An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude occurring at a depth of 10 kilometers hit Phan district in the northern province of Chiang Rai on Monday at 6.08 PM. More than 10 injuries from a hospital ceiling collapse were reported.

The governor of Chiang Rai said no evacuation was necessary as of yet and suggested people stay in a safe place for 12-24 hours from now. The famous temple in Chiang Rai Wat Rongkhun was seriously damaged.

The ceiling of Mae Lao Hospital in the province collapsed from the earthquake, injuring over 10 people. Authoritues have warned of more aftershocks.

A Chart Thai Pattana Party adviser has suggested that all sides should come together to set up guidelines for political reformation without breaching the Constitution, adding that an election on 20 July is the best way forward.

According to the 10-point political road map just recently advocated by Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Democrat party leader, there are “five keys” to solving the current political problems, including the installation of a “neutral” prime minister. In response, the Chart Thai Pattana adviser, Somsak Prissananantakul, said the party will support any solution that does not breach the Constitution and wants all sides to solve this crisis together. Moreover, he believes that holding an election on 20 July will be the best way out of the political impasse for the country, with another election to be held in a year and a half.

Mr. Somsak added that a neutral interim government is not acceptable since the prime minister must only ascend to the position via an election. He admitted that he is worried about the current circumstances since Thailand will enter the AEC soon, while several laws and regulations are pending approval by the government and need to be worked out. However, the Chart Thai Pattana Party is not proposing any specific guidelines for reformation.

The Manager of the Koh Samui Waterworks Office is hastening to solve a problem with taps that have run dry in some areas, as a result of the recent rainfall deficit on the island.

After several months of low rainfall, available untreated water is reduced from 31,800 cubic meters a day to 21,600 cubic meters a day.

The Manager of the Koh Samui Waterworks Office said the solution to the long-term water demand on Koh Samui is the present construction by the Koh Samui Waterworks Authority of an untreated water pipe project which is expected to be completed in 2016.

Major dams were reportedly unaffected by the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that originated in Chiang Rai province on Monday evening.

Phisut Chokkhatiwat, director of Bhumibol Dam in Tak province, said the earthquake did not affect the dam structure nor the top part of the dam. Bhumibol Dam is a concrete arch dam situated roughly 350 kilometers from Chiang Rai province. It was designed to withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up to 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Meanwhile, Suthep Loetsimongkhon, the director of Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit province, also indicated that Sirikit Dam was not affected by the quake either, based on readings from the seismometer installed there. He said the quake epicenter was around 230 kilometers from Sirikit Dam, which can withstand up to magnitude 7 earthquakes.

The Foundation For The Employment Promotion Of The Blind (FEPBlind) has joined with the Thailand Association of The Blind (TAB) to host the 12th massaging seminar of the World Blind Union in the Asia Pacific region, at the Golden Tulip Sovereign Hotel from 5th-7th May 2014 in Bangkok.

The Director of the National Office for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) Napha Setthakorn presided over the opening ceremony of the 12th massaging seminar of the World Blind Union (WBU) in the Asia Pacific, entitled “Massage Therapy by the Blind”. There are more than 285 million blind people in the world and most of them live in developing countries. In Thailand, there are approximately 140,000 blind people. However, many foundations and the public sector support the blind in gaining an education, being able to work and to take care of themselves and their families. This year, Thailand has the opportunity to host the seminar.

Approximately 300 blind people from 14 countries in the world have joined the seminar to exchange experiences and skills. Many interesting topics are being discussed such as the types of massage business, massage therapy to treat symptoms, local massage techniques, and the future perspective of massage in the WBU in the Asia Pacific.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reports that the Bangkok Traffic and Transportation Department is installing bilingual Thai and English signage around the Bangkok area.

Signs including those in 300 emergency centers, along with 500 street signs, 30 direction signs, and 30 major traffic signs above roadways will all be converted where necessary.

Furthermore in 2015, hospital direction boards, police station signs, and community signs that include English will be installed in 4,955 spots to cover much of the Bangkok area.

Bangkok has at times received awards as a world class scenic town and Asia’s most interesting city on several occasions, so preparedness in standard communication is needed in support of the coming AEC.

The Minister of Finance, Mr.Kittirat Na Ranong, has recalled Thailand’s role in the GMS development, when speaking during the 47th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank.

Kittirat who joined the 47th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank held in Astana, Kazakhstan, detailed Thailand’s crucial role in the development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and supported the role of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in potential loans to needy countries under the Inclusive Growth program.

Meanwhile, he has held bilateral discussions with Mr. Takehiko Nakao, the ADB President, concerning Thailand’s cooperation with the ADB under the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), and focused on support for Thailand as the center of GMS development and as a Regional Hub.

Damage has been reported in several provinces in the North after a magnitude 6.3 quake occurred in Chiang Rai, with an epicenter located 10 kilometers deep in Phan district.

Monday’s earthquake struck at 6.06 pm, sending people in several northern provinces running out of buildings. Widespread damage to homes, temples, hospitals and other structures were reported in Chiang Rai, although few structures suffered severe damage. Damage was reported at Chiang Rai City Hall and Chiang Rung Hotel. Extensive damage was observed at two temples in the province. One temple suffered severe damage to the top part of a chedi, whereas the head of a Buddha statue at the other temple fell off. A few ceiling tiles in the passenger terminal at Chiang Rai airport were also reported to have fallen down.

As of Monday night, 23 people were reported to have been admitted to hospital in Chiang Rai because of injuries sustained during the quake. 2-3 aftershocks were felt by residents in the downtown area.

The quake also sent shoppers strolling in department stores in Chiang Mai running out of the buildings, and Chiang Mai Airport authorities called for a temporary suspension of flights to check for damage.

Rubber tree growers in the South have expressed opposition to the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ plan to release 200,000 tons of rubber it is currently holding, fearing the move would cause significant losses to government coffers and push rubber prices lower.

The Agriculture Ministry said it planned to release its current holding of 200,000 tons of rubber into the market in order for it to be able to accept the rubber, that would be produced during the new tapping season beginning this month. The ministry reasoned that getting rid of its rubber stock would ease its burden in maintaining product quality.

However, Somphong Ratsuwan, a leader of the rubber tree growers in Songkhla, argued that should the sale commence, the government would have to shoulder a huge loss stemming from the fact that the rubber in stock was purchased at around 100 baht per kilogram whereas the selling price would only be 60 baht per kilogram. He also asserted that releasing the rubber at this time would push down the market price, as a large amount of rubber is set to come on to the market, with the tapping season already commencing this month.

Mr. Somphong said the rubber tappers would instead like the government to seek other ways to utilize the rubber in stock.

Last year the government promised to try to increase domestic use of rubber as a sustainable solution to the falling rubber price. One such use was in road construction, where the government said it would increase the use of rubberized asphalt instead of the standard pavement material.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health Dr Narong Sahametapat, has revealed that according to the National Statistics Office of Thailand, a survey of 26,520 households has found that young children (6 -14 ) rank best in having three proper meals a day at 93 percent, and young people (15-24 years old) rank as the last group to have three healthy meals, at 87 percent.

When compared with the same period in 2012, the number of young people who skipped breakfast rose by 50 percent while the 6-14 year old age group eating three meals a day grew by 13 percent.

The results show that the reasons for skipping breakfast are due to the rush to get to school or having no time to prepare breakfast. Others say that they skip the meal to loose weight.

Doctor Narong has expressed his concern that skipping breakfast will increase hunger throughout the day, making people overeat later and seek out snacks to compensate for missing that first – and some say most important – meal of the day. It also affects their work and study performance when the sugar level is low in the blood system.