DHAKA: Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has survived a no-confidence vote in parliament, amid major street protests in the capital, Bangkok.

The motion was brought by the opposition Democrat Party, but Yingluck’s Pheu Thai party dominate the chamber and voted it down.

Yingluck’s government is facing the biggest demonstrations to hit Thailand since the violence of 2010.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern over the tensions and urged restraint.

Protests began in Bangkok on Sunday. Since then, demonstrators calling on the government to step down have marched on ministries and government bodies in an attempt to shut them down.

The demonstrators, who are led by a former opposition party lawmaker, say Yingluck’s government is controlled by her brother, the ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Yingluck has invoked special powers allowing curfews and road closures and police have also ordered the arrest of the protest leader, but so far no move has been made to detain him.

The protests have been largely peaceful and correspondents have described the mood of the rallies as friendly.

BDST: 1148 HRS, NOV 28, 2013