PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers May 7

BANGKOK, May 7 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Thai newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TOP STORIES

- Emergency aid packages with more than 40 tonnes of food and medical supplies from Thailand will arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday, as the death toll from the Saturday cyclone rose to 22,500 with a further 41,000 people missing (BANGKOK POST)

- Cyclone Nargis has devastated five states in Myanmar which are predominantly agricultural societies, with the rural poor hardest hit (THE NATION)

- Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama ordered the abrupt transfer of a senior ministry official handling the Preah Vihear temple dispute with Cambodia to an inactive post (BANGKOK POST)

- The Office of the National Culture Commission has published 100,000 copies of a comic book entitled the Qualities of Decent People for distribution to youngsters nationwide (BANGKOK POST)

BUSINESS

- Flights between Bangkok and Yangon have returned to normal following the weekend's cyclone that devastated Myanmar's Irradawaddy Delta region, airline operators said (THE NATION)

- The recent jump in rice prices has spurred trading in 5 percent white rice contracts on the Agricultural Futures Exchange, raising the volume traded by four times to 6,035 contracts in the first quarter this year from the same period last year (BANGKOK POST)

- Logistics operators have praised the government's plan to build a 2,600-km dual-track rail network, saying the massive investment scheme would help the country save logistic costs amid high oil prices (BANGKOK POST)

** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and Business Day.