At least 77 were wounded when hundreds of army soldiers and anti-government protesters clashed in Bangkok early Monday morning 14 hours after Thai PM declared a state of emergency in the capital city, Thai media reports.

The Nation quoted hospital reports as saying at least 77 people suffered injuries mainly from teargas, with five seriously injured.

At around 7:20 a.m., the government announced it was in control of the situation at Din Daeng, The Nation said on its website.

Some protesters had been arrested, and Army Spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd earlier said “Similar operations will be carried out in other areas.”

The clash occurred around 4:30 a.m. Monday (21:00 GMT Sunday) when some 300 so-called red-shirted protesters used a seized bus to crash soldiers at Din Daeng District in north Bangkok, Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told TPBS.

Soldiers fired warning shots into the air and used teargas to disperse the protesters after failing to persuade the red shirts to stop, Sansern said.

Earlier the Health Department of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced a total injury number of 68.

Army Chief General Anupong Paojinda refused to comment on the incident, adding that he will learn more about it first.

At about 6:15 a.m. Monday (23:15 GMT Sunday), former premier Thaksin Shinawatra told the Red-shirted protesters to continue fighting in a phone conversation with a main leader of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared on Sunday afternoon a state of emergency in Bangkok and some districts of five provinces nearby.

The latest round of the anti-government protests led by UDD has entered its 19th day. Red-shirted protesters on Saturday forced the summits canceled.

(Xinhua News Agency April 13, 2009)

An artist in Oakland, California is using his skills to help the homeless. Greg Kloehn builds very small shelters that make life on the streets a little more comfortable. The structures offer the homeless some safety and protection from bad weather. Each little house also has wheels on the bottom so it can go wherever its owner goes.

Greg Kloehn has given away at least 20 tiny houses. Several are on the roadside near an active railroad. On a recent day, Mr.Kloehn stops at one to visit Oscar Young. The two men hug. Inside his little shelter Mr.Young gets relief from cold nights on the streets. Mr.Kloehn also visits Sweet­Pea, another friend who also lives in one of the little homes the artist built. She says it keeps her safe and protects her belongings.

In the mornings, Mr. Kloehn searches the streets for building materials. He gathers what he can and takes it to his studio. There, he puts the houses together. Empty coffee bags become roof material. A washing machine door and refrigerator part become windows. Nails,screws and the sticky glue hold all the pieces together. The artist also attaches a small electrical device to the house. The device is powered by the sun.

Some of the people living on the streets once had normal houses of their own. But some of the people say they have learned to live with less and they are thankful to that man.

Mr.Kloehn says his work is not a social project. He says he is just someone using his skills to help his homeless neighbors.

China plans to launch 156 small satellites by 2025 toprovide Internet services in low signal areas and placeswith adverse natural environment, according toChinaAerospace Science and Industry Corporation(CASIC).

Due to environmental conditionsof deserts,mountains and seas, half of the world's population has noaccess to the Internet, and the information deficiencyhamperslocal development.

It will be China's first broadband Internet accesssystem with small satellites hovering in low orbit, whichwill also help meet the needs of commercial space development.

The project, named Hongyun, plans to send the firstsatellite by 2019, and launch four more by 2020. By theend of 2025, CASIC plans to have all of the 156 satellites in operation.

The Hongyun Proiect, which focuses on communication,remote sensing and navigation, can offer communicationand Internet services for China and less-developed 3countries with reduced latency. Meanwhile, the projectcan also benefit emergency communication, sensor data collection and remote control of unmanned equipment.

Currently, international maritime satellites are widely used in communications in mountainous areas and airplanes, but those satellites, 36, 000 kilometers abovethe Earth, have time and signal delay as well as high cost for providing services.

The small satellites sent by the Hongyun Project will hover in low orbits only hundreds of kilometers to 1, 000 kilometers above the Earth, and thus could improve the Internet access. However, the low orbit satellites may face challenges in power supply, as they need more energyto reduce the influence of air-resistance compared to highorbit satellites. Experiments are needed to determinewhether solar energy alone is enough.