BBC News with Fiona McDonald

Financial regulators in the United States have accused the investment bank Goldman Sachs of fraud related to the collapse of the American housing market in 2007. The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking civil action against the bank. Michelle Fleury sent this report from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the bank sold investors a financial product based on subprime mortgages that was designed to lose value. Goldman Sachs has denied the allegations and says it will defend the firm and its reputation. This is the first time that the US government has explicitly accused one of Wall Street's premier institutions of fraud relating to the collapse of the US housing market.

The Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva has put the head of the army in charge of national security as he fights a campaign by opposition protesters demanding that he step down. Mr Abhisit made his decision hours after the security forces publicly failed to arrest leaders of the rallies that have paralyzed parts of the capital Bangkok for weeks. Clashes last week during protests left more than 20 people dead. From Bangkok, here is Rachel Harvey.

The prime minister said he was appointing the head of the armed forces General Anupong to take charge of national security in order to streamline operations. A government spokesman contacted by the BBC said the general would be better able to deal with what he calls the terrorist threat. "He now has the power to make decisions directly," the spokesman said. The move comes amid fevered speculation that the security forces might be planning another operation to evict protesters from the sites they are currently occupying in the commercial heart of Bangkok.