country.
♦️ The government plans to decriminalise marijuana, moving a step closer to clearing its use for recreation, after becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise medical cannabis and its use in food and cosmetics.