Farmers besiege Yingluck's office; economy hurting

[BANGKOK] Thai protesters seeking to oust caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra surrounded government headquarters yesterday in response to police efforts to clear them from the streets, as farmers besieged her temporary office to demand payment for rice.

Thailand has been in crisis since November, when protesters started a movement aimed at eradicating the influence of Ms Yingluck's brother Thaksin, a populist former premier ousted by the army in 2006 who is seen as the power behind her government.

Data published yesterday showed the economy grew just 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third and, with the country likely to be without a fully functioning government for months, the state planning board slashed its forecast for 2014.