Thai economy

Thailand's parliament has ratified four crucial financial decrees proposed by the government to help revive the country's ailing economy.

The decrees -- designed to raise funds to bail out troubled financial institutions -- were challenged by opposition MPs who said the poor would have to bear the brunt of the cost.

In a move to help those hard hit by the economic crisis Thailand's Queen Sirikit has given more than fifty thousand dollars to provide free lunches to the poor and unemployed.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service