Bangkok  - Road accidents claimed 56 lives and left 635 people injured on the first of the "seven dangerous days of New Year holidays," officials said Wednesday.

Surachai Tharasitpong, permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry, told reporters that there were 596 reported road accidents nationwide on Tuesday, of which 38 per cent were caused by drunk driving.

Bangkok  - Thai thieves killed one man and severely bludgeoned another in a daring midnight duck heist in Ayuthaya province that netted 1,600 fowl, news reports said Wednesday.

Duck herders Kampaeng Saengchan, 58, and Montri Suebjabok, 48, were attacked by unknown assailants at midnight Monday as they kept vigil over the 1,600 birds in Nakorn Luang district of Ayuthaya province, 90 kilometres north of Bangkok, police said.

The duck rustlers tied up both men and beat them severely, killing Kampaeng and leaving Montri with head injuries and both arms broken.

Bangkok  - Thailand's new cabinet launched its administration Tuesday at the foreign ministry, where legislators were forced to gather after Parliament was surrounded by anti-government protestors.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was obliged to announce his government's policy statement at the foreign ministry as thousands of red-shirted members of the Democratic Alliance Against Dictatorship (DAAD) had surrounded Parliament Building since Monday to prevent legislators from entering the premises.

Abhisit, 44, said his government's priorities included restoring international confidence in Thailand, bringing about national reconciliation in the deeply divided nation and assuring economic survival in the face of the global economic crisis.

Bangkok  - Thailand's besieged cabinet on Tuesday shifted the venue for delivering its policy statement from Parliament Building, which is surrounded by anti-government protestors, to the foreign ministry, in an effort to launch their new administration.

"We will commence as soon as a quorum of legislators is met," said Bulanat Samuttalak, spokesman for the Democrat Party which leads Thailand's latest coalition government.

Bangkok - Thousands of anti-government demonstrators Monday delayed the launch of Thailand's new cabinet by surrounding Parliament Building in Bangkok, barring legislators from entering the premises in the morning.

Thailand's new Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was forced to delay the delivery of his cabinet's policy statement, a necessary requirement for launching a new administration.

It was unclear whether the session could be opened later in the day, or if the protest would force postponement until after the new year.

Bangkok - Six young Thais were killed when their car fell off an elevated highway on the outskirts of the capital following graduation celebrations, the Nation newspaper reported Saturday.