Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

A former Prime Minister of Thailand, Samak Sundaravej, has died of liver cancer.

Mr Sundaravej led the People Power Party to victory in elections in December 2007 but his tenure as prime minister coincided with one of the worst political crises in the country's history after his predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted and sent into exile.

There were widespread protests from Mr Shinawatra's supporters, who wanted Mr Sundaravej to resign.

In the end it was not these protests that led to his resignation but a ruling by a court that he'd breached the rules by accepting money for presenting a popular television cooking programme.