Protesters flood Bangkok streets

Thousands of protesters have descended onto the streets of Bangkok to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and his cabinet.

They occupied the offices of the state broadcaster NBT and surrounded the main government offices, forcing most civil servants there to stop working.

One report said protesters had scaled a wall at the prime minister's compound.

The protesters say Mr Samak is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, now in self-imposed exile.

Organisers of the protest - a loose grouping called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) - are united in their hostility to Mr Thaksin, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok.

The alliance has repeatedly been able to bring thousands of supporters onto the streets this year, and been allowed unusual leeway by the security forces, our correspondent says.