Thais pray for ailing King Bhumibol

Bangkok: Thailand marked the king's birthday on Friday in a solemn mood, concerned for the health of the ageing monarch.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turned 81 on Friday, failed to deliver his annual birthday eve address.

Many Thais had been looking to him to issue a call for unity after protests by People's Alliance for Democracy activists shut down Bangkok's main airport for a week.

The caretaker government called off a special parliamentary session on Monday to select a replacement for Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat.

Bringing hope to 230,000 stranded foreign tourists, Airports of Thailand said the Suvarnabhumi airport resumed full operations on Friday after the week-long shutdown.

"We are up and running and its business as usual," transport minister Santi Prompat told reporters during a tour of the airport on Friday.