Poland braces for economic protests

Labour leaders in Poland say they expect thousands of people to take to the streets on Tuesday in demonstrations against high unemployment and the poor state of the economy.

The radical farmers' leader, Andrzej Lepper, whose Self-Defence party is the third largest in parliament, has urged his supporters to set up blockades in front of several government ministries in Warsaw.

He says the demonstrations will be the start of a wave of protests aimed at bringing his party into power.

In a separate action, left-wing trade unionists plan to demonstrate in front of the central bank.

They will demand that interest rates be cut in an effort to end Poland's economic slowdown.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service