Thailand's international airport reopens

Thailand's main international airport has officially reopened today, but fears remain over the stability of the country after the king failed to give his traditional birthday speech due to poor health.

An airport spokesman for the Suvarnabhumi terminal in Bangkok announced on Friday that an international flight to Moscow had marked the resumption of full operations at the airport.

Internal flights have been leaving Suvarnabhumi since Wednesday, when anti-government protestors decided to leave after the country's constitutional court ordered the dissolution of the ruling People Power party (PPP) due to fraud and banned the party's leaders, including the prime minister Somchai Wongsawat, from politics for five years.

Tensions remain , however, and on Thursday, King Bhumibol Adulyadej failed to give his traditional national address on the eve of his 81st birthday.

His son, Crown Prince Varjiralongkorn, delivered a radio broadcast telling the Thai people that his father was ill and would be unable to give the much-anticipated address.

While the king is officially barred from politics, his annual speeches are seen as a form of guidance and his supporters were hoping his address would help lead them out of the current crisis.

On Friday, Thailand's interim government also announced that a planned special session of parliament due on Monday to elect a new prime minister had been cancelled.

The country has been gripped by months of political tensions, with thousands of anti-government demonstrators from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) taking to the streets.

During the last couple of week, the activists managed to close down Bangkok's two main airports, leaving thousands of tourists stranded, and eventually leading to the ousting of Mr Somchai's government.

The PAD claim the former prime minister had been acting on behalf of his brother-in-law and former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Richard James