Thailand has mobilised about 40,000 security personnel ahead of rallies by "red shirt" opposition protesters over the coming days.
The demonstrators plan to meet around the country before converging on the capital, Bangkok, by Sunday.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey travelled to the heartland of the "red shirts", supports of the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
One-Minute World News 
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