Bangkok, April 21, 2010, SPA -- Thai protesters occupying Bangkok's main shopping district for two weeks said today they were open to talks but they also took steps to prepare for a clash with armed troops threatening to forcibly evict them, Reuters reported. While the demonstrators in Bangkok fortified their base with bunkers built of sharpened bamboo poles and tyres, nearly a thousand protesters in northeastern Khon Kaen province seized an 18-car train carrying soldiers. The comments on talks signalled some flexibility in a tense six-week confrontation that prompted the central bank on Wednesday to say interest rates would not start rising from a record low until the political situation was clearer. -- SPA 21:52 LOCAL TIME 18:52 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/772284