Government supporters from the Thai countryside converged on the capital today to counter rival protesters who seized control of Bangkok’s two airports and forced the prime minister to run the country from afar.

A THAI court dropped charges of insurrection yesterday against the main leaders of a protest movement bidding to topple the government, two days after the worst street unrest in Bangkok for 16 years.

Police in north-eastern Thailand issued arrest warrants today against machete-wielding monks and novices who brawled over a woman, urging their abbot to preserve the reputation of Buddhism by disrobing them.