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| Thai airport protests called off | Thai airport protests called off |
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| Thai anti-government protesters have agreed to end their occupation of Bangkok's airports, allowing thousands of stranded tourists to leave. | Thai anti-government protesters have agreed to end their occupation of Bangkok's airports, allowing thousands of stranded tourists to leave. |
| Passenger flights from the main international airport are to resume on 4 December, say correspondents. | Passenger flights from the main international airport are to resume on 4 December, say correspondents. |
| Protests had shut down Thailand's two main airports for more than a week. | Protests had shut down Thailand's two main airports for more than a week. |
| The deal follows a court ruling that forced Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to step down over election fraud and disbanded his governing party. | The deal follows a court ruling that forced Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat to step down over election fraud and disbanded his governing party. |
| The constitutional court ordered Mr Somchai's governing People Power Party (PPP) and two of its coalition partners to disband. The parties' leaders were also barred from politics for five years. | |
| After fewer than three hours in session, the head of the nine-judge panel, Chat Chonlaworn, announced that the court had found the People Power Party (PPP), the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party guilty of vote-buying. | |
| Dozens of the PPP's executive members, including Mr Somchai, were also found guilty of personal involvement. | |
| Judge Chat said that he hoped the ruling would "set a political standard". | |
| The ruling came after months of protests led by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that have crippled the political process in Thailand. | The ruling came after months of protests led by the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) that have crippled the political process in Thailand. |
| They had vowed to continue their protests until the entire government stepped down. | They had vowed to continue their protests until the entire government stepped down. |
| They accused Mr Somchai's administration of being corrupt and hostile to the much-revered monarchy, and too close to ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. | They accused Mr Somchai's administration of being corrupt and hostile to the much-revered monarchy, and too close to ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. |
| The protests had forced a political crisis, revealing deep splits between the PAD - a loose alliance of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class - and government supporters, who draw their strength from the rural north and north-east of Thailand. |